Morgan Jakosa - Tools to Help You Through a Labor Shortage - PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Morgan Jakosa. You can read the interview below, listen to the podcast or watch the episode on YouTube.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Hello and welcome to another Metal Cast from Metal Coffee Shop. My name is Heidi Ellsworth and we're here today and we're going to talk about one of my favorite things, tools. Tools and equipment for metal. This is the best. I am so proud to have Morgan Jakosa here, who I've known for many years and is the leading expert from Swenson Shear. Morgan, welcome to the show.

Morgan Jakosa: Thank you so much, Heidi. I am so grateful to be here, and thank you so much for having me.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow, you got to love this industry, right? You and I have worked together before and it's just awesome. And now here we are working together again. I love it.

Morgan Jakosa: I do too. I do too.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: So before we get started talking about your amazing tools, could you go ahead and introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about Swenson Shear?

Morgan Jakosa: Sure. Absolutely. My name is Morgan Jakosa and I've been working for Swenson Shear for about 10 years now. I've had a long time family history of farming and construction, and so this is a really good fit for me. I love every minute of it. I'm just learning and soaking it all in and trying to find new ways to help the company grow and keep up with modern day tools and how to help people do things more efficiently. And so Swenson is an amazing company. We're American made tools and we're small family owned business, but we're doing really big things.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love it. I love it. Having come from a construction and agricultural family too, we're right there together and it's so much fun to be working in this industry and providing such great solutions.

Morgan Jakosa: It is, absolutely.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: So Morgan, let's start out and let's talk about the labor shortage because you have tools and solutions that are really making a difference when it comes to productivity. So what are you seeing with your customers and just kind of how they're dealing with the labor shortage and how your solutions are helping them?

Morgan Jakosa: Yeah, great question. So anytime I get a customer on the phone, the challenge is always labor. So it's hard to find people, whether the weather's too warm or their employees are in school and can only work part-time, whatever the case may be. Labor is always an issue. It's just a challenge, and I feel like it's been a challenge for many, many, many years. But the last three years specifically have been really difficult for a lot of our customers. So when they call in and they hear about our tools for the first time, or maybe they've seen them at a trade show and they're finally ready, they're needing the tool right away of course.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yup. Yeah.

Morgan Jakosa: They made up their mind, they've heard the testimonials. And so where our tools come in is they're going to speed production on panel installations, and that is really difficult to do by hand. So the idea behind Swenson tools is of course, there's a lot of craftsmanship out there and we're not wanting to take from that at all. There's a lot of craftsmanship out there. We're just wanting to help you speed that process up. So with our tools, you're able to not only speed up the process of panel installations, but you're perfecting them as well. So it allows smaller companies to expand and take on more jobs, and it allows these bigger companies that are really behind to not only get caught up, but get ahead as well.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. You know what? I love how you talk about the craftsmanship because it is... it's such an amazing trade. There's so much craftsmanship that goes into it, but really craftsmanship is about knowing the right tools, so that doesn't take anything away from it.

Morgan Jakosa: Yes, yes, absolutely. And I think hearing about our tools for the first time, it probably is overwhelming. It looks more complicated than it is, and I know we'll get to that, but it really is user-friendly. And I mean, when we go to all the trade shows, myself and my office manager, Stacy, are the two gals running the machine at the show.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love it. I love it. Well, and your most popular product is the SnapTable PRO Hyper-Lite, right?

Morgan Jakosa: Yes. Yes.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: So that has just a beautiful history within the market, American-based tool. Let's talk a little bit about that and how it's really helping.

Morgan Jakosa: Sure. Absolutely. So we originally started with a SnapTable idea of being able to notch cut and hem standing seam panels. And since then it's evolved into our latest and greatest model. It's the only model we offer now, which is our Hyper-Lite. So it's our SnapTable PRO Hyper-Lite. And what that machine will allow you to do is notch cut and hem your standing seam panel profiles at your eaves, hips, or valleys. So yeah, so a lot of roofing contractors will think maybe it only does commercial jobs, maybe it's meant for straight cuts and straight hems, and that's not at all the case.

