LIVE from IRE 2023 with S-5!

Lauren White checks in with Rob from S-5! at IRE 2023 to talk about their product line and what the coming year has in store!

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Rob from S-5!. You can read the interview below or watch the YouTube video.

Lauren: Hi everyone. I'm Lauren White with RoofersCoffeeShop, and we are here at IRE 2023, and we are in the S5 booth with Rob.

Rob: Welcome, Lauren.

Lauren: Thank you.

Rob: Here we are.

Lauren: Yeah, thank you.

Rob: What would you like to know?

Lauren: Well, how's the show been so far for you?

Rob: It's been busy and it's going to get busier. I understand there are people lined up 20 deep out there still trying to register.

Lauren: Still? Wow. That's incredible.

Rob: But we got a new booth this year. This is our debut with this new booth, and the girls in marketing did an awesome job with it.

Lauren: They did.

Rob: And so we're just here like we always are to catch up with all our customers and our channel partners and whoever stops by.

Lauren: Yeah. Excellent. What's new with S5? What's going on?

Rob: Well, what's new is Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, South America, Spain, the Middle East, Abu Dhabi, and the United Arab Emirates. That's all, relatively speaking, pretty new for us. We have some new products, our GRIPPERFIX product, which we got a video running continuously that shows some of our new products, and we're excited about that. We were awarded 14 new patents just last year, in 2022, which brings our total to 112 since the founding of the company, so we're always innovating new stuff.

Lauren: Wow. Yeah, that's incredible.

Rob: And that's what we do.

Lauren: Yeah. So tell me more about the ... Was it the Snow Gripper?

Rob: GRIPPERFIX.

Lauren: GRIPPERFIX, sorry.

Rob: That's that product over there, and it'll be on the screen here. On the screen, it's going to show how it works to install satellites like that one.

Lauren: Okay. Wonderful. And what makes it different than maybe other things that are on the market right now?

Rob: It won't ruin your roof.

Lauren: Oh, that's different.

Rob: That's what makes it different. All the ways that people have mounted satellite dishes in the past with ballast, or jamming holes through the roof or whatever, are all things that ruin the roof. And our mantra is that we won't ruin the roof, we'll preserve roof warranties, and our products will last the life of the roof, and we guarantee that.

Lauren: So would you say that's what sets S5 apart from others is that you're not going to ruin the roof with product?

Rob: Well, it absolutely does, but there's more to it. I mean, we've been in business now for 30 years and so some of our products from earlier patents that have expired, there are a lot of copycats out there. I'm being gracious. But the other differentiators of our company is that we always use certified material. We manufacture in a certified plant with certified engineering and certified testing, and so because of that, any installation can be engineered to withstand the service loads that it might incur in service.

Lauren: And so what does that mean then, being certified? Having all those certified, what does that mean for building owners, homeowners, you know [inaudible 00:03:34]

Rob: It means that the same products that we've tested in certified laboratories are exactly the same as the products we ship out the door, and we quantify how much load those attachments will withstand so that any application can be engineered, and that's why we're the favorite in our space, still. Always have been.

We're into solar, we see solar going places and we've been in the solar mounting space for the last 20-years-plus, and it's really taken off globally as well as in the US, and so that's one of our big core markets. Snow retention is another one. Fall protection is another one. And these are all life safety applications, so if things fly off the roof, there's a life safety issue at stake, especially if it's fall protection and it's a guy that flies off the roof.

Lauren: Don't want that.

Rob: So we're favored for critical applications like that.

Lauren: Yeah. Are you seeing more solar now than you have previously? Or what ...

Rob: Oh, for sure. Yeah, solar is an evolving industry, and it's way less expensive now than it was even 10 years ago.

Lauren: Yup.

Rob: And so, it's more and more popular because it makes economic sense.

Lauren: Right, definitely. Great. Well, is there anything else that you want to share with our people?

Rob: If I think of something, I'll come by your studio booth a little bit later or tomorrow and we can do this all over again.

Lauren: Perfect. Wonderful. Love it. Looking forward to it. Thank you so much.

Rob: Thanks for coming by, Lauren. Good to meet you.

Lauren: You too.