By The Coffee Shops™. 

The Titebond Heavy Duty lineup delivers serious grab, tough bonds and dependable performance. 

Whether the project calls for broad compatibility, added strength for heavy materials or dependable application in cold weather, Franklin International’s Titebond brand has a heavy duty option designed to meet the demand.   

Each formula in this line is built for a different jobsite reality: 

• Titebond Contractor Grade Heavy Duty: This versatile contractor grade is designed for a wide range of interior and exterior projects, including trim, paneling, drywall, foamboard, masonry, metal and more. Thanks to its low-VOC, nonflammable formula, contractors can get professional-strength performance without producing strong fumes. Further, the adhesive is water-based and can be cleaned by water when still wet. This means that your crews spend less time dealing with tools, spills and excess material at the end of the job.  
• Titebond Solvent-Based Heavy Duty: Meant to be used on projects that require more initial grab, greater strength and the ability to hold demanding materials in place, this is a powerhouse solvent-based solution. It features a waterproof formula and can bond everything from wood, metal, brick, concrete, ceramic tile, drywall, plywood and oriented strand board. It is also able to fill gaps and irregularities between surfaces while maintaining a permanent flexibility that handles material movement due to temperature and moisture with ease. 
• Titebond PROvantage Heavy Duty: This product was specially formulated to continue extruding and bonding when temperatures drop. How is this possible? Titebond PROvantage’s VOC-compliant formula, the utilizes a fast initial grab, waterproof durability and a flexible bond that keeps it performing even when conditions are less than ideal. It is compatible with heavy materials and common construction products, including wet, frozen and treated lumber. 

By offering these three distinct formulas, the Titebond Heavy Duty lineup allows contractors to select an adhesive based on the realities of the jobsite. For contractors looking for one dependable adhesive that can handle a variety of materials and applications, Contractor Grade Heavy Duty provides the flexibility needed to move efficiently from task to task. As for the situations that require the installation of heavier products, Titebond’s solvent-based formula provides the power needed to complete the job with confidence. And for the projects during less-than-ideal weather, the cold-weather capacity of Titebond PROvantage can’t be beat. 

Together, these three products make up a complete Heavy Duty product line that sticks to wood, drywall, masonry, metal, foamboard and more, making it easy to choose the right adhesive for the climate, the materials and the conditions on site. 

Contractors can explore the full lineup, review product details and access additional resources through the Titebond Heavy Duty resource page. 

By Alberto Torres. 

Training in Miami brings contractors together to improve metal roof installation. 

Sherwin-Williams MetalVue organized an event in Miami, Florida, this February 2026 where Top Metal led a specialized training focused on the correct installation of metal roofing systems. The event brought together more than forty contractors and professionals from different parts of the United States. According to Heidi J. Ellsworth of RoofersCoffeeShop®, the event offered different types of training, and all information was provided in both English and Spanish. 

According to Aldin Mejia, owner and founder of Top Metal, this event has been a very positive experience for attendees, who had the opportunity to learn key techniques to ensure proper and professional installation. “The main objective of this system is to promote proper metal installation and make sure people learn to do it correctly, because that is the most important thing,” Aldin shared during the event. He also presented one of the products they use for metal roofs: “Titebond Metal Roof Sealant is specifically made for metal; it doesn’t contain acids that damage the material,” Aldin explained. 

One of the most noticeable aspects of the training was the diversity of attendees. Aldin reported the presence of participants from various states, including Texas, New Jersey, Florida, Oklahoma, Tennessee and California, among others. Their participation reflects the growing interest in the industry, especially in the metal roofing segment, where installation precision can make a significant difference in the durability and performance of the system. 

Amparo Sancen from Latinos en Roofing shared the importance of attending training like this one, highlighting that the knowledge provided can help contractors expand their services and strengthen their businesses. She also pointed out that this type of training is useful even for those who are already installing metal roofs, as it allows them to reinforce techniques and prevent issues in future projects. 

