Geoff Bernstein - Meet Vicwest - PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Geoff Bernstein from Vicwest. You can read the interview below or listen to the podcast. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Hello everyone and welcome to MetalCast from MetalCoffeeShop. My name is Heidi Ellsworth and I am here today to talk to one of our leading participating metal manufacturers who are on MetalCoffeeShop. And boy, they are cool. So many great things, initiatives, products. I am here with Geoff Bernstein. Geoff, welcome to the show.

Geoff Bernstein: Thanks so much Heidi. Really excited to be here. As an avid listener and watcher of the MetalCast Podcast, I'm really excited finally be able to join you on, I guess on this side of the microphone.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I haven't heard avid listener and watcher before, so you just really made my day.

Geoff Bernstein: Thanks. Got to support the cause.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love it. Okay, well let's start with, can you introduce yourself and tell us about Vicwest and its history?

Geoff Bernstein: Of course. So my name is Geoff Bernstein. I am the director of marketing here at Vicwest where I oversee obviously our marketing team, all of our branding initiatives, but also a lot about product. So I really lead our product development team and well really excited to talk to you about some of the products that we have available in the US. And I'm a little bit biased because I did help design most of them.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love it.

Geoff Bernstein: I hope the enthusiasm comes across. Vicwest is a 90-year-old, I guess 93 year old metal roll former. We're the largest metal roll former in Canada. And the business really is the backbone of the agricultural community here. Now you think of regional roll formers, we're the only one with a national presence here in Canada. So we have operations coast to coast, from PEI all the way across to Alberta. We have five different manufacturing facilities where, and they're often located in those agricultural communities that we support.

We also play in the commercial market here, which of course isn't so much tied to the residential component. But we do quite a significant amount of spec driven projects through institutional commercial and the industrial channel, with some of our roll formed panels, but also insulated metal panels. So really kind of running the gamut of how to use metal in a building. We're really on board with that. And then of course, we have the residential component to our business with both roll formed panels, think of those hidden fastener snap lock panels, and of course, our true nature metal roof tiles and a whole bunch of different siding profiles that are very well suited to any kind of residential project.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow. And Canadian company. You've been in the US now for a number of years.

Geoff Bernstein: So we launched and perfect timing mind you. We launched residential product lines into the US in February of 2020, right before COVID.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: There you go.

Geoff Bernstein: That was great. On one hand, it's been really interesting to get market feedback, but it's been an uphill climb frankly. You think of the market dynamic of what's been going on over the past couple of years and contractors really just being overwhelmed with projects and the backlog that they've had. It's kind of been a challenge for them to pay attention to new products. Certainly, this year, the market's gotten back to a place, kind of a regular cycle where we find those contractors really are looking for ways to differentiate. And Vicwest has a product portfolio that will help any contractor differentiate their business, certainly from asphalt roofers, but also guys who are already very involved with metal and traditional roll formed panels. We've got a roofing tile which installs like asphalt, but of course, has the features and benefits of metal. So kind of a really great time to reintroduce the product line and the brand into the US markets.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: And the thing is, your products are so beautiful. But like you said, they are contractor friendly. And so the contractors really can get into it. And with the increase in metal demand from consumers, residential and commercial, contractors need these kind of solutions.

Geoff Bernstein: That's exactly right. I think over the past couple of years, even homeowners were just, "Oh, I need a new roof. I'll take whatever the contractor's going to give me. Sure I'll take it. It's kind of an emergency." But now both homeowners and contractors have the time to be a little bit more discerning and actually educate themselves about their biggest investment.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Exactly.

Geoff Bernstein: They want a quality product and certainly, the homeowners who are going to take the time to learn about the features, learn about the benefits, and learn about why a metal roof is such a great investment, are going to be looking for contractors who align with their values, and looking for manufacturers who can provide a high performing product.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, I agree. I agree. Now, I'm just kind of curious because I was just talking to someone yesterday also from Canada, are you seeing very much difference in the markets between Canada and the US when it comes to metal roofing and siding?