So the machine is adjustable for different panel widths, it's adjustable for different panel profiles. There's no limitations to how steep of a valley angle you can achieve with the machine. And I would say in all my years of working for Swenson, the best feedback I've heard is it takes just as long to prep a valley on our machine as it does a straight cut, which is really impressive because-

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow. Yeah.

Morgan Jakosa: Yeah. So it could take 10, 15 minutes to prep a valley for most roofing companies and with our machine, they're doing it in under a minute.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That's so impressive, Morgan. Wow, that is great. Well, maybe you could... I'd love to go a little bit deeper too and talk about all the three key components that you just talked about, the notch, the eave, valley and the panel cutter. Tell us, go a little bit deeper.

Morgan Jakosa: Sure, absolutely. So the standing seam notcher is going to notch out the male and the female rib of the panel. So what you'll do is once your panel is set up in our machine, all you're doing is bringing the handles down and it's giving you a perfect three-inch notch. So it's cutting it in two seconds, it's going to be perfect, no bird edges, very little effort. And then you're getting that notch. So rather than using a SKILSAW or tin snips that it takes a lot of labor to do and it's exhausting. Your hands feel like you have arthritis at the end of the day.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. Yes, exactly.

Morgan Jakosa: You're eliminating all of that with our tool, right? So it's going to give you a perfect notch. And then the idea behind that standing seam notcher is that when you shift the male notcher, the female is actually shifting the opposite direction. So when it goes the opposite direction, it's lining you up for whatever valley you're needing to prepare. So if you want it set up for a 7:12 pitch, when you shift the male, the female's going to go the direction to give you that exact pitch. So it's really simple. You set it up for panel widths at the will of the machine, and then from there you just shift the male to the corresponding valley angle that you need and it lines it up from there. So you're only operating it from one side rather than having to go from the male around the female side of the machine.

It's all operated on one side. So that's the standing seam notcher, cuts out panels in seconds, and then now the panel cutter is intended to cut in between the pre-notched panels. So once your valley, again, I'm going to use this for an example. Let's say it's a 7:12 valley, you're going to have those notches already made in the male and the female side. So then you just line it up by turning the actual tabletop of the machine to line up with those pre-notched panels that we just made at the previous station and then the panel cutter will cut quickly just right in between there. Perfect straight edge cut, just a few seconds, no bird edges, no oil canning, just perfect on both sides of the panel. So you're not going to have a cut side and a drop side. You're going to get both sides cut perfectly for you on the panel cutter station so...

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow.

Morgan Jakosa: Yeah. And then if you're not needing to hem the panel, you could of course cut right up against the male and the female rib, but if you do want to leave a hem, let's say you cut right down the middle of the pre-notched panels, when you take it to the hemmer station, which is the third and the final, that's going to give you a perfect hem. So again, no crimp marks, which is what you typically see, no human error. It's effortless. It's really easy. And again, just a few seconds to hem that panel at any valley angle and then you're ready to take to the roof from there.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That is impressive. And I just have to ask as a follow-up question too, what are your contractors saying as they're using that?

Morgan Jakosa: It's almost a challenge in explaining how user-friendly and easy the tool is to use. But once they get the idea and we're able to, whether we're hopping on a FaceTime call and we're going out in the shop and I'm actually running the machine with them so they could see how user-friendly it is, or if we're sending videos or client testimonials or they could hear from other customers, other clients, typically that's all that they need and then they understand the concept and we go from there. Yeah.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That's really it, is hearing from other contractors and seeing how much it's helping them and putting everything together. And so along that same line, let's talk a little bit about the operation. You just said you go out into the plant and you help operate it. How does that work with the team and what have you been hearing back from an individual using it all by themselves, using it as a crew up on the roof, and then how has that helping with the labor shortage and just productivity?

Morgan Jakosa: Yes. So yeah, anytime someone calls and they want to see one in person on the spot, I'll just walk out to our shop and we hop on a machine, we ask what profile they're using and we make sure it's set up for that particular profile. And then someone will record me a FaceTime, whatever and yeah, I'll just go through the steps, the motions and see if they have any questions. And that's what they like to see that live, being able to operate it right on the spot. Even some of the guys that have a machine currently, if they have questions, we'll go out, we'll go through the steps and then it's like, "Oh my gosh, that's so easy," or, "We found a way to do this," and they'll show us like closing the rib of the panels is like the number one question we get. So being able to box off or close that female leg is really important.

