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BiTec Live from New Orleans at IRE!

Bitec Live from IRE
March 5, 2022 at 6:00 a.m.

Joel Shealey from BiTec shows off how light their new ELASTOPAV product is at the RoofersCoffeeShop® soundstage. 

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of an interview with Joel Shealey, VP of operations at BiTec. You can read the interview below or watch the recorded livestream.

Karen Edwards: Hello everybody and welcome back to the RoofersCoffeeShop sound stage at the 2022 International Roofing Expo in New Orleans! I am Karen Edwards, your host for the day. And I am really excited to welcome Joel from BiTec. Welcome! 

Joel Shealey: Thank you. I appreciate it. 

Karen Edwards: Wow. How's the show been for you? 

Joel Shealey: It's actually pretty good. I was a little cautious that we're a little worried about today with the weather going up north, but there's a lot of people here and we've had a lot of really good interactions. 

Karen Edwards: It's warm down here, right? 

Joel Shealey: Yes. Yes. It's not bad. 

Karen Edwards: So Joel, tell me and our viewers what you do there at BiTec. 

Joel Shealey: So BiTec is a modified bitumen producer. So we produce APP and SBS roofing membranes. We recently have kind of it's on a theme of BTEC 2.0. And so back in November, we announced our coding line with Heidi. So we've expanded our Imper-Sol™ coating line with three different products, an acrylic, a silicone, and a SEBS line. 

Karen Edwards: Nice. 

Joel Shealey: And this week, we've actually rolled out what we're calling our ELASTOPAV flashing compound line and sealants. So we've brought these guys out. It's a one part moisture cured product. 

Karen Edwards: Nice. ELASTO...PAV! 

Joel Shealey: Yes. 

Karen Edwards: PAV. 

Joel Shealey: PAV. 

Karen Edwards: PAV. PAV. Elasto-PAV. 

Joel Shealey: Yes. 

Karen Edwards: Wow. 

Joel Shealey: So one part moisture cured. One of the nice things we like to say is if you're the roofer and you're going up to do a repair or do a flashing on a roof- 

Karen Edwards: I can carry it! 

Joel Shealey: Exactly. It's not a three- or five-gallon bucket to go up there. And it's kind of everything in a pouch. We've also got a sealant to go with it. 

Karen Edwards: So is the product itself new or is it just the packaging? 

Joel Shealey: The product itself is new. 

Karen Edwards: Oh, all right. 

Joel Shealey: As we said, we were on this theme of BiTec 2.0, we've got more things in the hopper. 

Karen Edwards: It keeps rolling out. 

Joel Shealey: It does. 

Karen Edwards: Wow. So we'll be hearing more at the next show, I'm sure. 

Joel Shealey: Absolutely. Absolutely. It should be by then. Yes. 

Karen Edwards: Wow. Okay. Well you did a very good job describing what you do. How long has BiTec been manufacturing these products and solutions? 

Joel Shealey: So we've been in business for 35 years. And my father actually started the business. And he wanted to be here, but unfortunately with, a little age and a little COVID, we just said, "He's probably not going to make that trip." 

Karen Edwards: Yeah, understandable. 

Joel Shealey: But we've really always focused on our quality and it's kind of, we take about premium quality waterproofing, or when quality matters. We've been very consistent in our production in that we don't vary that. We want it to be like it was when we brought it over from Italy, back in the eighties. 

Karen Edwards: Right. 

Joel Shealey: So that's one thing that's really different about our products compared to some others. It's going to be back like it was when you first started using it. 

Karen Edwards: And it lasts a long time. Right? The good old, trusted and tried and true and proven. 

Joel Shealey: It definitely does. 

Karen Edwards: So tell me a little bit about with all this stuff coming out, you must have quite a focus on R&D and developing new solutions and innovations, what's that process? Without giving away any secrets, what's that look like for your company? 

Joel Shealey: We've got us some really good partners that we work with. And so that really helps. I'm not bashful, I'm not afraid to walk around the show floor and see if there's something that somebody else has that I'd borrow. 

Karen Edwards: A good idea.  