Geoff Bernstein: There's definitely some similarities. But the US is so big, just from a climate difference standpoint. We don't have areas like Florida where not only do you have extreme temperatures, but you also have salt, the salt component in the air. And really, the difference that we're seeing is in suburban areas, trying to educate the homeowners that a metal roof is not just a standing seam profile. They don't want their home to look like a barn. And that's kind of the feedback and that's certainly the market perception that we get from a lot of homeowners. And when we introduce them to our true nature products, which look like slate and are designed to look like a Cedar Shake, that provides a whole new design aesthetic that didn't really exist in the marketplace before. So that's one of the similarities. But I would say the perception of metal in the US is maybe not as positive as it could and should be.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Right. So we have a lot of room, especially with IT growing in demand and still people having some perception issues with the myths of metal roofing.

Geoff Bernstein: That's true. And listen, at the end of the day, metal is still the only material that's stealing share from asphalt, right? There's a whole bunch of reasons for that. Of course, the performance, the environmental benefits, I mean it's quite a list that actually MetalCoffeeShop is so good at highlighting.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: We're trying.

Geoff Bernstein: And therein lies the challenge is how do we arm contractors to be able to go into the home with product information that's going to help sell a homeowner on a very large investment. And that's, on one hand, a bit of a challenge. A roof is often an emergency purchase.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Have a leak, you got to do something.

Geoff Bernstein: You got to leak, storm comes through, you've got [inaudible 00:08:27] the roof, things are bound to happen. But the extreme weather performance of a metal roof, the long-term benefits of a metal roof is where contractors need to figure out the way to upsell a homeowner on those features and benefits.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Durability, performance, longevity, also important. And that kind of takes us right into talking about True Nature Roofing, incredibly innovative product. Share with us, I know you've said it a little bit so far, but just kind of the overview of the True Nature Roofing line and what you know have all brought to it to really take it to that contractor friendly homeowner performance level.

Geoff Bernstein: Sure. So True Nature Metal Roofing is a metal roof tile. We have three different profiles. We have Cedar Creek Shake, Northridge Slate, and Coastal Wave. Both the Shake and the Slate profile both install exactly the same. They have a four-way lock system, so it locks at the top, bottom and the sides. There's a pre-perforated nailing flange across the top of the tile. So the contractor knows exactly where they're supposed to screw the tile down to the roof deck. And it comes with a complete color match trim system. So all of our paints are from Sherwin-Williams. So we've got an assortment of Sherwin's WeatherXL Crinkle, which has a beautiful matte finish, but we also have a couple of their PVDF Fluropon finishes in our Expressence print series. So our Cedar Creek Shakes not only come in solid colors, but actually come in a two color process that makes it look even more realistic. It makes it look more like that cedar, a natural wood look.

And then combine that with the profile being stamped into the tile really creates that realism and that curb appeal that you want from a really premium product. In terms of performance, True Nature is among the most tested and most certified products in North America. So we have CCMC testing here in Canada, which is a pretty rigorous standard to obtain. We've got the Texas Board of Insurance certifications, Florida building code, and we also have Miami-Dade code pending. So we expect that to come through over the summer. Miami-Dade is notoriously slow in processing the tests.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Definitely.

Geoff Bernstein: ... Processing the paperwork. But from a performance standpoint, we've completed everything and really, the ball's in there court just to give it a rubber stamp and allow us to use that seal of approval. So really all of those certifications combined really make it the highest performing metal tile on the market today, which we're incredibly proud of. There was a tremendous amount of engineering and product development that went into the product design and now it's bearing fruit.

We were able to achieve incredible wind uplift speeds, hail resistance, fire resistance, dynamic water pressure, which kind of mimics hurricane force winds combined with rain, all hitting the roof at the same time. So really some intense testing that's gone into the product that really is designed to give the homeowner a peace of mind. Really, when a storm comes through, you're not going to see shingles in your driveway or stuck up in a tree. You're not going to need that ongoing regular maintenance and getting a roofer up there every time a storm runs through. This is a roof system that's designed to perform and designed to last a lifetime. We have a 50-year warranty on True Nature, so really it's the last roof you're ever going to need.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, I love that. I love the profiles, the coloring, how you're doing it. And I think one of the things that intrigues me the most is there's just so many contractors out there who are saying, "We need training, we need to have our crews training for metal roofing." But what you've put together really shortens that timeframe of training because it's similar to asphalt so that they can come in and be able to start putting down True Nature roofs pretty much right away. Is that correct?

