Aluminum Roof Manufacturing Business Ideas: How to Start an Aluminum Roof Manufacture Business

Real-estate investment is perhaps one of the most lucrative investment opportunities today. Property has always appreciated in time giving the investor good returns for his money.

Real estate is about housing and every house needs a solid roof. This is where aluminum roofing sheets come into the picture.

 They are classy, contemporary and trending and they come in various unique shapes, colors and dimensions. The business is capital intensive and requires lots of machinery and experienced staff. You can make lots of money investing in roofing.

Construction and refurbishing work on new and existing building is always ongoing. This is because roofs are constantly repaired and replaced in buildings. The high demand for roofs makes aluminum roofs a lucrative business.

Here are a few requirements before starting your  Business.

Invest in a Large Warehouse

To get started you need to build, buy or hire a large warehouse. The warehouse should have adequate space for equipment, storage, administrative office and loading dock. The length, volume and size of the sheets require ample space for molding, cutting and storage.

  

Focus on one Sector

You need to decide if you will concentrate only on the production of roofing sheets or take roofing contracts. If you run a small roofing sheet manufacturing company you can include roofing contracts in your list of services.

Larger companies because of the high demand concentrate only on roofing sheet manufacturing aspect of the business. Roofing contractors specialize in either industrial roofing or residential jobs.

Industrial roofers concentrate on roofs for shopping complex, warehouses and large malls. While residential roofers build roofs for bungalows, sheds and houses.

Aluminum sheets are not the only material used by roofing contractors. A few materials also used for roofing are asbestos, slates, metal sheets, cut wood and clay roofing.

Other material are corrugated aluminum sheets, roof tiles, and zinc sheets They are very effective in keeping out the elements however aluminum roofs are better.

It is light weight, durable and elegant when used on buildings. They also come in a wide Verity of colors, designs, sizes and shapes.
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Training

The equipment's you use in your factory needs proper handling. You need trained staff with expert knowledge to handle the production process. Even after operations have commenced you do retraining of key staff members.

Types of equipment used in Producing Aluminum Roofing Sheets

One of the heavy machinery used in the production of  roofing sheets is the long-span roof corrugated machine.  Major manufacturers use high speed roll former machine and corrugated machine with advance mental roll. The machine has a decoiler, roll forming system, cutter, sheet guider, hydraulic system and a support table.

Other equipment used is the curving machine, metal processing equipment for longspan aluminum including the color coating machine.

Machine Specifications Include Some of the Following

The machines use galvanized steel sheets in coils, repainted galvanized sheets and other sheets. The common hydraulic decoiler has a maximum capacity of 5000KGS and a hydraulic station power. Other things are electrical requirements, a control panel and different material specifications.

Write a Feasibility Study

You need to write a good feasibility study before starting your roofing business. The feasibility study is an open assessment of the practicality of the business or project.

The main aim is to cover strengths and weaknesses that exist in roofing business in your locality. You need to measure the readily available raw materials and resources to determine the prospect of success in your chosen business.

The two major parameters to judge your study are the total cost and value. Design your study to highlight historical precedence of the business, product development and service rendered.

Other objectives are accounting, operations, management research, financial data, legal, taxation and marketing research. You now see why getting a proper feasibility study is so important to the success of your business venture.

Another reason why it is so important is that it helps evaluate the projects potential for success. The credibility of the study has the potential to attract much needed investors and financial lending.

We have established that manufacturing is capital intensive so you need adequate funding to start-up the business. Financial institutions like banks will provide loans on the strength of your report.

Things to add in your feasibility report

1             Technical assessment based on project completion,  equipment and trained staff

2             Economic assessment covers qualifications, cost and benefit analysis

3             Legal requirements that comply with local provisions and laws

4             Operational measures problem solving, analysis and system development. This includes environmental concerns, schedules, corporate structure and delivery date.