With the growth of the metal roofing market, training like this is essential to elevate work quality and reduce field failures. 

Titebond Roof Plus Sealant is a water-resistant, solvent-based, elastomeric rubber sealant designed for roofing applications such as asphalt shingles, metal trim, solar roof systems, architectural metals, painted metals, aluminum and general roofing applications. It is resistant to dust, dirt and stains and is paintable. Sealant can be applied to itself.

Features & Benefits

• Metal, aluminum, asphalt, shingles, masonry, wood and most common building materials.
• Fast drying
• Designed for dynamic joint movement
• Tools and cleans up easily
• Adhesive or sealant use
• Excellent performance and flexibility on most materials
• Exceptional flexibility - Will not crack
• UV resistant

Order now.

Beyond the roof, if you’re looking to work on any other exterior projects, like windows or doors, or even interior projects, you need an all-around sealant with outstanding performance. If that’s the case, then you need to consider adding UA 920 to your toolbox.

Titebond UA 920 Sealant is a high performance, elastomeric, urethane acrylic formula with superior adhesive properties and increased flexibility for durable, crackproof seals. It eliminates shiners, reduces dirt pickup and has great UV resistance, making it ideal for interior and exterior applications. The professional formula has superior handling and tooling properties, paintable in one hour and cleans easily with water.

Features & Benefits

• High performance for windows, doors & siding
• Permanently flexible and crackproof
• Fills gaps up to 1” wide
• Superior tooling
• Cleans up with water
• UV resistant
• Interior and exterior use
• Paintable
• Unbeatable adhesion to most common building materials

Learn more about UA 920 Sealant at titebond.com or buy UA 920 Sealant on Amazon today!

By Titebond.

WeatherMaster™ Metal Roof and Ultimate MP Sealants meet Florida’s toughest building standards, giving contractors confidence in high-velocity hurricane zones.

When it comes to roofing in hurricane-prone regions, durability isn’t optional; it’s essential. Not only for the roofing materials themselves, but also for the sealants. Titebond® WeatherMaster™ Metal Roof Sealant and WeatherMaster™ Ultimate MP Sealant earned official Miami-Dade County Product Control approval in 2022. This recognition confirmed that both products meet the rigorous standards of the Florida Building Code, including the High Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) requirements.

What is the Miami-Dade County approval?

Miami-Dade County’s Notice of Acceptance (NOA) is one of the most respected certifications in the construction industry. Products that earn this approval have been tested to withstand extreme wind, moisture and structural stress, making them ideal for roofing contractors working in coastal and hurricane-prone areas.

Sealants built for the storm

Titebond’s WeatherMaster™ Metal Roof Sealant is engineered for metal-to-metal applications, offering superior adhesion and flexibility. It resists UV rays, remains permanently flexible and performs in extreme weather conditions.

The WeatherMaster™ Ultimate MP Sealant is a multi-purpose powerhouse. It bonds to a wide range of materials, including aluminum, wood, concrete, vinyl and glass, and can be applied to damp surfaces. With ±50% joint movement capability and excellent tear strength, it’s built to last through the toughest conditions.

Other specifications

Both sealants passed ASTM C920 testing for tensile strength, elongation, adhesion peel and UV resistance. These results, combined with their Miami-Dade NOA status, make them a trusted choice for contractors who demand performance and peace of mind.

What this means for roofers

Whether you're sealing a metal roof in Florida or prepping for storm season elsewhere, these sealants deliver the reliability your crew and your clients need. With Titebond, you’re not just getting a product, you’re getting a solution that’s been vetted by one of the strictest building departments in the country.

Visit Titebond.com to learn more about WeatherMaster™ Metal Roof and Ultimate MP Sealants, view technical specs and find a distributor near you.

By Emma Peterson. 

Titebond’s WeatherMaster is making waves, or blocking them, with its versatility and durability.  

