Anthony Ortega and Gonzalo Tellez - Forming the Future of Metal - PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Viotell Metal Concepts, CEO and Founder Gonzalo Tellez and COO, Anthony Ortega. You can read the interview below, listen to the podcast or watch the recording.

Intro: Welcome to MetalCast, the podcast where we're turning up the heat on all things metal roofing. On this show, we'll explore the world of metal roofing from its durability to design, expert insights and more. Join us as we bang out the details on the toughest roofs in the game. Get ready to unleash the power of metal roofing. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Hello and welcome to MetalCast from MetalCoffeeShop. My name is Heidi Ellsworth and we have a very special podcast today. We have in the field one of the coolest metal contracting companies Viotell Metal Concepts here on the show. And I have to tell you, we've seen their work, they've sent in pictures. I've been so excited to meet these gentlemen because they're just doing some of the coolest, coolest metal works in metal roofing. I am so happy to introduce Gonzalo Tellez and Anthony Ortega to the show. Hello, gentlemen. 

Anthony Ortega: How you doing? 

Gonzalo Tellez: Hello. Hi, how you doing? How are you? 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Ah, I am great. I'm so happy to have you here. I have to tell you, we've really over here at the MetalCoffeeShop, we've been looking at the pictures of your roofs, what you're doing. It's so unique, so different. Congratulations on just some amazing work. 

Anthony Ortega: Thank you. It's pretty cool stuff for sure. And thanks for having us on. We love listening to all the guests that you have on and the things that you guys are doing. So it's exciting for us on our side to be part of your show. So thanks for having us on. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That is so cool. I love this. So let's start with some introductions. If you could both introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit what you do with Viotell. And so let's start with Gonzales, could you tell... Gonzalo, sorry, could you tell us your story, introduce yourself? 

Gonzalo Tellez: Well, yeah, well thank you. Yeah, well my name is Gonzalo Tellez and I'm the CEO and founder of Viotell. I've been on the metal industry for, well the roofing industry for about 32 years. Yeah, it's been a minute. So it's been very exciting. But with Viotell, we are been working under Viotell for about 10 years. So yeah, it's exciting and we are excited to be here and just talk a little bit of what we do and how we do and to share with the rest of our industry. It is exciting. So that's who I am. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Well I tell you what, you and I started in roofing about the same time. So I'm looking at 32 years myself. So it's a great place to be, huh? 

Gonzalo Tellez: Yeah, no, it's perfect. It's nice to be here and see the next generation and teaching the next generation, it's exciting. And just to be able to be part of it's exciting every day. So that's... 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: As a funny side note, right before we got started this podcast, we actually had to bring the next generation on to help with the technology to get me on here and that was Megan. So yes, I agree with you. 

Gonzalo Tellez: That was just backstage tech. It's just [inaudible 00:03:13]- 

Anthony Ortega: ... technology work. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Bring them in. So speaking of the next generation, Anthony, can you introduce yourself? 

Anthony Ortega: Yeah, hi. Anthony Ortega. I am newer to roofing, but been in business a long time. Came on as Gonzalo's business partner about four years ago. I'm the COO, so I oversee the operations and help building the vision and help building the path for our business. And I'm just grateful to be part of such an awesome vision with Gonzalo and the things that our team can do and the projects we put together, it's very cool to be a part of. So I'm super happy to be here. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah, that is so cool. Okay, well let's start with, Anthony, tell us about Viotell Metal Concepts. Just tell us about the business. 

Anthony Ortega: Yeah. So foundationally, we're a roofing and metal envelope contractor. We handle all sorts of roofs from custom high-end residential resort style homes, estates, to commercial in that same niche, high-end residential or high-end custom like town homes, condominiums, things of that nature for ski-in/ski-out neighborhoods, exclusive neighborhoods up in Park City, Wasatch Peaks, Promontory, those kind of areas. So we're lucky enough to be paired up with some of the best general luxury contractor builders in those areas and help bring to life these beautiful projects that it's not just roofing material and metal materials, they're true pieces of art. It's awesome. 

So like Gonzalo said, we've been around for 10 years, Viotell has and we've got a fabrication shop here on the west side of Salt Lake City where we custom make all of our own stuff. And yeah, we've got a passion for metal. That's what we're known for. That's what Gonzalo has built a name on. And we continue to give our crews and our guys that craftsman, that passion to execute in those kind of scopes. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love it. I was just in Park City and you're right, the roofs, the homes, the buildings, so beautiful. So beautiful. And I can just see you want to crown it, you want to crown it with that beautiful roof. 

Gonzalo, tell me a little bit about how you got into metal roofing, a little bit of the history of the company. 