And it's crucial, I would say, for the metal roofing industry because it just adds that final touch. So when you're looking up the roof, you're not seeing that open female leg. And so machine are able to do that, and a lot of roofing contractors aren't aware of that. So that's one of the most commonly asked questions we get. So we'll walk through, not only does it notch cut and hem, but it does this, it allows you to close the female leg and all the things and answer any questions they have at that particular time. But I would say based off customer testimonials, what's really caught my attention lately is a lot of these roofing contractors with having our machine are able to keep their best guy on the roof. So that's not typical, right?

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Right. Right.

Morgan Jakosa: So we have your best guy prepping the panels because it's really important to have perfectly prepped panels. And if they're quick, that's who you want prepping the panels. So with our machine, if you have our SnapTable that you could put a minimum wage employee, someone that's just starting in the roofing industry, and I think what's important is that they're learning how to prep panels correctly so they're not learning the old school way of using tools, even though those tools will still do the job. Again, in one of our... I'm going to continue to refer to our testimonials. It's like riding a horse into town or driving a car, so they're both going to get you there.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Oh, okay. Yes. Yes.

Morgan Jakosa: They're both going to get you there, but which would do you prefer? So of course you'd rather drive and get there and save time, save money, all the things, but we hear that a lot. So yes, there's a way of prepping panels that you see all the time, and a lot of people that don't know about our tools are still using the SKILSAWs and the grinders and all the things, but with having our machine, not only are you a training the younger generations who you hope will grow with the business and continue to learn the trade and stick with you in roofing, you're teaching them the right way.

But gosh, once they get the hang of it, it's amazing what they could do. So then as a company, you're able to keep your best guy on the roof. Your minimum wage employee is now a $30 an hour employee because he's so efficient what he does, and the best guy on the roof isn't going to be able to keep up with the guy that's prepping the panels. And that's what's truly amazing. And we see that at every job site we go to. It's unbelievable.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That is so cool. I mean, talk about a revolutionary thing for companies. I mean, it's totally going to change how they can operate, productivity, and then that makes such a difference too, when they're going to sell and they're selling, they know where they're at, profitability, and they know their numbers because-

Morgan Jakosa: Absolutely. Yes. Yes. We've gotten so many testimonials in the last, I would say 60 days about companies who have been able to expand their business, hire additional crews, take on more jobs, bid differently because they have the machine, but more importantly, they've taken a small family owned business and they've taken it to a level of just true success. And we hear absolutely the best testimonials from customers worldwide. So not just here in the United States, but worldwide. We're shipping these machines all over. Mm-hmm.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That just makes you feel so good.

Morgan Jakosa: It does.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: It's like what you said when you first started out, it's about really giving back and this tool is giving back to help people change their business and change their lives.

Morgan Jakosa: Yes, absolutely. Mm-hmm. Such a big [inaudible].

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow. Now I know you have a lot of tools, so are there other tools too that kind of along this same line that are helping contractors with productivity and also quality, all of that?

Morgan Jakosa: Yes, absolutely. So on that note, so the SnapTable PRO Hyper-Lite, if a customer's not quite ready for the whole setup or if they feel, "Maybe I want to start off with one of those stations rather than all three," we do sell each of those stations individually. So you could purchase the standing seam notcher to cut the ribs, the panel cutter to cut in between the ribs, or the hemmer to hem the panels to start. And then at a later date, you could always purchase the remaining tools with the trailer, which is 100% of the time. Any roofing contractors that'll purchase one or two stations, they always come back because they have to have the whole thing once they see... once they actually get their hands on it and they see how much time and money they're saving with having our tools. So that's our standing seam line, the SnapTable PRO Hyper-Lite with the three stations that you could purchase individually.

And then of course we have our stone coat collection, which would consist of our stone coat cutter and our base and ridge bender.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: So important.

Morgan Jakosa: Yes. Oh my gosh. And those are the tools you'll see if... they could work with any stone-coated metal shake or shingle panel. So you'll see a lot of DECRA representatives using those tools for training. So there's Swenson tools that they'll use for training out there on the field. So you'll see a lot of those out there. And then of course, our exposed fastener line, which is our staple, so the Swenson Shear that we've been selling since 1959.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow. Okay.