While at METALCON 2024, The Coffee Shops™ hosted a sound stage that was sponsored by New Tech Machinery. This gave us the opportunity to meet up with new and old friends around the industry to hear what they’ve been up to and what’s coming up next. One such person to stop by was Matthew (Matt) Puracchio who works in marketing for Titebond, which is one of Franklin International’s brands. Matt shared a bit about his company, saying, “We were founded in 1935. A lot of you guys probably know us for our wood glues, but we offer a full line of anything that sticks to anything, so we have caulks and sealants, construction adhesives, flooring adhesives, kind of the whole gambit.” 

Part of that wide suite of offerings is Titebond’s metal roof sealant. This is one of their premium construction products and was one of the things they highlighted at METALCON. Matt explained, “We call it WeatherMaster and I think that's one of the biggest things that separates us from anyone else in the market is that we offer it in 125 different colors.” This allows you to color match to pretty much anything you will find in the field to make an aesthetically cohesive and structurally sound roof seal. Matt shared a bit of what inspired Titebond to create this product, saying, “We want to help our customers and with this, they know that if they have a color, they can actually get it. You don't have to wait a couple of months for that... They also know that you use this once and you’re good. That’s it.” 

One of the factors that makes the WeatherMaster so structurally sound and versatile is its flexibility. Matt elaborated, “Not only is this a good adhesive for metals but is going to be flexible as well.” With all of these benefits, it’s no wonder that contractors in the field are loving the WeatherMaster. Many contractors have shared that they keep coming back for more of this product because they don’t have to worry about call backs with it. Matt explained, “They know when they use it's going to adhere to anything, no matter if it's wet, frozen, treated materials. It has that continued flexibility for a lifetime. They don't have to worry about it coming apart and going back and repairing that job. No one wants to go back to a job.” 

Watch the entire interview to learn more about Titebond’s WeatherMaster and the other exciting products they are developing! 

There are construction adhesives. Then there is Titebond® new TiteGrab Plus – a powerful construction adhesive that instantly grabs and holds even heavy building materials, on vertical surfaces.

TiteGrab Plus’s instant holding power and rapid strength development significantly reduce installation time and can reduce or eliminate the need for bracing, mechanical fasteners or mortar. The powerful advanced polymer formula ultimately achieves a durable, strong bond to porous and non-porous materials, for both interior and exterior projects.

Titebond focused on making the new TiteGrab Plus simple to apply. The cartridges work in any regular caulk gun, and the powerful adhesive extrudes easily. The construction pro need only apply a 2.5" line of adhesive per pound of material. (A chart showing the number of linear inches required for up to 20 pounds of material is available on Titebond.com.) In spite of the adhesive’s instant-grab capability, it does allow material to be repositioned for up to 10 minutes.

The advanced polymer formulation can be applied in wet and cold conditions; it is waterproof and will not freeze. It has a low VOC content,

"We are very proud to offer a product like TiteGrab Plus to our customers in construction," said Titebond’s vice president of marketing, Mark Schroeder. "It’s a powerful technology that can increase their efficiency on the jobsite. We have worked hard to both develop this one-of-a-kind technology and make it convenient to use."

TiteGrab Plus is available in 9-oz. cartridges at building supply stores, from Titebond distributors and through Amazon.com.

By Dani Sheehan. 

From research and manufacturing to the marketing and selling of their products, Franklin International is committed to green initiatives.  

Darci Kunard, national accounts manager at Franklin International, is passionate about caulks and sealants. In season five, episode 25 of Roofing Road Trips, Heidi J. Ellsworth joins her once again to share Franklin International’s commitment to green products. Throughout their discussion, they evaluate the production process for chemicals and hypothesize about improving the roofing industry’s commitment to the environment. 

Even though it’s been a buzz word for years, the commitment to providing products with little to no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is a recent push in the industry. Many companies are moving toward products that are low in VOCs, but Darci says Franklin International is also committed to research and development that ensures their products stand out for sustainability and high performance. Contractors can weave a story of sustainability into their pitches without worrying about the quality of the product suffering for it. From the roofing material itself, whether it’s shingles, tile or something else, down to the sealants, caulking and insulation, customers can rest assured that their roof won’t harm their family or the environment, and it will also retain its longevity and durability.  