Geoff Bernstein: Absolutely. It's a box program. A skid of tile shows up on the job site and the trim system is not a complicated thing. It's eaves, it's gables, it's valleys, it's all components that any roofer is very familiar with. And the tiles just install left to, and you go up from the eave to the ridge. It's pretty straightforward.

But also we have a incredibly dedicated sales team who will go to the job site to help new contractors and walk them through their first couple of jobs to make sure that they're comfortable with the product and getting it on the roof properly and making the right cuts and doing the stagger correctly so that the end result is one, a contractor who builds confidence in their ability to install, and of course gives the homeowner the roof that they're looking for and expecting.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That's so cool.

Geoff Bernstein: That onboarding process that our sales team provides for really every contractor who requests it, it's there for them. Of course, we've got the installation videos that we've done on YouTube and those are great, but there's nothing like actually having a representative from the manufacturer on site to help support. It's a quick learning curve, but they still need to learn something.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Right. And have confidence with your crews to know, "Hey, we're standing behind you. We have the trainers here, we're watching, we're making sure that first installation goes really smooth." That means the world to people out there in the field trying to make things really quality.

Geoff Bernstein: Yeah, of course. Because at the end of the day, it is a new product for them. They're not going to come right out of the gate with complete comfort and understanding of how to work with it. That's what we're here for.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That's the way it works. Let's talk about not only are we seeing contractors who are changing from asphalt or other types, and not even changing, but they're adding metal roofing. But we also are hearing them adding metal siding or just actually diversifying into siding overall. So let's talk about your Bellara siding, which is so cool.

Geoff Bernstein: I think that's a great transition. The type of contractor who's going to be successful in selling a metal roof is one that's not only tied to installing a roof. It's more about the selling process than it is about the product that's being installed. So if you look at a lot of the remodeler type contractors in the US do roofing, they do siding, they have a pretty diversified product portfolio. They have labor that can handle both roofing and siding, and that's kind of where Bellara comes in.

So Bellara's been in the market, we launched in 2018. It's a siding profile. Of course, we have a couple of solid colors for Sherwin-Williams paint, but really the unique feature and the unique value proposition with Bellara is the wood grain patterns that are printed onto the seal. And that really is what we believe to be a best in class. And certainly the feedback that we get from our coil coder and the trend team at Sherwin-Williams is that the realism that we have in our wood grain is unlike anything else in the industry. And you've seen the product-

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, it's awesome.

Geoff Bernstein: What's always amazing to me is that anytime, if we're at a trade show, we're doing a customer event, everybody wants to come up and they touch the profile, they touch the siding as if they're going to get a splinter because that's how realistic the wood grains really are. And they have not only a color palette, which is really on trend, but the graphics almost have a depth to them. So there's this dimensional quality that looks like it's not just a flat piece of steel. And that's something that really not a lot... I mean, we haven't seen it replicated it anywhere. So I'm incredibly proud of that collection. We just launched last year, I guess something about 18 months, we launched seven new colors across three different wood grains and the sky's the limit for this product line.

We're launching, this summer, we're coming out with new sizes. So the original Bellara is a five and a quarter inch reveal with a bit of a channel. We're coming out with an eight inch and a three and a half inch panel, both with the same lock mechanism so you can actually install all three sizes on the same wall.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Nice.

Geoff Bernstein: So talk about creating a natural variation of a wood grain pattern on a wall. If you're installing all three of the styles, all coming from the same master coil, but all of a sudden creating this completely random pattern that looks unbelievably realistic. And that's really the end goal here is we see steel as a great replacement for asphalt, but it comes at a premium price. Bellara, on the siding side, is kind of the opposite story. You've got Bellara replacing wood, which is almost a par or even less expensive value proposition compared to natural wood, but without the maintenance, without any of the mold, the fading, the repainting. You don't have any of that when it comes to a seal siding panel. And with all the durability as well. So from a performance standpoint and a cost standpoint, Bellara is incredibly well suited for that siding market.