Gonzalo Tellez: Well, I guess it just has to be just even before I realized that I like metal or that I even know even roofing. A little bit of my history, back when I was a kid, my dad owned a welding shop. So I learned a lot of the trade on metal through my dad and he kind of teach me what metal can be used for with your own hands. And I was at early age and I didn't know nothing about roofing and nothing about the trade of metal. Through life I went through different stages and one is just took me roofing. I did all kinds of roofing from tear offs and clean outsides and shingles shakes, all roofs, all types of roofing. 

When I start doing metal roof, it just connect that my path, what I liked with metal and it was just natural to me to understand and be able to bring something different or to see it in a different way than most people does. And that's why I connected and it was natural. It was like a love of first sight if you want to put it that way. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: That is awesome. And now look where it is today. I mean when those passions come together, it all happens, right? Good karma. So I'm kind of curious with what both of you and maybe we'll start with you, Anthony, what you're seeing with the growth of metal roofing and siding. I love how the building envelope, definitely in your area, but I know you talked to a lot of contractors across the country too. What are you seeing with the growth of metal? 

Anthony Ortega: I think you can see from the statistics at a high level that metal is leading the charge on roofing and exterior applications. There's double-digit growth in those categories and a lot of people are seeing the benefits of metal, the longevity, the sustainability and then obviously the aesthetic. And so holistically as an industry, there's a big charge and metal is kind of the tip of the spear pushing innovation forward and really, really grabbing large pockets of the market in the roofing arena. 

So the way we see metal and the future of it is really limitless. There's so much that you can do with metal. There's so many different ways to apply it. There's a wide array of aesthetics that you can achieve with metal. So it's just very exciting to be part of that, to be on the bleeding edge of innovation for those things. I think metal is unique in the minds of architects and can really ground the design intent and give it this modern aesthetic and then durability and performance metrics that other materials don't. So it's awesome and exciting. We see a very bright future for metal, whether it's roofing to exterior claddings, coping, whatever it is, there's going to be a good runway for that for a long time. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. And I think especially and I mean I know you're out of Utah in the western states, I'm out of Oregon, there is a lot that we are dealing with when it comes to natural events. Whether it's fire, hail, just intense thunderstorms, wind uplift. So Gonzalo, over the years and seeing what metal can do to protect our homes, that has to have a big... I mean are you seeing that trend with homeowners also looking for that protection? 

Gonzalo Tellez: Yeah. Yeah. And I think that's the first part, that's the first thing that the metal attracts to the owners, the benefit of metal on their building, on their house protection-wise. But I think and going back to your question before this, it's just metal can bring is metal can be now, not only the benefits of the metal carpet, but if you use like a form of art, because art, it doesn't have a limit, art doesn't have a color, it's an expression. And now metal roofs or metal systems, they're becoming that. It's just a way to protect the house like you mentioned, but it just serves another purpose on aesthetics of the house. It's becoming more important. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: The beauty of the home and the art of the home. Yeah, I love that. That's so true. So you do different types of metal patterns too. You aren't just taking what you get off the shelves, you are designing and building. Tell us a little bit about that, Anthony, we'll start with you. 

Anthony Ortega: Yeah, we're a hundred percent self-fabrication on all of our metal systems. Obviously there is roofing systems and assemblies that are the foundational basis and requirements for performance and per job or per project we have to do. But beyond that, really, the sky is the limit on what we can fabricate in our shop. And we take a very... Because of the work that we do, it's highly custom, it's highly integrated in different aspects of trades and different roof lines and different things that have to be considered. And those pieces to make those systems work have to be custom. The chimney shroud or the side laps or the end walls, the valleys even sometimes have to be custom-made. And so we're able to produce that and do that through our technology innovations here at our fabrication shop. 

If we need a custom valley, no big deal. We're not going to amazon.com looking for a valley metal to work. We're going to make it here in the shop. It's going to be custom fit to that condition for that roof. Obviously meeting certain performance metrics and specifications. That is the uniqueness of metal and being able to produce it. You've got a metal genius here in Gonzalo and some of the designs and some of the systemic intricacies that him and our team come up with to execute on these homes is bleeding edge and really is beautiful and it's wonderful to watch. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love that. Gonzalo, I would love you to talk about your sheet metal shop and what it's taken to build this shop. And in fact, next time I'm there I want to come see it because I love this stuff. But I'd love you to talk about your shop, the type of machines that you have and just really what has inspired you to create this beautiful sheet metal shop manufacturing of your own roofs and siding. 