From a business standpoint, Darci mentions, “I think that that’s a really good way to be able to incorporate what products you’re using to differentiate your business.” You wouldn’t want to be stuck with harmful and smelly products on your own home remodel, so why would you want to put your customers at risk? By explaining which products you’re using ahead of time, homeowners can research the products themselves and see that they’re sustainable. Franklin International often provides materials at no cost so “that contractors can, when they’re presenting either their service or maintenance, or a bid, they can show [them] to that homeowner or business owner and say, ‘here’s part of our guarantee and some of the products we use, and we’re more than happy to provide those at no charge.’” 

Listen to the full conversation to hear more about Franklin International’s green product line and other tips for innovative sales approaches.

Heidi J. Ellsworth and Darci from Titebond sat down to talk about their product line! 

Editor's note: The following is the transcript of a live interview with Darci Kunard from Titebond.You can read the interview below or watch the YouTube video. 

Heidi Ellsworth: Hello. We're back. I told you we'd be back. We're live on the sound stage at the International Roofing Expo. My name's Heidi Ellsworth, and we have a special edition here because my very dear friend Darci's here. So what we're going to do is we're going to do a little, who is it, Hoda and Kathy?

Darci: Yeah.

Heidi Ellsworth: Cheers.

Darci: Cheers from IRE. So we thought we have to make this a little bit fun. And you're fun no matter what. Oh, thank you. You're always fun too. We have so much fun together.

Heidi Ellsworth: We have so much fun together. Okay, so we have so much to talk about, Darcy.

Darci: Yes.

Heidi Ellsworth: So first of all, introduce yourself.

Darci: Yeah. Oh, so I'm Darcy. I'm with Franklin International. We are under the Titebond brand, so if you've come to our booth at IRE, you know we're a tight bond. We make glues, construction, adhesives, cox and ceilings, wood flooring. But my favorite thing, near and dear to my heart, cox and ceilings.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yes.

Darci: You know.

Heidi Ellsworth: And we have some great podcasts on that. Let me just tell you.

Darci: Me too.

Heidi Ellsworth: Check them out. We've done about four or five podcasts together.

Darci: I think so, yeah.

Heidi Ellsworth: I love the one on Glue.

Darci: Oh. That was fun.

Heidi Ellsworth: You just don't think you can have a whole 30 minutes on glue, but there's a lot into it.

Darci: There's a lot more I can talk about.

Heidi Ellsworth: I know.

Darci: I don't want to bore your audience.

Heidi Ellsworth: So today, first of all, everybody knows the brand Type On.

Darci: Yes.

Heidi Ellsworth: If you don't, I don't know where you've been. But Type On is just such an amazing brand. And I love this. It's a color.

Darci: Oh, thank you.

Heidi Ellsworth: It was hiding the wine earlier. But it's a color palette. Tell us about this.

Darci: Yeah. So our metal room sealant comes in over 100 colors. What's cool about this, is the actual caulk itself. So if you're a distributor, if you want to wrap our product, show this to homeowners, we provide these to you at no charge.

Heidi Ellsworth: How cool is that?

Darci: Yeah. So it's wonderful, and it's an exact match.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah.

Darci: We also have that color matching, which we talked about in one of the podcast.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yes.

Darci: On our website where you just use the dropdown menu and you select your metal roof manufacturer and voila, you know what color matches that metal roof.

Heidi Ellsworth: Amazing.

And it just feels like the consumers, the homeowners, they are so much more aware today.

Darci: Yes.

Heidi Ellsworth: That they want this detail, right?

Darci: Yes. Oh yeah. And this is very important. When you are bidding a job, you can actually show this to your consumer and say, "Hey, we have an exact match." And that will set you apart from maybe a competitor.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. Really important. And it's pretty cool just taking it in and showing them. And just starting the conversation of, "Okay, we'll pick the color." But as a homeowner I'd say, "Well, why is this so important?" And so now it starts that conversation on ceiling and making sure that you're watertight and all of the important.

