Metal roofs are popping up all over the place. They are becoming increasingly popular throughout Geauga County on new construction or to cover failing shingle roofs.
Metal roofs are popping up all over the place.
They are becoming increasingly popular throughout Geauga County on new construction or to cover failing shingle roofs.
Planning to supply contractors in Northeast Ohio with steel roofing and siding, Premier Metals, a Sugarcreek company, has invested in a large, new production facility in Middlefield Township.
The building, more than 45,000 square feet on 30 acres, is located on Madison Road south of the state Route 608 intersection.
Grass is starting to grow around the site and on Oct. 6, the office space was being visited by IT people working on the computer system. The slate-colored, steel-sided structure runs parallel to the road.
“It’s basically a copy of our plant in Sugarcreek,” said Freeman Byler, plant manager, during a tour of the facility.
The company has big plans for the new facility, including separate office and administration space on the large parcel in a few years, he said.
Byler started a plant tour on the south end of the building where production begins.
The stamping machine produces standing seam and seamless panels in 42 colors, cut to whatever length the customer orders, Byler said.
The panels are shrink-wrapped and organized on the bright racks to wait for trucks to pick them up and take them to the jobsite, he said.
On the north side of the plant, tall racks hold various pieces of trim, ridge caps and drip edges in a variety of colors. Accessories and screws are stocked nearby with semi-truck-sized doors providing easy access for delivery and collection of materials.
Although Byler’s main customers are builders, he said do-it-yourselfers are welcome, as well.
Premier Metals in Middlefield is the third plant opened by Lamar Troyer. Troyer worked with JD Metals in Chuckey, Tenn., then brought this expertise home to Sugarbush to start his own metal roofing and siding company in 2007, according to the company website.
He also opened a plant in Loudonville and is now expanding the business to include the fabricating plant in Middlefield, Byler said, adding he is impressed with Troyer’s customer-based culture.
“I’ve been very grateful to become acquainted with Lamar. He’s very, very committed to taking care of the customers and us,” he said.
A Middlefield native, Byler said he came to work for Troyer on the recommendation of a friend. After gaining experience with a local roofing company, he spent seven years in the Mennonite mission field. When the opportunity to work for Troyer came up, he took it.
The project started last summer, but delays caused by permitting and weather have put them behind by some months.
“Our dream was to be operational in the spring,” Byler said.
He expects to fill local contractor orders originally fielded by the Sugarcreek plant. “There’s customers waiting for us to open,” he said.
The demand is there. Homeowners understand that metal roofs are durable, low maintenance and fire and rot resistant, said Dmitry Lipinsky, producer of “Roofing Insights” on YouTube.
Byler said it has been exciting to be involved in the construction of Premier Metals in Middlefield and his seven employees are ready to begin production.
The process starts with coils of flat steel that are trucked in from Wheeling, W.Va. and stacked along the wall, waiting to become roofs or siding.
Material shortages have been a problem far and wide and Premier Metals is no exception.
“We have faced some of that this year,” Byler said. “Its possible foreign steel will begin to flow this way.”
While installing a metal roof is more expensive than using shingles, the life of a steel roof can be 50 years or more, while shingles usually need to be replaced every 20 years, with the cost of materials and labor going up every year, Lipinsky said.
Byler said his steel panels have a rust-through warranty of 40 years, but actual costs of installation are a matter determined by the contractor and the customer.
“With the recent rise in metal prices, I suspect a metal roof now costs more than shingles. But the longevity and maintenance comparisons usually favor metal roof installation” he said.
ANN WISHART/KMG
Premier Metals in Middlefield Plant Manager Freeman Byler displays the output end of the metal siding and roofing fabricating machine in the new plant on Madison Road. He and his employees are ready to begin production soon.
ANN WISHART/KMG
Premier Metals in Middlefield is setting up to produce stamped seamless and standing seam steel roofs and siding in the new facility on Madison Road.