Morgan Jakosa: And so that is ideal for exposed fastener panels. We have of course, the different models with different capabilities. So whether you're looking just to shear the length, we have a shear for that. If you're doing a lot of pole barns and you need to be able to have the ability to do gables, we have our Model 48 Shear that's ideal for straits and gable angles. And then if you're doing a lot of residential, we have our hip and valley roofing shear for those hip and valley roofing cuts. So different models with different capabilities. And then we just added our soffit and siding shear, we call that our Model 20. We just added that to the line as well for any soffit and siding profile. Everything's custom in terms of the shear itself features interchangeable blades, and you just purchase the right profile blades for whatever profile metal you need to cut. And then you could have one shear with four different profiles with the ability to cut four different profiles. And again, all of our tools are 100% guaranteed American made tools and provide a very quick and clean cut.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love it. And I mean, I'm just listening to you and I'm thinking the growth of metal is... I mean, stone-coated steel, it's just off the charts in its growth, and then all metal roofing, I mean, we just got the stats back from the Metal Roofing Alliance and has 18% share of residential roofing at this point, and it's growing every year. So you're in the right spot with the right tools to really help contractors add that to their business or make their business even better if they're already using it.

Morgan Jakosa: Yes, absolutely. It's such an exciting time for Swenson, I could tell you because getting so many calls and emails and people, word of mouth goes so far. So although we're a small family owned business, it just word of mouth has just taken off. And so we're getting calls all the time like, "Hey, my neighbor down the road has your machine," or, "I saw this thing on the highway, where can I get one?" And we're getting a lot of questions like that. And so it's just such a great feeling that we're on the map. We're a small company, but we're on the map, and people just absolutely love the tools. And my goal for 2023 and 2024 is just to reach as many roofing contractors as possible and just get the tools in front of them so they could have a better understanding of what the tool can do for them and their business and what level it could take their business to. And just if I just have that chance just to show them what our tools can do, so they'll thank me later.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, I agree. I mean, I think a lot of times, as we all know, it's just about getting it in your hands and being able to see how great it works. And I kind of want to revisit just a little bit too American made tools and your commitment to quality, I mean to the quality tools. Just talk about that for just a little bit.

Morgan Jakosa: Yes, absolutely. So we really pride ourselves on that. So even when things got tough over the last couple of years for everybody and everyone was kind of going through their own hardship and you saw these different businesses and what they were doing to make ends meet, we just stood our ground and we thought, "We pride ourselves on American made, so we're not going to cut any corners. We're sticking with that." And so we did. We have one manufacturing shop, one plant in central California, and we build everything from the ground up here. So the only thing that's outsourced is we do get our dies heat treated, but that's only so that they hold for many, many years over time. And then of course the powder coating, which we are next year, bringing in house, but for now, that's the only thing that's sent out. So final process of the equipment, but other than that, it's built from the ground up here and we don't cut any corners. We pride ourselves on that. And in fact, what's interesting is we don't have a parts department at Swenson Shear because we don't need one.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow.

Morgan Jakosa: Nobody calls for parts because once you use our equipment, if something were to ever, let's say fall off or whatever may happen on the job site, we could send a part, but we very rarely do. And so most companies would have a parts department you're constantly selling parts, and we're not. Once you purchase our machine, I probably won't hear from you for several years until you're ready to buy another set of notchers or a different tool.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. Until you're ready to grow your business.

Morgan Jakosa: Exactly. Yes. Yes. Exactly.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love it. Okay, so where can contractors purchase the SnapTable PRO Hyper-Lite and all of you tools?

