Preparing to enter the coatings sector

By Emma Peterson.

Get practical tips and information about what to expect when expanding your business offerings to include coating systems.  

In this episode of our Read Listen Watch® (RLW) webinar, Megan Ellsworth sat down with Luis Ramos and Nick Doran of MuleHide. Luis has been in the larger roofing industry for over two decades, making the move over to MuleHide in 2011. Nick has worked with MuleHide for over six years now and has experience in both the cold markets as a territory manager of eastern Michigan and the hot temperatures in his current role managing the Central and South Texas territory. When asked about what up-front costs contractors can expect when entering the coatings industry, there were two big areas Luis and Nick focused on: tools and training.  

Getting the right tools

One of the first points Nick made is that there isn’t a huge equipment-based barrier to entering the coatings world. He explained, “Oftentimes these projects are being installed with nothing more than an extension pole, a roller flank, a roller frame and a three-quarter inch nap roller, perhaps some squeegees, but that is about it. Maybe some chip brushes or something of that nature.”  

There are still some products and equipment that Nick and Luis recommend contractors invest in. Nick gave some examples, sharing, “There's even kind of a middle ground. There's some spray equipment, some spreaders, a kind of a larger roller I would say that you pour material into, and you can spread it out in a wider area in one pass, but ultimately, it’s still not a major investment.” And the main tool that they recommended is one that contractors and installers often don’t even need to buy themselves. Nick shared, “The most important piece of equipment is a wet mil gauge. This is something that many manufacturers provide for you and, regardless of how you install these coatings, using this little tool for measuring the amount of product is key to the success.”

Training the right team

When it comes to a successful coatings project, training is key. Luis explained, “Virtually anybody can get into this by buying a roller, attach it to a stick, a squeegee and a couple of chip brushes. The investment is minimal, but the danger is that virtually anybody can do it and very quickly do it incorrectly and waste that investment.” One of the best places to get the training your team needs to succeed is through manufacturers like MuleHide.  

At MuleHide, the training they provide to contractors installing their products is often free of charge! Luis shared, “At MuleHide, we encourage contractors to take the time, whether it's walking the roof for an hour or going to one of our training seminars for maybe a couple of hours to get the proper training.” This includes not only learning the sequence of applying products, but also the timing and quantity. Luis once again emphasized why MuleHide invests so much into offering accessible training to coatings professionals, adding, “The best way to set the expectation of getting a good result is simply to get the foundation to get the training, whether it's on the job training that Nick and I provide or at a seminar. That’s how you minimize the risk of doing something that's going to cost more money and more time later.”

Read the transcript, Listen to the full conversation or Watch the episode to get more information about the tools and training needed to succeed in the coatings sector.