Welcome to Success Stories, where we sit down with duct fabricators and sheet metal shops of all sizes for genuine conversations about how partnering with Mestek Machinery has impacted their operations. Watch the interview or read the transcript to learn how we help contractors find the right machinery and equipment solutions to boost their productivity and improve their business.

In this episode, we sat down with Rich Styles, Director of Manufacturing for Ventcon, Inc. in Troy, MI to discuss his relationship with Mestek Machinery and, specifically, how the investments Ventcon made in acquiring a number of Lockformer Spiral Tube Formers have helped them meet their customer’s demand and grow their business.

As you evaluate your operation’s equipment needs,  please remember that we’re always here to help. We’d love an opportunity to help you achieve your objectives so please don’t hesitate to reach out for a consultation. There’s absolutely no obligation — we’ll simply get some information about your operation and what you’re looking to do and see how we can help.

Meet the Customer

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How did you know you needed a spiral tube former?

Man, we started in Melvindale about a 15,000-20,000 SF building in 2016. Okay. I I approached Ventcon to start a division. They were buying it out from some local contractors that were manufacturing. And, I’ve always had a desire to, you know, go out on my own and do some things. So I resigned where I was at, and I approached Todd Hill, a president of Ventcon.

And, I’ve my goal is to acquire him as a customer. And I was gonna do it myself, but he said, you know, hey. I I wanna get in a spiral too. So why don’t you just come work for me and and set this up? So in 2016, October was our first month. So fourth quarter 2016, we started manufacturing our own spiral duct at Ventcon.

You know, what made Ventcon decide that we needed a spiral machine was the outlook and forecast of the projects that were in our near future. And, to achieve the volume of ductwork needed in the short period of time, we knew we had to purchase a spiral machine and start manufacturing at a higher volume, higher pace, quarter by quarter. So it really intrigued us to go from one machine to two machines to four machines, and now we’re at six machines. It was it was really a forecast of work driven.

What made Mestek Machinery and the Lockformer Spiral Tube Formers the right choice for you?

I thought a bit about this, and we’re talking about machinery. Right? And I thought, you know, a machine doesn’t do anything unless there’s an operator. Right? And then that operator has issues day to day. And I thought, what’s good about Lockformer?

Is it the horizontal decoiler or is it the roll forming cassettes? Is it the guide plates? Is it the clinch pressure? What is it? And I thought, you know, it’s the people. It’s the people that’s behind the machine that makes the machine what it is, meaning the service.

I noticed and identified right away that the folks at Mestek Machinery, they were behind us from a service aspect. Mike always answered my calls. And when I say that, I say it lightly, but, you know, a lot of times, we’re in the heat of the battle.

For instance, there’s a demand of 2,000,000 lbs of ductwork that needs to be delivered over the course of the next six months on a project and we have to meet the schedule. Well, when you turn the machine on that day and you’re running and you’re having issues, you need that support team to get you through the troubleshooting so you can meet those schedules and keep up with your productivity, obviously. But it’s like, what are we talking about? Is it a machine, or is it really the driving force behind it, the service? And, I wanted to stand on that because that’s something that I think is key.

Lockformer Spiral Tube Formers

What was the machinery installation, setup, and training process like?

When you speak of the delivery, training, and install process when working with Mestek Machinery, I have visions. And the vision is of me and Mike Bailey standing with Eddie Dunkel in an empty building and walking through the building and getting input from the team. All inclusive. Right? So we would take step for step. Okay. If the machine’s set here, how many steps you need to get to the next process? Or will it be better off turn this way or that way? So all inclusive with the installation, meaning from shop layout to bolting it down to then having skilled technicians on-site training new personnel is really key in all this.

A lot of times, it’s tough to find or have a seasoned operator when especially when you’re going into new regions and manufacturing and new spaces. You’re starting from scratch with operators. That’s where Mestek Machinery support comes in and their technician on-site is vital to get those 3 days of training through the machine. So for me, I think from delivery install to training, it’s really a team effort that starts from day one. On calls, preparing the customer, VentCon, on what to expect. Right? And then what’s that to expect? Meaning, hey. Here’s the timeline of when we are gonna deliver this machine to your building.

And then that has to mesh and meet with the timeline, obviously, of the mechanicals of the building and then coupled by the schedule of the job. So you’re putting a lot of trust in Mestek Machinery to deliver on their word, and that’s what they did. Mike told us that the machine, for instance, would be in Jackson, Tennessee in September 2022 and by God, it was.

You know, if if Mike yelled at me as much as I yelled at him, I don’t think we would still be friends, but somehow, we’re still friends. So, in the heat of the battle, Mestek Machinery is really there for you and meets the schedule. We had enough foresight with this particular job in Stanton, Tennessee to where we were able to procure the machinery about eight months, maybe a year in advance we started talking. Wrote the PO early on in January and Mestek Mahcinery delivered on their word. So there’s a lot of pieces there that we all bring together in this. And, it just it it has to be a team effort. It really does.

How have the Lockformer Spiral Tube Formers impacted your operation?

So we acquired our first Lockformer Spiral Tube Former, in September 2022. That was our Jackson, Tennessee facility. And, I gotta be honest, Mike was a bit dangerous getting me on here because I’m biased and I like particular things. And, you know, Lockformer Spiral Machine was a fear of mine introducing at first.