Darci: Absolutely.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah.

Darci: And a lot of people don't know you want to have a sealant around your rivets.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yes.

Darci: That is so important, because that is a horrible point for water intrusion.

Heidi Ellsworth: Right.

Darci: So you've got to get a nice little seal on top of that. And if you have a color, your homeowner won't be mad because otherwise it's not going to look very good.

Heidi Ellsworth: Otherwise you have a polka dot roof.

Darci: Yeah.

Heidi Ellsworth: And you don't want that.

Darci: Nobody wants that.

Heidi Ellsworth: No one wants polka dot, okay.

Darci: No.

Heidi Ellsworth: So now this, I love it. I love bringing stuff.

Darci: I know. I was like, I got props.

Heidi Ellsworth: I'm like, oh, she's going to bring fun stuff. Okay, so what is, Ooh, this is fun. What is it?

Darci: This is our actual metal roof sealant.

Heidi Ellsworth: Wow.

Darci: So this is the product here. It's a Class 50, which means it expands up to 50% of the joint size and contracts up to 50%. So you want that ability to expand and contract because temperature changes cause things to move. We all know that. But you need this type of flexibility. And so this is amazing. It's also showing the adhesion it has.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah.

Darci: So the brick, the wood.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah.

Darci: This will stick to anything, including primer and other coated metals.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, that's cool. That's cool. What another great sales tool to take into the house.

Darci: Oh yeah, absolutely.

Heidi Ellsworth: On your calls?

Darci: Yes.

Heidi Ellsworth: Or businesses. Okay, finally?

Darci: Oh, finally, this is our free kit. So this is what we're giving out when you go to Roofer's Coffee Shop or Metal Coffee Shop.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yes.

Darci: Either one.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yes, that's right.

Darci: You can sign up and get a free kit.

Heidi Ellsworth: I know.

Darci: So what comes inside of it...

Heidi Ellsworth: People come all the time getting this.

Darci: Yes. And I will tell you, I have met not one but two contractors who came by the booth to tell me they got it. So that is so cool.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yes.

Darci: I know.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yes. I love that.

Darci: But it has two tubes of product. It has our little cute demo bracket here, and then brochures. We have a color chart in there. It's not as fancy as this one, but it has our most popular colors.

Heidi Ellsworth: So, this all kind of builds into itself, which makes it so happy. But if you go on to River's Coffee Shop or Metal Coffee Shop, go to the Franklin Wet Directory, type on Franklin, either one, and then you can get to a landing page. Or if you go to promos and rebates anywhere, you get to the landing page and you can get this box. If you can't find it, just let us know. We'll get it for you. We'll take care of you. But they'll be able to find it because you're everywhere.

Darci: I try. I try to be everywhere.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yes, you are everywhere. Okay, before we go, I want to talk about, this is Women in Construction Week, and yesterday was International Women Day, right?

Darci: Yes, yes.

Heidi Ellsworth: It was. And you and I have worked together as women in the industry for many years. And before that you worked with Vicky.

Darci: Yeah, exactly. I think I've been with Roofers Coffee Shop in two different roles. 12 years.

Heidi Ellsworth: 12 years. It's been 12 years.

Darci: I know.

Heidi Ellsworth: I know. So what has changed in the industry over those 12 years for women? What do you see?

Darci: Obviously I'm going to talk about National Women in Roofing.

Heidi Ellsworth: Oh, okay.

Darci: I know. Feels like a good lead in, right?

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah.

Darci: But I'm going to talk about that, because that is a big thing. And I know you were at one of the hearts of that development.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Darci: And that has been so powerful. And then last night we had the Hard Hats and Heels.

Heidi Ellsworth: Mm-hmm.

Darci: Little happy hour.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah, I heard it was great.

