Ryan King - CIDAN Opens their Doors - PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

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

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Hello and welcome to another Metal Cast from Metal Coffee Shop. My name is Heidi Ellsworth and I'm heading on Southeast over into the center of the country to meet with my very dear friend, Ryan King with CIDAN Machinery Group. Ryan, hello and welcome to Metal Cast.

Ryan King: Hello, how are you?

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I am good. I am good. I'm really excited to hear your big news. I know you have some big events coming up here, but before we get to that, why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about CIDAN Machinery Group.

Ryan King: Sure. So my name as you said is Ryan King. I'm the national sales manager for CIDAN, mostly focusing on the architectural and roofing industries. Been with the company now almost four years with about 10 or so years in the roofing and cladding industries. CIDAN's been around since 1907, manufacturing all sorts of machinery. But in the past 40 or 50 years, it's really been a focus on CNC folders, shears, coil lines, automation and software. Really appreciate you guys having us on, and always a pleasure talking to you.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Oh, it's always fun, especially when you have some pretty exciting things happening. Kind of talk about CIDAN and its overall international and kind of how that all fits in.

Ryan King: Yeah, so we are definitely a global company, our headquarters in Götene, Sweden with additional factories with Thalmann being in Switzerland and Forstner, which is based out of Austria. Here in the US, all of our North American sales service operations are based out of Peachtree City, Georgia, suburb of Atlanta. But yeah, going back to your point about the US and beyond the global company, yeah, we really are everywhere. We have machines. I worked with a customer in Sao Paulo a year ago. We have one of our Thalmann machines going down to Mexico in the next few months, and actually one to Chile. But of course our biggest market in the Western hemisphere, of course, is the US and Canada, that's obviously our core markets here. And being in the Atlanta area with having Atlanta airport, especially as a resource to us, we can really cover the entire country very easily from here. We do have some technicians that are spread out throughout the country, but all of our operations, sales, support, everything comes from here in Peachtree City, Georgia.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Wow, that's excellent. What do you see in the market? I mean, it seems like starting up sheet metal shops or growing them, it just seems like there's a huge amount of activity. So, what are you seeing?

Ryan King: Yeah, I think there's two main answers to that. I think number one, that metal has grown beyond just people thinking of it as a barn or thinking about as this big warehouse or something. I think that was oh, that's what metal's for, that's where it uses it, no one uses anywhere else. But everything from in coastal areas, especially Florida for example, where metal has much better wind and hail and storm resistance, it's grown a lot there. The rise of barndominiums, and those type structures have blown up. I think that is a big part of why ourselves and the industry as a whole has really grown. The second thing I would say to our growth, again, the industry's growth is that automation, labor is still a tough subject in our country and beyond. So, letting people be able to do more with less is a big reason. We've seen more and more automation and that sort of thing take off. So, it's tough to point at any one thing, but I would say those are two big areas to what I think has helped us in the industry grow.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, and we're seeing tons of growth. Okay. So, you are planning a great event down at your manufacturing plant and you're going to be having an open house. So, tell us about that.

Ryan King: Back during 2020, 2021 where shows were canceled, they were indefinitely postponed and that sort of thing, we said we still want to do something, and do something for our customers, bring people in to see us. So the open house, which is April 25th, 27th, so the end of April, we'll have most of our architectural machines set up and running will be doing training and advanced training with some of our existing customers that hey, they want to talk to some of our applications managers and such. And they might know how to run the machine pretty well, but maybe some more advanced features or tips and tricks they can learn.

So, we'll be having the schedule's still not officially out for that yet. Hopefully in the next week or so, we'll be releasing a schedule for those more advanced trainings, and we'll be doing lunch and dinners with customers. We're working on some activities that we're going to do during the open house. So yeah, it's really just for anybody wanting to learn more, whether they're in the market for a machine or maybe it's something years down the road, but they want to learn more, so our doors are open and we'd love to have as many people that can come, come.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: These kind of educational opportunities where you can really get your hands. I mean, I love the fact that you're doing advanced training and that technicians can go there from sheet metal shops, from obviously roofing companies can go there and not only see how it's working, but actually get hands-on experience working the machines and some advanced training. Let's talk a little bit about that continuing education. I mean, I think that's just invaluable.

Ryan King: So yeah, when it comes to further training, there's just only so much we as humans can take in, in a couple of days to learn. So, I think most customers, they feel pretty good and they can run the machine how they imagine they can run it and how intended, but there's just only so much you can absorb in a few days of training. So, we figured this was something to help people to really become not just users of the machine, but experts at the machine.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Talk a little bit about that technology and what you have, and what can people see when they come to your open house.

Ryan King: Sure. So, we're a construction industry. We're a very blue collar industry, and it still amazes me how in 2023, we still do things very analog in our industry. And that's not everybody, but a lot of people we talk to they're still getting profile drawings on a napkin and then, is that a four or as even, or is that a six or a? And so, mistakes happen, it makes people to be less efficient. We're going to look back 20 years or something and say, wow, I can't believe it took that long to get more automated and to use technology more. But the funny thing is, I think as consumers, I know for me and many, it's like oh wait, that's not Amazon Prime and I can't get that two days. It's like, do I even want it?

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Ryan King: And I'm being a little dramatic I guess, but or even how about wait, I have to call somebody. I can't just add this to my cart and it'll ship to my door, or I can go pick it up. I have to actually talk to somebody. So, it's kind of just our industry I think, we've accepted not really moving the needle forward on a lot of different aspects. And it's coming I think whether people like it or not. And so, we're seeing more and more people look at our software and just software in general to be more efficient and less waste. And I think it's just only going to keep growing and expanding.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, and that software really, I mean, you can do all your designs in there, you're estimating, and then well, maybe not estimating, but definitely all the designs. And then it handles the cut or it tells you what to do with the folds, right?

