Roll Your Own Steel Roofing

Roll Your Own Steel Roofing BUILDINGS Miscellaneous When Glenn Eggmeyer went shopping for barn roofing 30 years ago he unexpectedly discovered a new business to get into Today he not only rolls and sells steel roofing but he also makes and sells rolling machines “I was building a barn at the time and was amazed how expensive the roofing was ” says Eggmeyer “I found a guy who bought discounted steel and rolled it with a crude roller It was powered with a Volkswagen motor using wheel rims to make the ribs He had it set up in a parking lot and was selling roofing like crazy ” Eggmeyer who farmed at the time bought the fellow out and got into the business Over the next 30 years he cut back on farming and increased his rolled steel business He also replaced that first machine with new machines he designed himself “I found out that steel roofing was more lucrative than crops ” says Eggmeyer “The mark-up depends on the type of raw material you get Some are real low-priced due to defects while some may be close to prime steel prices ” The type of defect can differ substantially he adds Perhaps a paint roller had a speck on it that in turn left unpainted specs the length of a roll of steel Rejected for its intended use it may be severely discounted in price yet still fine for use as roofing “The worst defects are called bell coils ” explains Eggmeyer “When the steel gets rolled up initially an edge may rub and curl a little on one side and by the time 6 more inches have been rolled there is a big lip on one side ” Eggmeyer purchases bell coil rolls at significant discounts It’s labor intensive but can produce a large profit margin he adds In addition to his rolling machines he also builds and sells machines to slit the bell coil edge off as it’s unrolled Another common defect occurs when a coil of material gets out of round While large commercial equipment may need a coil that fits a standard diameter mandrel Eggmeyer built a horizontal uncoiler It pulls steel off that is otherwise prime quality but won’t fit a mandrel Eggmeyer sells his steel roller machines for $20 000 to $35 000 depending on the coil width and number of ribs to be made plus options such as hydraulic cut off shears Eggmeyer admits that a high volume commercial steel rolling machine can roll enough steel to roof a large barn in 10 min while one of his might take an hour However volume comes at a price “A commercial roller machine sells for $100 000 to $250 000 ” explains Eggmeyer “For a small operation my machines are fast enough You can roll and cut the roofing for a barn and make decent money even buying prime steel without getting into secondary ” Eggmeyer builds machines that will corrugate flat metal from 27-in 41-in or 48-in wide coils of 29 ga standard for barn roofs or 26 ga commercial strength roofing He can build machines to roll even 24 ga but machine and material get costly One of his latest machines was built to accommodate all Amish gentlemen and uses a 10-hp diesel motor and a manual clutch to power it “A lot of people think about getting into the business but they don’t know where to buy the material ” says Eggmeyer “I can provide both the machines and help them get the material to roll ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Steel Depot P O Box 176 Jasper Mo 64755 ph 417 394-2507; steeldepot@live com

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.