Meet Seabass
I am Bit of a hard name to get your tongue around. Friends call me Sab, Basti, Uncle Awesome, but don’t call me Sea Bass.
Friends will also tell you that I am really proud of what we have created here at Armadura. The Armadura Metal Roof was born at a time of some pretty big challenges. When the recession of 2008 hit, all of Nahanni Steel’s customers were automotive. Do you remember what happened to the automotive sector? Right, massive bailout because it was in serious trouble. And guess what, we were little (compared to GM) so not so much of a bailout for us.
We worked hard, stayed afloat, supported our workers and their families with good jobs. This was not only the family business it was a place that provided good jobs to people in our community. It was the place I had worked at since I was a kid.
But it scared me. I wanted more control over my future. I did not want to be 100% tied to the auto companies. So, we started to research other businesses. Industries where we could bring our knowledge of steel to the benefit of the consumer. One of the interesting things about being a supplier to the auto business is that you need to become ISO certified. It is something we are very proud of. But why should you care? Here is why. When you manufacture to that level everything that comes out of your plant has to be perfect. PERFECT. You are audited every year to check that you are maintaining this level of quality. The other thing you need to be able to do is create metal parts that fit together perfectly. Everytime. So we wanted to find an industry where we could bring our knowledge and expertise and elevate the craftsmanship.
When we started to look around we saw metal parts that were poorly made with terrible fit and finish. Frankly, I was appalled. And there was no industry that was worse than the steel roofing business. How the shingles were made, how they fit together and how it was all installed made no sense. We could never make something this poorly. Frankly, if we did, we would lose our ISO certification and then all of our customers. I know to the roofing industry that this “sounds like fightin words.” But it was time for a change.
In 2010 we invested almost $2 million and developed the Armadura Metal Roof System. I am not going to bore you with the direct to deck and integrated tab details. The sales guys can help you with that.
But we needed to be sure it was amazing. So we tested the crap out of it. We now, also get audited several times a year by UL to certify we stand up to wind, hail and fire.
And it also needed to look good. It is an expensive product. So it needed to look good for a long time – 50 years to be exact. So we textured the metal to look and feel like real mountain slate..
I am so proud of what we built. We developed the best metal shingle on the planet. Or my name is not Sebastijan Zupanec. Just don’t call me Sea Bass.