Ryan King: Yeah, exactly. You draw a part and it'll then say, okay, this many pieces, at this width, this many bends. It can help with pricing, it can help with maximizing the, we have a part of the software, it's called nesting, where it looks at your coil, looks at your sheet and says, Ooh, actually you're doing a ridge cap and a corner. But actually, instead of doing all ridge caps in this cut, we can do rich cap, rich cap, corner corner, and now we have a 2% drop or wasted material instead of a 7% drop. And when you're talking about businesses who are spending millions of dollars on metal a year, 2%, that adds up. And then it obviously gets compounded with the labor costs and the time, and maybe somebody's doing it by hand. And so, it's a lot of things that can add up to a lot in productivity, as well as material and cost savings.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah.

Ryan King: It's changing the whole industry.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah.

Ryan King: Everything, like you're saying something like an eagle view or something like that where you can now get accurate measurements. I don't know the exact number, but it's pretty darn good. So, now taking that same idea from our aspect is, you know, can get a much more accurate number on say what the flashings and the trims are going to cost on that job. And a lot of times people leave it as an afterthought or they just throw a number from that they used last time and it could be different. So, it definitely enables you to take that information you have, whether it's a takeoff or a reroof with drone footage or something, and just be quicker and more accurate.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: We just did a Metal Cast or a Metal Talk with Chandler a little while ago talking about starting at your own sheet metal shop. So, there's a lot of companies out there who want to start their own sheet metal, or they want to bring a machine in and they want to start bending and breaking and all that good stuff, some of their own metal. So, for contractors who are thinking about this, talk about what can they expect, how can they learn more on starting a sheet metal shop, or at least even bringing a machine in when they go to your open house in April.

Ryan King: Sure. So of course, it depends on exactly what the customer is looking to do or what type of industry. For example, I would talk about different products and machinery for somebody say doing metal buildings versus somebody doing commercial roofing, for example. I think the biggest thing that a lot of people have, I'll see it in their faces, where an eyebrow raises or you kind of see that proverbial light bulb click, is that I think a lot of people think they need to spend hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars to get into making your own metal. We have customers that still might even buy big jobs out from a big sheet metal shop, but they still have their own say folder and shear so that they can supplement their work or smaller jobs, they don't have to go someplace else to get it.

But I think that's the biggest thing. People think they need this massive, massive investment. And I'm not saying it's 20 bucks, yeah these are machines, but I think it's a lot less of a jumping off point, especially when you already have a successful roofing business, for example. You already have cash flow, you already have customers, you already have yourself as a customer to buy the stuff you're going to make. So, I think that's the biggest one when people realize, oh, okay, basically one employee in a sheet metal shop, a couple machines and you have a sheet metal shop.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: And they can supplement the business, or you can start and just start selling to others.

Ryan King: Yeah.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: So, why is it really important for contractors to actually get hands on and see the machines in action?

Ryan King: Here we are talking on Zoom and Zoom's great. I know when we saw you at IRE and NF, it's different. First of all, just from that human interaction standpoint. We're also visual creatures. I've seen pictures of the Northern Lights and anybody who's ever told me that's seen the Northern Lights, they say the pictures, don't do it justice, you have to see it. And that might be a little bit more extreme example, but seeing is believing and seeing things actually work and not just seeing a video on a 2D screen, but wait, how does that work? Let me walk around the back of the machine and see how that works. Or let me really get up close to the control and see what's being programmed in to see how it works.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Right. And I think being able to actually work the machinery, contractors can see or people who are looking, or metal workers who are looking to start or grow their sheet metal shops, they can really see, Hey, this works. I understand it. I understand how it's going to work. I understand I can see it now. I can start seeing it how it's going to fit into my business. So, I mean I hang out at your guys' booth and watch all the machines break, and I love it. I love all of this, so I think it's really important. Okay. How can people attend and where do they register?

Ryan King: On our website, cidanmachinery.com. Actually, I think there's a banner right on the front page. If not, I know there's an events link on there. We really just asked for registration, so we know how much lunch to get. And at note, just have an idea of what to plan for. But yeah, there's a link right on our page. It is, of course, no cost to attend or anything like that. And yeah, that's it. It's just a basic form, name, information, email, that sort of thing.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: So, if you're looking for a machine or you're looking to get more education or you're looking to grow your business, whatever it may be, this is the place to do it. You can find all that information on the CIDAN Machinery directory, on Metal Coffee Shop, and on Roofers Coffee Shop also. So, you can find all that information there. Ryan, thank you. Very exciting. I'm excited to, we are not going to make it this year, but we will make it next year.

Ryan King: Awesome.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I'm super excited to hear about how it all goes, and I hope you all out there, make some plans, go to Atlanta. It's pretty, pretty, it's nice.

Ryan King: Yeah, come by. You can take a golf cart ride.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, go see it all. Okay. Well, Ryan, thank you again and we will be seeing you soon again.

Ryan King: Absolutely. Appreciate you having me, Heidi.

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Thank you. Thank you. And thank you everyone for attending and listening to this podcast, watching it on YouTube. Metal Cast is available throughout our site on Metal Coffee Shop. It's also on our YouTube channel and on your favorite podcast channels. So, be sure to subscribe and hit those notifications both on your podcast, favorite podcast channel and on YouTube. We'll be back next time with more from the Metal industry. We'll see you then.