Mike told me to be confident in it and that we would have his support, But I just didn’t trust it yet because it was new to me, the brand. Right? So, we set up our first machine. We commissioned it. We started running material through. And, like anybody setting up a spiral machine, you know, there’s a lot of nuances and adjustments that you need to go through, especially with training the operator. So my faith started building from the first month on.

We put a 100 linear feet of strip coil through, had some issues, then you get to 200 linear feet. Then now you’re at a 1,000 linear feet. And just to give you a bit of an idea of, strip coil that we run through our Lockformer Spiral Machines, we average about 1.8M linear feet per machine annually. So we’re running millions of pounds through these machines. And, something that we all need to focus on or at least I focus on is driving down scrap percent. So over time, my confidence built with Lockformer — most due in part by actually working with it, physically working with the operator, the personnel on the floor and, seeing it work. And the introduction of the horizontal decoiler that Mike introduced to our company was a huge plus. We went from one coil vertically fed into the drive roller to a horizontal decoiler to where we could put 6,000 lbs. of strip steel, 2-3 coils on the horizontal decoiler. So that really helped improve our productivity. So I I guess to answer your question directly, it was over time my faith built up to where I’m willing and able, you know, to get on a call like this and speak about it.

We own currently six (6) Lockformer Spiral Tube Formers. Right off rip, we went into two. We had two right away because we knew the volume of the project that we were going into was going to require that. So we went into two right away.

Then after we successfully delivered on the four Blue Oval project in Stanton, Tennessee over the course of a few years we ran 6M linear feet of steel through these machines, and we thought, okay. You know what? Let’s get two more.

So we had expansion efforts in Marshall, Michigan where we went into another battery lab environment. And I I wanted to touch on that too because these environments that we are going into when I speak of environment, I mean, job sites and requirements. Leakage is really key, especially with battery process. So the the leakage percent is minimal. I mean, less than 2%. Right? So that Lockformer quality of the seam is something that we really focused on.

And we pressure tested the ductwork off the Lockformer Spiral Machines prior to installing. We pressure tested thousands and thousands of linear feet in the field after install because something happens to the product after you get it off the machine. It goes through several stages of material handling until install. So you can’t just make sure your seam is quality off the line. You have to watch it as it goes through and make sure there’s no, damages through transit or through install. So, the Lockformer Spiral Machine held up for through every leak test to the point to where the customer said, okay. You can stop pressure testing. So that was a big thing for us.

And and I think that to help build my confidence in the machinery. And with that, you know, the controls of the Lockformer Spiral Machine takes the thinking out of it based on the gauge and the setup that you’re performing. The controls in the screen shows you what inlays you need to have, where you need your clinch wheel pressure, where you need your drive wheel pressure based off the gauge that you’re running. And that was something that I always ran into on past older machines is the guys, you know, didn’t remember what inlays to put in or how to do their setup with the different tooling. So I that really helped us at Ventcon improve and have a consistent quality lock form seam on our spiral duct. So we keep and continue doubling down on these things.

We bought two more and, implemented them at our Livonia, Michigan operation, which is brand new, and that’s a 125,000 SF building, you know, right in the heart of the business here with Livonia. I mean, it’s a busy area, and, we look forward to gaining ground in the market. So, you know, after the job that we did in Stanton, again, it just really built our confidence in the product that you had to offer.

Lockformer Spiral Tube Formers

What makes Mestek Machinery a great equipment partner to work with?

You know, first thing I’d tell any contractor that’s looking to expand their operation and team up with Mestek Machinery, first, it’s not easy. No matter who you’re teamed up with, it’s not easy.

Plan right, plan accordingly, and part of your plan having Mestek Machinery will ease your pain. However, something that you can do is have confidence in Mestek Machinery that they will deliver on their schedule and their word. It’s such a fast paced environment. When you’re talking about expanding now and going into different territories and building a manufacturing fabrication shop, it’s not like unlimited time you have.

You don’t have six months. You don’t have the luxury of a year. You know, it it’s it’s a short span of time. And when you start contracting with Mestek Machinery, you need to lay that expectation out and make sure you’re clear with it. And they’ll tell you one way or another. They’re gonna tell you, yeah, they can deliver or no, they cannot. And, you know, they’re not gonna set themselves up for failure. But at the same time, I think that you can have confidence in the schedule that they provide you because we’re dependent on these machines.

I mean, I tell my guys all the time. I mean, we can show up every day, but if these machines don’t perform for us, I mean, we’re dead in the water. We’re really it’s a big dependency as a manufacturer, obviously. So, to have that support and to go back as I touched on earlier, after the delivery, after the training, there’s so much more support that’s in this game.

And for the guys that continue to answer the phones and not just give up on you because the sales complete and the financial transactions ended, they’ll still answer the phone. Paul Pink, Mestek Machinery, brilliant guy. I mean, his answer rate, I’m not kidding you. He probably answers us within 30 minutes every time. And it’s crucial because when you’re down, every minute costs you money. So those fast replies and troubleshoot solutions that Mestek Machinery offers is really key to any organization. So, you know, I would say if you’re looking to expand, make sure I’m not there already and, you know, have confidence in Mestek Machinery to deliver.