And we see it in use across tons of different projects, but it's so well suited to an accent wall when you're mixing materials. If you're mixing with natural stone, that ledger stone around the base of your home. We've seen some beautiful projects where Bellara is being installed around the door and under soffits. So really just incredibly versatile, beautiful product.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. I love it. I love that idea too of the design elements, architectural, the mixing of the materials. Those are the kind of things that homeowners are looking for. We're looking for that unique look to be able to offer it. And I've seen it, it does look so real. It's just beautiful. I can see the passion for the products and I can see that in you, and I love that. There's another passion that Vicwest has and that is for the planet, and it's called your Planet Passionate programme. I'm so impressed with this. I would love for you to share this program with everybody and just talk about the importance of sustainability overall.

Geoff Bernstein: One of the key differentiators for Vicwest is not only some of the products that we bring to market, but really our Planet Passionate program. So Vicwest, we are a subsidiary of Kingspan Group. So many of your listeners likely are familiar with Kingspan, who's got a great presence in the commercial market for steel and insulated panels in the US.

So in 2019, they launched a global initiative called Planet Passionate, and that is backed by a $500 million investment at a global level really to drive sustainability product innovation and how to strip carbon out of our process and provide lower embodied carbon solutions into the built environment. So for us at Vicwest, we're in quite a fortunate position in some of the initiatives that we're able to undertake for our operation. So Planet Passionate really is built on four pillars, carbon, energy, circularity, and water.

So I'll just go into a couple of details on how we roll that into to our operation. So in terms of water, we actually just this past year, we've installed rainwater harvesting tanks at two of our facilities. We have a third one going live in the spring. And each one of those tanks has a capacity of about 40,000 liters, of about 10,000 gallons. I know you guys are still imperialist. But for anyone involved in the metric system.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: The rest of the world.

Geoff Bernstein: It's okay, I can do the conversions in my head, don't worry about it. But those tanks are one, on our facilities. We have such a huge flat roof on all of our manufacturing facilities that we're able to harvest enough water, not only to help eliminate the need for freshwater in our facilities, so you think of all of the sinks and the toilets and all the plumbing that exist. So none of that is being pulled from the municipality. And we also have a significant amount of excess water and that water actually gets donated back to the agricultural communities that we serve. So we have a spout on the side of the building that's connected to the tank and we invite farmers to come up and fill up their tanks and that water then goes back to their fields for irrigation.

And one of our really exciting plans for this is in Quebec where our manufacturing is in a town called Victoriaville, and it's kind of the center of where they do cranberry farming in Quebec. And if you're familiar with cranberry farming, it's where they have to flood the field. So that connection between this water harvesting, the community that their manufacturing is in, then every one of those farms is a Vicwest customer. And us being able to now provide this really fun little service to them that's such a great benefit to the environment. So that's just the water piece for us.

In terms of carbon, so we're working to strip carbon out of our energy mix. Again, going back to Quebec, we're already very fortunate that 97% of that grid is already running on hydropower. But here in Ontario where we have our second largest manufacturing facility, it's a mix of coal and natural gas and nuclear. And none of those really are, certainly not the coal and the natural gas, are not renewable resources and all very carbon intensive.

So we've just gone through an exercise where we've installed 712 solar panels on our roof, which are going to provide about 80% of the energy needs for our manufacturing. That's great. So allowing us to have that direct onsite renewable energy is one, great for the environment, also good for business. We're looking for those ways to strip carbon out of the operation and out of our energy mix in terms of... That plays into energy as well. And then in terms of circularity, we're working towards really a zero waste to landfill a goal. So of course any of our scrap metal that's run through the facility is sent to recycle and none of that goes to landfill. And we're working on innovative ways to create packaging for our crates, that don't want to end up in landfill to reduce the amount of weight of packaging materials that go into every order. And really, just finding ways to drive that down to zero.

