LIVE From IRE 2023 With DuPont™ Tedlar®!

Heidi J. Ellsworth sits down with Corynn Sheridan and Tara Faulkner to talk all things metal! 

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of an live interview with Corynn Sheridan and Tara Faulkner from DuPont™ Tedlar®. You can read the interview below or watch the YouTube video.

Heidi Ellsworth: And we're back. Hey, I hope you enjoyed those interviews with Karen, with Will and I know there was a bunch of interviews. We're going all day long. We aren't stopping. In fact, we have more interviews from booths out in the area, but right now I'm so excited. This is Heidi Ellsworth RoofersCoffeeShop, on the sound stage. We are here with Corynn and Tara and we are going to talk metal. So I am so excited about this.

So ladies, I would love to have you first introduce yourself, tell us a little bit about your company and we'll do that and then we're going to get into the hot topic of metal.

Corynn Sheridan: Awesome.

Tara Faulkner: Okay. Hi, I'm Tara Faulkner. I'm with Metal Alliance and we specialize in coil and flat sheets into the metal roofing market. And we definitely specialize in moving some Tedlar into the market for those needs.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yes. Yes, so exciting. Corynn.

Corynn Sheridan: Yep. So I'm Corynn Sheridan. I am the marketing director at DuPont Tedlar. So we supply to Metal Alliance the Tedlar PVF Film, which essentially takes the place of a coil coating, but with improved performance characteristics across the board for metal roofing.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, this is such an amazing technology. To be able to film, apply to metal. Tell everybody out there just a little bit about what are some of the characteristics of being able to do that. And I'm sure there's some contractors out there that are wondering, "Well, can I cut it? What can I do?"

Corynn Sheridan: Yeah.

Heidi Ellsworth: Talk to us a little bit about that.

Corynn Sheridan: Yeah. So anything you can do to paint and coil, you can do to Tedlar. So it's applied in the same process on a coil coating line directly onto the metal. It's baked through an oven and then it creates a permanent bond to that metal. So what's beneficial about the Tedlar is, a) that it's extremely flexible. So it can bend to any tight bend without cracking, without weakening in any way. So when we make the Tedlar, we stretch it in multiple directions to ensure there is no weakness. So no pinholes, no cracking happens with the Tedlar.

It's also very, very chemically resistant, which means that it does not corrode in even the most corrosive environments, including coastal applications and industrial applications. Basically anywhere that paint systems are known to fail, Tedlar is going to hold up there. And it's a self-cleaning material. So salt right at the beach is going to rinse right off of it. You can clean graffiti off of it. So it's really almost like a bulletproof protection for metal.

Heidi Ellsworth: I'll tell you, right now with everything that's going on, just think about the metal siding with Tedlar, graffiti just coming right off of it. It's a problem. We see it and it needs to be. So, Tara with the Metal Alliance, you are the distributor of the Tedlar on film on metals. You guys do amazing things. Tell us a little bit about the Metal Alliance and also just overall this launch of Tedlar into the market.

Tara Faulkner: Yes. So we're very excited because we've been moving a lot of Tedlar into the metal roofing market. We've had a lot of questions today about coastal application. We've had a lot of communities look at Tedlar as a really good viable option for metal roofing, because of not having the requirement of having to clean that roof, having those dirt shedding properties. So there's so many great things about the product and people are really excited here to hear about it.

Heidi Ellsworth: They are.

Tara Faulkner: They love hearing that there's a warranty in the coastal application. They love knowing that there's up to a 50 year coverage.

Heidi Ellsworth: 50 years, wow.

Tara Faulkner: Metal roofing is just so big for all of us to put such a good product out there.

Heidi Ellsworth: It's huge.

Tara Faulkner: So we're really excited.

Heidi Ellsworth: So I was at the National Frame Builders Association show two weeks ago, talking to a contractor who was like, "You can't put metal roofs on the coast. It has to be so far set back away from the ocean." But that's not the case. Tara, I know you said coastal applications, but I don't know if people understand that it can be right on the beach.

Tara Faulkner: So at Metal Alliance we go one step further. We actually give a substrate warranty as well as giving the Tedlar warranty, which is up to 50 years. That kind of peace of mind for application in the metal roofing market is a huge peace of mind. Pair that with having the antimicrobial properties and the dirt shedding properties, now you've got this relatively practically no maintenance product that's going into the market with coverage in the coastal environment.

Heidi Ellsworth: No rest. It is phenomenal. So I don't want everyone to think out there, this is new to us in roofing, but Tedlar is not new to the industry. Maybe give it a little bit of the history of Tedlar.

Corynn Sheridan: Yeah, absolutely. So Tedlar has been proven in real world applications for over 60 years. In applications outside of building construction, one of the first uses is in aircraft. So inside of airplanes, the stow bins, the sidewalls. Back when people used to smoke in planes and they didn't want it to discolor, they would use Tedlar. So that's one of the older applications, but it's also been used inside and outside of buildings.

So inside, it's on wall panels in hospitals, healthcare facilities, hospitality, anywhere that's heavy wear and tear, needs to be sterilized, bleach, anything, no problem for Tedlar.

Heidi Ellsworth: That's cool.

Corynn Sheridan: Outside, no corrosion, no graffiti, no fade over long periods of time. Tedlar essentially does not change color in any way that's visible to the human eye. So you're going to have a guaranteed new look for as long as that roof is up and that warranty stands.

Heidi Ellsworth: That's amazing. So Tara, what are you hearing from the contractors when they're coming into your booth and talking about this?

Tara Faulkner: I think Corynn just hit on something pretty important. We're talking about harsh environments and exposures, metal roofing, we're talking about how that product stands up. One of the things that they're eager to look at are the case studies that we have in comparing existing Tedlar installations to current product that you can actually hold right up to the original install and you don't see the fade ability. So they're really excited about that with the exposures, especially here in this Texas market. This is a really ideal product.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah.

Tara Faulkner: For installation.

Heidi Ellsworth: Wow. So the contractors are excited and there have been so many people in the booth. What do you think of the show, start here?

Corynn Sheridan: Oh, it's great. Yeah. It's so crowded. It's really exciting. Lots of good energy here. I know Metal Alliance booth has been nonstop all day.

Heidi Ellsworth: Well, this has to be exciting for the Texas market because you're expanding into a lot of additional markets.

Tara Faulkner: We are, we have wonderful customers and partners and we've just been working on getting more and more product out there, and I believe that so many people are so passionate about metal and installation into the market, understanding just how good of a product it is. So we're very excited.

Heidi Ellsworth: And you'll ship anywhere in the US and international.

Tara Faulkner: We do. We ship throughout the Caribbean. We also ship throughout the United States. Many of the customers that are here, we do keep a lot of coil within the state so we can service them and we're really excited about shipping more and more Tedlar as well.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. Ladies, thank you.

Tara Faulkner: Thank you.

Corynn Sheridan: Thank you.

Heidi Ellsworth: This is so exciting. And I know we've had a number of podcasts on this. We have a lot of articles. You can find out everything about the Metal Alliance and Tedlar on RoofersCoffeeShop in our directories.

Corynn Sheridan: Yep, you sure can.

Heidi Ellsworth: Well, enjoy the show.

Corynn Sheridan: Yeah, thank you.

Heidi Ellsworth: Enjoy the show and thank you all. Enjoy the show. We'll be back soon. We have more interviews this afternoon. We're not stopping. We'll see you soon.