Darci: It was great.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah.

Darci: And we heard from several women contractors who didn't even know about National Women in Roofing.

Heidi Ellsworth: Geez, great.

Darci: Came to the IRE website, saw it, signed up, came.

Heidi Ellsworth: Oh God.

Darci: And then they heard about Hard Hats and Heels and went, "Oh, I got to see this too."

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah.

Darci: It was amazing.

Heidi Ellsworth: These are such great groups.

Darci: And it's just the camaraderie, the connection that we have.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah. I know. I love it.

Darci: And what I love, I will say, 12 years ago, walking the show floor versus even today.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah.

Darci: Women make eye contact, they smile at each other. I mean, there's just more of like, "Hey, I see you."

Heidi Ellsworth: We're here. We're not alone.

Darci: Yes.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yeah.

Darci: Yeah.

Heidi Ellsworth: I know.

Darci: It's very cool.

Heidi Ellsworth: I love it. I love it. Well, Darci, cheers to you.

Darci: Cheers.

Heidi Ellsworth: We have the first roofing, Darci and Heidi. There we go.

Darci: Yeah.

Heidi Ellsworth: Okay. And I want to say thank you to, we got to put this in there.

Darci: Yeah.

Heidi Ellsworth: I got to say thank you to Ron Sherman advertising for the wine. Because I ran down the aisle and they gave us a glass of wine so we could have this propped. Oh, we're still live.

Darci: We're still on.

Heidi Ellsworth: Yes.

Darci: There was that battery change, I think.

Heidi Ellsworth: Okay, yeah. That was impressive. So if you lost us there for a minute, I said thank you to Ron Sherman. We cheered each other.

Darci: Yes.

Heidi Ellsworth: And we're going to be seeing each other. So we'll be back. We have the ladies from Westlake coming. We have some great conversations still all day. And of course, we'll end the day with the Heidi and Karen show and the whole team, and maybe some flying chickens.

Darci: And some more wine.

Heidi Ellsworth: And some more wine. We'll see you then.

Darci: Thank you.

Highlights from the last day of IRE 2023.

Editor's note: The following is a transcript of a conversation the Coffee Shop crew had after day three of the International Roofing Expo 2023. 

Karen Edwards: This is late night with Karen Edwards and we at RoofersCoffeeShop, are going to talk about the IRE. So, guys, we went to a speakeasy after the show to celebrate and have a dirty martini and it was fabulous. And it was a little secret door. We had to put a code in it was at the Statlar Hotel. It was so much fun.

James Ellsworth: And the most memorable part I felt, was that to get in you had to know some esoteric history. And to know that the code to get in was the year the world First World War started. And the fact that the Titanic was part of the North Star liners.

Karen Edwards: Okay, I have to say that a highlight of the day for me was being on the Patrick Carr Show podcast. I had no idea who this guy was. I've been told he's an influencer in the industry. He has sponsors of his show in the form of Leap and JobProgress who are partners of RoofersCoffeeShop. And he listens to the Weekly Blend with Heidi and I, every week and said we give him the inside information on what's happening in the industry. And I couldn't believe that people actually watch the Weekly Blend. I know they do.

Tim Ellsworth: I had a person come up in the booth today. And it was the best experience I've ever witnessed. I handed them these new bumper stickers we have that are all in Spanish and he just about dropped on the ground. He was so excited and so happy to have this happen that someone appreciated that aspect and recognized the Spanish-speaking people in the industry. And anyway he's taking that back to Louisiana. Yeah, he was from Louisiana. And yeah, he was great. Yeah, that was my that was my highlight of the of the trade show.

Karen Edwards: Tim. I am so happy that you got to experience that because that is one topic that we talked about on the podcast with Patrick. And he was kind of saying he didn't see a lot of the field workers who are the ones who are actually installing roofs. And I see so many people on the roof at these shows. And immediately what popped into my head was, SRS Distribution. They have a Para Latinos lounge, they had a Para Latinos happy hour. On Tuesday they had a mariachi band, they are embracing this. And this is where our industry is going. And I was super excited to see that. 