Morgan Jakosa: Yes. So first of all, if you'd like to learn more, you could visit our website at www.swensonshear.com. We have all the information there. You could click on standing seam and you could see the different tools that we offer for standing seam snap-lock profiles. And then you could also give us a call at (877) 588-748. Option one is my direct line. I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you have. Right now, just to kind of give you an idea, we are so prepared for building seasons. So we actually have some of these machines in stock, so we're doing our best to keep them in stock to keep up with roofing contractors that call and they need them same day. We do get that, believe it or not. So we are prepared for those calls. So give us a call, let us know what panel profile you need the machine set up for, and we would be more than happy to get one sent your way.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love it. I love it. It's so easy. And of course, you can find all this information on both Roofers Coffee Shop and Metal Coffee Shop in your directory too. So if you're listening to this and you want to get some of that more information, rewind and listen again to Morgan or go onto the directory and you can see all the great articles, videos, profiles. It is pretty amazing. And Morgan, you talked about this a little bit earlier that you will provide... I love the fact that you use FaceTime and people are FaceTiming you and you're doing it right there in your shop and showing them. But what are some of the training prerequisites or opportunities that you can offer to contractors?

Morgan Jakosa: I'm going to be honest with you. I say this to them as well. Once you get your hands on the machine, just run a panel through and just kind of play around with the machine and everything will come natural. It's being that it's so user-friendly, I think it looks overwhelming, but once you run your panel through the machine and then you do the second panel, all of a sudden you get the hang of it, and by the third or fourth panel, it's just self-explanatory. You're just moving your panel through the middle of the machine and you're letting the machine do the work for you.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Jesus. Great.

Morgan Jakosa: Yeah, so it's meant to be used as a tool. Don't be afraid to use it. Just run the panel through, go through the process of notching, cutting, hemming, and do that a few times and you'll get the hang of it. We do have 24/7 customer service though, so if you get a machine, and we're on the West Coast, so I get calls at 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 in the morning, and that's okay.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow.

Morgan Jakosa: Yeah, so we're here all the time. I got texts over the weekends, customers that prefer texting and they're asking questions and they're wanting to hear from other roofing contractors, and they want to know where the training lies and how they could get additional help. So we always start with the YouTube videos. Once you purchase the machine, we have some how-to videos, and then of course you'll have my contact information for any questions you have, and at any point of the day, I could hop out to the shop and get on a machine and answer the questions by running it with you. And then of course from there, if additional help is needed and you want to have one of our employees fly out and visit your location, we could absolutely plan that as well.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That's great. That's great. Sometimes it is nice when you have the whole crew there and you're on the job and just making sure that they can get up and rolling really quick.

Morgan Jakosa: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: It sounds like it's pretty easy to understand and to use.

Morgan Jakosa: It really is. It absolutely is. And as long as I feel like the more common questions we get are, "Am I doing this right?" They're nervous, right? It's like as long as the male notcher is matching with the male leg and the female with the female, and then when you swap those to go down the other side of the roof as long as your panel is facing the right direction, then you're set. Everything locks into place for you to hold it at that particular roof pitch. And then of course, we have access to any videos. The videos are really short, 20, 30 seconds, and once they watch those, they get it. Yeah.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. It's easy. And there's always FaceTime.

Morgan Jakosa: Absolutely. At any time. Yes.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Always FaceTime. Although three in the morning, Morgan, I'm telling you...

Morgan Jakosa: I know it.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Living on the West Coast like we both do, I know we kind of work different hours.

Morgan Jakosa: Yes. Yes. Yes. My hours are all over the place, but very happy to do it, especially once you hear their response and how grateful they are for your always being available right on the spot. It makes it all worthwhile.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That is so great. That's so great. Well, thank you so much. Thank you for being on this. I've learned so much today. I think everyone is going to be... they're going to be listening to this too because you're a natural and thank you. You're just amazing.

Morgan Jakosa: Thank you. Thank you, Heidi. I appreciate you having me.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Oh, I appreciate you so much and appreciate everyone who's listening. Be sure to check out Swenson Shear on Metal Coffee Shop and on Roofers Coffee Shop, their directory, their articles, the videos that we're talking about, and be sure to then get to the YouTube and get this machine. I'm telling you, it's going to change all of your lives. This is really important. So one last time, Morgan, thank you so much.

Morgan Jakosa: Thank you. Have a wonderful day.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Thank you. And thank you all for listening. Be sure to catch all of our Metal Casts and our roofing road trips under the navigation RLW on both sites or on your favorite podcast channel. Be sure to subscribe and get notifications. And for Metal Cast, we're on YouTube, so be sure you set those notifications, ring the bell, and watch all of the Metal Cast and metal talks that are coming out. We'll be seeing you next time on Metal Cast.