We've actually partnered with a company here in Ontario called Waste Solutions, and they're coming in to help our plant employees understand what goes in the trash, what goes in the green bin, what's organics. Not only in the cafeteria but in the operations. So when every skid comes in that's wrapped or it's got corners and it's got wood, what are we doing with all of those different components that we want to divert from length? We want to find ways to reuse them and build them back in. One of the guys in the plant, this was pretty genius, actually, put together this program where we were able to, instead of sending some scrap metal to the recycler, we were able to repurpose it into crates for our trim.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That's great.

Geoff Bernstein: Which ended up turning into a much better, more secure crate than just us using new wood to build all of these different crates. So what of a great way to reuse material that otherwise would've had to, one, be transported to a recycler and the energy needed for that. So just one way we're innovating around that.

And just go back to Planet Passionate as a whole, not only is it great for the environment, good for our business, we see it as a differentiator for our employees. When we have Gen Zers and millennials coming to interview at Vicwest, they're asking us, what are we doing to help the environment? What is your sustainability program? And nobody in our industry, certainly not in Canada, is doing anything to the degree that we've got going on today with Planet Passionate. So it's a differentiator for our employees. And of course, when we're talking to homeowners and architects who are really focused on a better built environment, again, it's a completely unique value proposition that we are happy to talk to anyone and everyone about.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: And that next generation cares about the environment. It's just a total a shift. We all care, but this next generation just takes it to the new level and they're the new homeowners. So it is a differentiator and it's so important.

Geoff Bernstein: And the things we're doing are tangible. They really are tangible efforts for our business to create a more sustainable built environment.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Not just talking about it, actually doing it. I love it. Yeah. Speaking of innovative programs, maybe it's kind of hard to go from saving the planet, but I do want to say, I want to talk a little bit about the MetalVue program from Sherwin-Williams, which is incredibly innovative and bringing a whole new level to help contractors really get metal products out into the market. Because traditionally, it's been a little bit more specialty. But now definitely want to make it where it's across the board where companies are selling it. So you are part of that Sherwin-Williams metal program. How's it going and what have you seen?

Geoff Bernstein: The MetalVue program for us is going incredibly well. The work that we put in upfront to onboard True Nature into MetalVue, to help contractors get realistic estimates pretty much just with an address, it's an amazing technology. So leveraging the partnership with Eagleview and RoofWorks really allows us that flexibility to take any project, any type, even a new build, even with a blueprint, we can just throw it in there. And within usually less than a day, we have a complete measurement that we're able to hand back. That contractor is then able to confidently go to that homeowner and say, "Hey, this is what your project is going to cost, this is what it's going to look like." And just the amount of work that saves on the estimation side, the technology component that's built in there, that really is impressive, to the home owner as well. Like, "What? Don't you have to go on the roof?" No, we're good. No one's going on the roof.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah.

Geoff Bernstein: Just the installer.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Just the installer. Yeah, someone eventually has to.

But no, you're right. And where they can use that technology to get everything. And then the services for the contractor, when they're involved with you, that they can then tap into from sales training to installation training.

Geoff Bernstein: And that's exactly right. That's the other part of it. One, we want to provide this kind of administration experience, the estimation component that they can confidently go in and bid for a job. But really the sales training, partnering with Crossroads University, really educating contractors who are looking to differentiate their business. Roofing does not have to be a commodity game. Just like any category, if you look at Windows, there's premium products. You look at kitchens, there's premium products. Same like roofing. There's a premium option, there's a good, better, best here. It takes a little bit more of a sophisticated selling technique in order to convince that homeowner. But the value is there, not only to the homeowner, but also for the business. The contractor are going to earn more. The average cost per project is going to go up. That means they're going to earn more margin, they're going to get more comfortable with the product, they're going to be able to install it faster.