Joel Shealey: But at the same time, we've got some people that are really good at what they do and working on some of this stuff behind the scenes. For us, it's a lot of times, “what else would go with our systems well?” So we're trying to look for what else adds to the product line we've got. 

Karen Edwards: So you can kind of be a complete solution for a contractor. 

Joel Shealey: Correct. Correct. 

Karen Edwards: If I was a contractor and I wanted to start installing your systems, what do I do? 

Joel Shealey: So we do have an authorized applicator program. To do warranty work with us, you'd have to complete that application process, send it into us, the insurance requirements, of course, that's there. And then we'd go through the interview process and get somebody set up to be an authorized applicator and get them going to town. 

Karen Edwards: And what about training support? All that's kind of standard? 

Joel Shealey: Standard stuff. I mean, we brought in quite a few groups even this last year, even during some of the COVID times to our plant and did some training as well as plant tours and got a lot of people to see another side of BiTec. Additionally, our crews are out doing demos and training throughout our distribution partners. So we're out there. The second one of the year is next week, I believe. 

Karen Edwards: Wow. Second one of the year and it's only February 2nd. 

Joel Shealey: Yes. 

Karen Edwards: Six more weeks of winter, by the way, is what I heard. 

Joel Shealey: Yes. Yes. 

Karen Edwards: Where are you located? Where's your plant? 

Joel Shealey: We are in Morrilton, Arkansas. So that's about 40 minutes kind of Northwest of Little Rock, right along I-40. So if you've ever driven along that stretch of I-40, you've rode right past us. 

Karen Edwards: You've probably seen BiTec. 

Joel Shealey: Yes. 

Karen Edwards: Wow. So you're seeing a lot of contractors here at the show, obviously. What are the conversations that you're having with them? Are they looking for? Because there are material challenges, so most contractors want to have options, right? 

Joel Shealey: Yes. They do. 

Karen Edwards: Is that what you're hearing? 

Joel Shealey: Definitely. And I mean, I want to say this product that we just rolled out, this ELASTOPAV, we rolled it out to our sales team at our annual sales meeting last week. I had an order before the week was over for this. 

Karen Edwards: Wow. 

Joel Shealey: So, I mean, this has been a product that's been having a lot of attraction at our booth. As always, our metal and tile product, our MAT-40 is a premium product that gains a lot of attention. So we've got a lot of people with that, as well as because of some of the shortages that we're seeing in some of the other low slope roofing products, there seems to be a real renewed push back to modify bitumen. 

Karen Edwards: Yeah. It seems to be like what's old is new again. 

Joel Shealey: Exactly. It's available and it's a great product and we're really seeing people come back to it. People can get it. So right now, do you wait 10 months to dry in a building? Or do you get it dried in? 

Karen Edwards: That's a good point. So, wow. Thank you for sharing that insight. It's available. It's here. And like I said, it's tried and true. It's been around for many, many, many years. 

Joel Shealey: Yes, absolutely. 

Karen Edwards: So if someone's coming to the show, where do they find you? What's your booth number? 

Joel Shealey: We are 2519. 

Karen Edwards: 2519. That's a good spot. Kind of right in the middle of the floor. 

Joel Shealey: It is. 

Karen Edwards: So please come by, see them. Check this out because you'll want to pick it up for yourself, I'm telling you. It's not that heavy. It is a little heavy, but not that heavy. 

Joel Shealey: No, not bad. 

Karen Edwards: It's not a five-gallon bucket or three-gallon bucket. 

Joel Shealey: Put that in a backpack with a brush and go climb a ladder. 

Karen Edwards: Go right on up. So thank you for being here and sharing all this information. If you're not going to be able to be at the show and you can't get by, just visit BiTec’s directory  on RoofersCoffeeShop.com, it has all the information. I hope we have this up there. If not, we need to get a photo and need to get some information put up there so our visitors can learn more about it. And we'll be broadcasting throughout the day from the show. So be sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel. Ring that bell so you get the notifications when we go live. And we'll see you soon. 

Joel Shealey: Thank you. 

Karen Edwards: Thanks.

Learn more about Bitec in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit bi-tec.com.



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