Gonzalo Tellez: Yeah, I mean, yeah, the metal shop, the metal shop is just pretty much shears, folders, CNC machines, compressor hose, pretty much nothing out of the ordinary than any other metal machine or metal fabrication shop across the country. There's same equipment, the same thing. I think the different thing that we have is the people. The passion of these people working on these different metals because those are the people that they're working the machines to make and bring their vision into something solid and to bring solutions to the contractors. Those are the people, they're very special. I think I'm very lucky and very fortunate to have that kind of team, of course, moving the shop. But I think that's where the key is. I think that's what the shop and we have excellent group of people that they're willing to push the limit and to bring solutions and try something new. And so that's what the shop, is the most important part of the shop. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. Well and I love how you say that because you usually think of equipment operators, but to me what I'm hearing from you is artists. These are artists who are passionate about what they're making and then that passes on to the team on the roof. So you have to have pretty excellent communication between the two groups, right? 

Anthony Ortega: Yeah. We love to have that connection, like you said and our shop is just as excited to try to make new pieces, new profiles, custom things for guys in the field. And they're talking and they're like, well that's not going to work here and how do we do this with that? And the shop is just very much involved in the artistic creation that ends up on these houses. And so sometimes there's a separation of those two people. The shop people are just stuck in the shop bending trim edge and they're like, man, I don't care about this. But our folks are engaged, they love it, they're connected to the crews. It's a true team effort and everybody's rowing in the same direction. And we try to provide that culture. And in that environment, failure is okay. Let's try something. If it works, wonderful. If it doesn't, rip it off, try it again, let's figure out a new way. And everybody feels comfortable and confident to have their own flair on the metal that we're making. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: And you're creating your own designs. I mean that's the thing that is so unique and different that you are putting designs on roofs that people can tell are your custom designs. 

Gonzalo Tellez: Yeah, I mean each roof has its own unique challenge, especially on high country, but it's not elevate [inaudible 00:16:50]. There's different challenges not only for the aesthetic part, but the functionality of the roof. It has to be the most important thing is to protect the owners' invest. So that needs to be protected, but that's not limit to that only. We can make the functionality come in a different way so it just aesthetically better and looks better even if it takes a little longer. And that's where we come and that we are make our print on that part. We not just do the one and B, we can go to the 1B, C and D and let's just try something new after that too. If we have to make it not only be a good roof and functional roof, but a good-looking roof. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Yeah. And you mentioned this at the beginning that you work with a lot of architects. I'm guessing architects absolutely love this. 

Gonzalo Tellez: They're the artists. We just the people that we just- 

Anthony Ortega: We're the paintbrush. 

Gonzalo Tellez: We just the paintbrush. I don't want to take their... 

Anthony Ortega: Yeah. The credits to them and the general contractors, we truly feel like iron sharpens iron. We are a trade partner, we're not a subcontractor. We really value collaboration and being in the trenches with the general contractor and the architect at a high level to make these things come alive. We don't show up, they say the roof's ready, we show up, slap on some metal and then we leave. It is a collaboration through project management, design intent approval mocks with architects to make sure that the designs we're coming up with or we're executing for the design intent purposes are, one, going to perform, but then two achieve what the client, the homeowner and the architect have in mind. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Man, I love that. So if you were to give some advice to other contractors around the country who are interested in moving into metal, maybe they haven't... Like you said, you start out a lot of times with shakes, shingles and stuff and then you find metal and you're like, here's the connection, this is what great. So what's some of your advice to contractors across the country who maybe want to start doing metal but aren't quite sure how to get in to that, Gonzalo? 

Gonzalo Tellez: I think for me something that really work is just you need to get to know the industry. I think just study, research and get involved and get with people that like the same things that you like. I think that's a great help. Go to trade shows about metal, learn about the capabilities and what the industry has to offer. It's very rewarding, but you have to do your homework just to know why it's ahead of you. It is not difficult, but it just needs a little bit of planning. I think that's the most important thing, just that. Get involved on the industry, the metal industry and that will trigger the next stages. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: And it seems like there's kind of steps, right? Exactly what you're saying, research, get involved in the industry, see what it's all about and then maybe some contractors try metal tiles and then some are working with manufacturers and then they get their own sheet metal shop. I mean it's kind of a little bit of a journey it seems like. 

Anthony Ortega: Yeah, absolutely. I think if you go into it don't be afraid to take on a job, but don't be blind to the fact that you're going to need to make sure to do your research to make sure you understand the details, to make sure that you partner with a good fabricator or you have a person that is skilled in knowing what it takes to put together a roof that will perform. But be patient, have perseverance and a little grit and metal will reward. You just have to put in the time. It's like growing a plant, right? You pop seed in there, you water it, you fertilize it, you say nice things to it- 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Nice music. 