So there's a whole snowball of benefits to a contractor who's looking to get involved with metal. And again, we're the only roof tile [inaudible 00:32:13] right now. So that allows contractors who are playing in those suburban areas where standing seam doesn't work. This is a unique product backed by a tremendous partnership with Sherwin-Williams. The trust that the homeowner has with the Sherwin-Williams brand. Combine that with a 90 plus year history of Vicwest. Those two brands connected together, if that's not going to instill confidence in a homeowner, okay, I'm going to have to move on to some other guy.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I know. And something, by taking your True Nature product into the MetalVue program, contractors are able to create that immediate sales opportunity where they can not only understand how to sell it in the home, but then understand how to install it, as we talked about already. And they can do it in a rapid, really upgrading their leads.

That's the other thing. MetalVue offers, leads where they contractors will work with a company like Spectrum, or AI Predictive actually is the name of it. Yeah, lots of great stuff. I'm so glad, Geoff, that you, Vicwest, is a part of it because the participating manufacturer is a heartbeat of the MetalVue program. And to have a company like you providing everything they need from training to sales tools to the product obviously, and all the service along the way, that's really what makes the MetalVue program rock.

Geoff Bernstein: And going even a step back, MetalVue, even going back to the Roofing Passport from a while back, today, we still use that tool internally to do our own estimates. So that just speaks to the quality of the technology that's been built in. So for us to be able to input just about any, an address, a blueprint, whatever it is, and so much faster than the manual process of estimation, it cuts the time in a quarter. So imagine that if you're a contractor who's floating dozens and dozens of projects for every lead that comes through, combine that with the sales training to help them close faster, it's a no-brainer.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, it really is. Okay. I love all this. This is so great. I'm sure there's a lot of people watching or listening to this, they're lik, "Okay, okay. How do we get involved?" So first of all, how do they get ahold of you to start getting involved with Vicwest as their metal manufacturer?

Geoff Bernstein: Pretty simple. Vicwest.com/contractors.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Awesome. I love it.

Geoff Bernstein: If you're a contractor, you go to Vicwest. That's it. That's where you go. We have a form there. Everyone's got a form. And that form based on the zip code, that'll get pushed out to one of our territory managers. They'll be in contact, presumably within a day or two. Help any contractor who wants to onboard with our products, wants to get involved with MetalVue. We're here to support the program. The contractors that we've got in there today, I'll tell you, the trajectory at which they onboard and sell that first job to then sell their 10th job and 50th job and 100th job, it just goes so fast. Once they get rolling with it, it's such an easy thing for them to do. The leads come in, they understand how to close, they're comfortable with the product. The end result is beautiful. The homeowners are delighted. It's a win all around.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: It's a win. That's what I see, every day. We talk about it a lot and it's just such a win for everybody involved. I love win, win, win. So okay, Vicwest.com/contractor. Also, you can find-

Geoff Bernstein: Contractors.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: With an S, contractors. You can also find Vicwest on MetalCoffeeShop. They have a full directory. There are articles. You can see the True Nature, you can see the Bellara, you can see everything that they're doing with Planet Passionate. So check out their directory on MetalCoffeeShop. And you can also find the Sherwin-Williams MetalVue directory and the overall directory on MetalCoffeeShop where you can get in touch with Sherwin-Williams if you want to start there. So it's easy. We make it easy. And I tell you what, this is a program to get involved with early. Geoff, thank you so much. This has been great.

Geoff Bernstein: Can we keep going?

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Well, we're at our time limit. You know I get in trouble from our producers. Yeah. The producers are like, "Hey, you guys went too long." I don't want them to cut anything out.

Geoff Bernstein: All right. Well, Heidi, it's a pleasure as always. Look forward to talking with you again soon. Thanks.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Well, I was just going to say, we're going to do this again. And we'll dive in a little deeper on some of these topics.

Geoff Bernstein: Absolutely.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Great introduction to Vicwest. Geoff, thank you so much.

Thank you everybody for watching and listening to this MetalCast. As we mentioned, you can find all this information on MetalCoffeeShop in the directories. But you also can find all of our MetalCasts under the Read, Listen, Watch Initiative. Look for the podcast and you can check out all of the MetalCasts that we're doing. So much great information. But be sure to also get onto YouTube set. Subscribe to MetalCoffeeShop and set notifications along with on your favorite podcast channel. Subscribe, set notifications, you don't want to miss a single episode. And we'll see you next time on MetalCast.