5             Schedule feasibility covers how long it takes to get into production

6             Market and real estate feasibility determines geographical location, local market requirements and best location for your roof manufacturing company

7             Resource feasibility covers availability of raw materials, developmental procedures and company revenue.

8             Financial feasibility revolves around financial visibility, total start-up estimate, capital structures, existing investment, projected cash flow and liquidity of assets. Others are funding sources and repayment of loans.

You can also consider cost fluctuations and inflation in your calculations.

Marketing

You need to have an effective marketing and sales plan. Try to factor in the potential for growth and project development.

 Marketing is essential to reach potential clients and contractors. The quality of your product and services is the best marketing tool you have.

You can use referrals, warranties and discounts to get more clients on board.  Special promotional packages are a good strategy to market your roofing products.

Build confidence in your brand and watch your profit increase exponentially. To successfully market your businesses you need a strong marketing team or hire professional advertisement networks.

The more quality products and marketing you do the stronger you brand and reputation. You need a good marketing strategy and a list of actions.

The list of actions should have specific marketing objectives within a certain time frame. To succeed you need to first identify your customer base and meet their needs.

The marketing strategy should cover sales, referrals, forecasts, budget and actual sales. You need to know the strengths and weakness of your business or product to better align it with the expectations of your customers.

The plan needs to forecast market size, strengths of new and existing products and expenditure. Get your marketing plan right and your business will grow exponentially in a few short years.

Your company needs lots of sales representatives that go to aluminum wholesale and retailers for business. They can visit construction sites and anywhere building renovation takes place.

Provide a holistic package that includes discounts and warranties to aid your sales representatives. Sales representatives generally earn income as commissions on products sold.

Certification

Your business needs lots of certification and registration. Registration involves company registration as a limited liability company including share holders and company structure.

Certification covers permits to operate your roofing business and other environmental concerns. Other certification involves safety protocol, profession membership in related groups and staff training.

Others might involve quality of raw materials used and other local government requirements. Get familiar with all the registration, membership and certification needed before starting your roofing business.

Financials

You need lots of money to start the business. You can source funding through business loans. The loan can be asset based for collateral and recommended on your present account balance.

Another method of getting funds is selling equity in your company to prospective investors. You can use mezzanine financing to borrow money from banks without putting up collateral.

It is highly unlikely that the loan collected from a commercial bank is unsecured. Banks need security so they will demand such to cover debts.

You can also try a partnership agreement or secure a core investor. Even a small aluminum roofing business will set you back over $100,000.

Capital investment in setting up the business is high but the benefits are huge.

Sales and Delivery

You need an administrative building to handle sales and delivery. The customer’s first contact should be a highly trained receptionist/secretary.

She answers enquirers from customers over the phone and calls a sales manager to take orders. Once the orders are taken the customer proceeds to the cashier and pays for the goods.

He then presents the invoice to the secretary who files it. The cashier should have her own copy which is then sent to the delivery unit. You need to put in place an effective system to monitor sales and delivery.

Not every company includes delivery in their services. However, having one will aid your business and make additional income.

You receptionist should also have a complete portfolio of your products and services.

Pricing

Your roofing sheets must have competitive pricing in the market. Study the price list of competitors and see if you can do better.

All elements like electricity, labor and price of raw materials go into pricing your product. Try to maintain a competitive price to succeed in the enterprise.

You can use warranties, discounts, and price adjustments to set prices. Offer fifteen year warrantee instead of the usual ten years window to attract customers.

Networking

Aluminum manufacturers have strong associations to monitor pricing and work ethnics. You need to join any associations in your locality including national association.

The professional bodies related  to products, construction and sales will provide lots of information and support. Build viable connections through networking at business gatherings and seminars.

This way you will stay abreast of the game and learn new innovations as they occur in the industry. Networking attracts people in your industry like building construction companies and Realtor's

You get to meet lots of major wholesalers and retailers of your product. The major advantage of networking is that it gets you closer to prospective clients and business partners.

Branding

Create a powerful and unique brand and stand out from your competitors. You brand includes a good name, high quality products and prompt delivery.

A top brand is equivalent to money in the bank. Starting an aluminum roofing business is no child’s play but following some suggestions in this publication can get you up and running.

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