Anthony Ortega: Yeah, nice music. You got to nurture it. I think a lot of companies that either are afraid to get into it or get into it and then fail, they miss that nurturing piece of it and that investment side of it to really understand it, own it and not just to slap some sheets of metal up there, but to be like, how can I get this to perform correctly and make sure that I'm treating it with the respect that it deserves? 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Right. Right. I love that. And I see there's just a lot of contractors out there who want to, because they see this growth in metal and they realize it's a lot of the future that it's not going away. It's only growing and how much we use it. And obviously around the world, metal's been used forever. 

So culturally, one of the things I loved that you said earlier is how the culture of your company, everyone in your company embraces the metal from the sheet metal shop to the crews, across the whole board. What's some of your advice to contractors on... It's one thing as a contractor to go out and go to METALCON, do the research, come to MetalCoffeeShop, listen to all this. But then you have to get your whole team and you have to get everybody and find the right crews and put all that together. What's some of your advice on building that culture of metal and high performance? Because I know one of the things you say is we don't need to be the biggest, we just want to be the best and that seems to keep making you much bigger when you're the best. But what's some of your advice to contractors on building that culture? 

Anthony Ortega: I think there's two things. One, I'll let Gonzalo speak to, is to create the culture. A foundational management 101, leadership 101 is to be in the trenches with your guys and support them through positive, proactive training, showing them things, investing in proper tools for them, spending the time to understand the job that they're about to tackle or the scope that they're about to tackle and really go elbow to elbow with them on that. So I would say that's probably the number one thing, lead from the front and nurture people. I mean, at the end of the day, that's all people want. They want a runway for, a pathway of success. Inherently people want to do good work and do a good job. And us as leaders, we have to give them the tools, the love, the support and then the accountability part of that comes second, what the expectation is. 

Gonzalo Tellez: Nope, he's exactly right. That's how the Viotell culture starter. That's how I teach my guys. Before I was a leader I was a teacher because I work next to my guys from sunrise to sunset and that's how they learned the trade and that's how I was able to pass that teaching and the knowledge. And then they pass it on to the next and the next and the next and that's the culture, it becomes what we are and how we go about things. Embracing changes, embracing trying new things and if we didn't, it is not a failure, we just haven't get it right. If it's something that's not right, we just get it out and we put the thing that we think it's just not failing. It's just always... 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Figuring it out. 

Gonzalo Tellez: Figuring it out. And I think that it's been embedded since the beginning of Viotell and everybody understands that and that's why we drive. It's just not two guys. They all drive on this and the passion and then to be proud of doing a good job and turn around and say, I did that. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love it. You two have inspired me so much this morning. Thank you. This is amazing. Now will you be attending METALCON in the fall? 

Gonzalo Tellez: That's one of my greatest experience, always. I like it. Everybody thinks that I'm a kid on the candy shop and I'm on the metal jumping around. 

Anthony Ortega: I got to hold him back. I got one of those little kid leashes. 

Gonzalo Tellez: [inaudible 00:26:08]- 

Anthony Ortega: I'm like, no, no, no. You got to stay away form that. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Not that machine. No, don't look over there. 

Anthony Ortega: Yeah. We don't need that. 

Gonzalo Tellez: I don't know. I think we need two leashes [inaudible 00:26:18]. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Well, we're going to get you both on the sound stage at METALCON because we'll be there and we will be looking for both of you to come and see us and hang out. 

Anthony Ortega: Beautiful. 

Gonzalo Tellez: We'd love to join you. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: I love it. Thank you for being a part of MetalCoffeeShop and RoofersCoffeeShop, being part of our R-Club. You honestly, so inspirational. And we are going to do this again. So we'll see you at METALCON and we'll keep doing this. I love everything you're bringing to the industry, so thank you so much. 

Anthony Ortega: Let's do it. 

Gonzalo Tellez: Appreciate that. 

Anthony Ortega: Take care. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Thank you. 

Anthony Ortega: Appreciate you. 

Heidi J. Ellsworth: Thank you. And thank you all for listening. Wow. I hope you're all as inspired as I am. This is the kind of stuff that I just think is so important for the industry overall. The roofing respect, the metal respect. I mean, it all comes together. So find out more information about Viotell Metal Concepts on the contractor directory on both MetalCoffeeShop and RoofersCoffeeShop. And be sure to check out all of our MetalCasts podcasts under the read, listen and watch section of both sites. Be sure to also subscribe and set those notifications on your favorite podcast channels. We'll be seeing you next time on MetalCast. 

Outro: Ready to raise the metal roof? Subscribe to MetalCasts now and stay tuned for all things metal roofing. Go to MetalCoffeeShop.com to learn more. Rock on and we'll catch you on the next episode.