James Ellsworth: Karen I couldn't agree with you more. 

Lauren White: James and I again, wandered around the show floor. We got 9,393 steps in today, we didn't quite hit 10,000 however. But it was so nice. Because it was a quieter day, day three is usually quieter, got to have more calmer conversations with people because not everyone was crowding to chat with them. And what was cool too when we were recording, we were having interviews in the booths to put on social media and promote later on and turn into articles. But what's cool too, is that people from those companies were filming us filming the interviews to put on their social medias. So there were just cameras and phones everywhere and it was surreal. But it was great and we had the chickens. The chickens made their debut on day three, check the chicken out on TikTok, aka ChikTok, because Chuck is making its debut and it's amazing. And now James gets to share more about the show floor.

James Ellsworth: I thoroughly enjoyed being able to talk with the folks on the floor and hear from the people about what they were seeing, hearing from everyone about what was important to them. Also seeing the new things we had Equipter give us a full demonstration of their rig up and down left and right forward and back. It was quite a scene. Not to mention, we had multiple demonstrations from Franklin International's Titebond product, Tropical Roofing Products, Chem Link. But we had great conversations. RESISTO talked with us about their products.

Lauren White: Vicwest was also great. We got to see their metal shingles and metal siding that look like wood paneling and wood shingles. They even have slate and they're introducing clay but it's all made out of metal and it looks so realistic. James has more because he was very excited about this.

James Ellsworth: Well speaking of slate reminds me of the Slate Roofing Contractors Association who had a guy on the floor crafting a slate roof, crafting the shingles on the floor with a drill and a hammer. And then at the end of the day just for fun made a hat and I love it and it was wonderful. And he also made a little decoration that said "Love it." It was great. And Lauren got to sit down with a fella who was in Russia just before the invasion.

Lauren White: Yes, I did. Him and the gentleman who was making the slate hat, went to Russia to learn onion dome metal roofing and they were the first people from the states to go over there and learn that technique. And the family who hosted them, is still safe thankfully, they're still in contact. But that was a very interesting conversation. So stay tuned for that one.

Karen Edwards: Well, we brought the chickens out. It's the last day of the trade show. We brought the chickens out and they are so much fun. They are so much fun. It just it brings you even closer to your neighbors. And have to commend Will Riley from Centerpoint Connect on his beef jerky, this hot and spicy jerky. We all had some. It was amazing. 

Tim Ellsworth: The flying chickens are always fun on the third day because you bring them out about two or three hours before the show closes. And it's just a kind of fun time. The show is slower always on the last day. It's a fun time to get to know your neighbors a little bit better. And it lightens the mood and everybody has a smile on their face when you fly a chicken 30 feet or 40 feet to your neighbor's booth and it hits them you know in the head or wherever. And they go, 'What the heck happened?' 

Lauren White: I have to say one more thing, this is my third IRE and they keep getting bigger. And I'd say this is probably the best attendance just in terms of people attending and booths, it was a huge floor. Everyone we talked to whether it's in the soundstage, in the booth or in their own customer booths, everyone was thrilled with the outcome, very happy with who they saw and how many people were there. And I mean we're exhausted. Heidi is already in bed.

Karen Edwards: Half our team is in bed.

James Ellsworth: Yes. But we had a great time we have almost no more swag left. And we're ready to go home tomorrow or go exploring Dallas tomorrow.

Karen Edwards: I am on a flight tomorrow morning. Driving in Hank the tank to get there. I've been here a week and it's nice to go home to family and pets and normalcy. Because it's crazy. When you're at the IRE. You don't even know what's happening in the world. You don't know what's happening in your business. You live in this world while you're here. Connected but disconnected as Lauren says it. But it's hard. It's tiring. We had a good time and yet we still get stuff done. So, signing off. Sleep well.

Until next time!

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