Building a Sustainable Tomorrow with Advanced Outdoor Structures

Prepare to be captivated as Buddy Pullen from AmeriLux International graces our podcast with his deep-seated knowledge on the revolution of plastic products in the shed and greenhouse industry. Imagine transforming your humble backyard shed into a beacon of efficiency and style - this is what Buddy brings to the table, discussing the transformative power of polycarbonate and PVC materials. These aren't just sheds; they're potential greenhouses, chic she-sheds, or even your next home office, all benefiting from the advancements in daylighting and multifunctionality. Throughout our conversation, we uncover the aesthetic and practical enhancements that are redefining outdoor structures.

But the innovation doesn't stop at backyard beautification. Our dialogue with Buddy delves into the heart of affordable housing, where the shed industry is making a surprising impact. We dissect how the demand for affordable, adaptable living and working spaces is reshaping construction. Picture a simple shed evolving into a cozy outside office, a quaint craft room, or even a chicken house—yes, a chicken house! We'll get into the nitty-gritty of the materials and products fueling this movement, detailing how waterproof systems and greenhouse paneling are leading this charge towards cost-effective, flexible spaces.

Finally, Buddy lights the way through the nuances of national distribution and the ethics that underpin AmeriLux's customer relationships. We discuss the importance of integrity in sales and service, sometimes even pointing customers to competitors if it's in their best interest.  Whether you're in the trade or just a construction aficionado, join us for a fascinating exploration of building trust, embracing sustainability, and harnessing innovation in the world of outdoor building.

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Transcript

SHED GEEK: 0:37

Okay, Welcome back to a another episode of the shed geek podcast and, uh, got Buddy on today. Buddy, do you want to introduce yourself a little bit about what you do, who you work for, how you operate, sir? So the audience is familiar, if they don't know you already.

BUDDY PULLEN: 0:53

Absolutely. My name is Buddy Pullen, like you mentioned. Uh, I live in central Virginia but I work for Amerilux international. Uh, now, we're a value-added distributor and a manufacturer of PVC products, but basically in the industry, all things plastic, whether it be HDPE, whether it be FRP for floors and walls, PVC liner panels, polycarbonate for daylighting issues. If you're interested in anything plastic, most of the time I'll be able to help you out. If not, I'll know somebody that can help you out and I'll help you find what you need awesome.

SHED GEEK: 1:28

Well, welcome to the show, Buddy. We appreciate it so. So I'm probably most familiar, probably with, like, the corrugated polycarbonate sheets. I've seen that a few time uh, a few different times. Go on sheds, what, what is sort of your space? What? Um, we talk about this a lot on the podcast. The shed space is kind of, uh, it's easy to identify but it's constantly growing. It's like now you get into all these other products. Especially if you're a shed, you have multiple things that you might be able to sell. So, like you know, post frame buildings come up. You know quite a bit. They'll sell large metal structures, but I've seen these on a shed for the most part the corrugated polycarbonate sheets. Is that kind of where you meet the shed space specifically, or is there some other areas I should be more aware of?

BUDDY PULLEN: 2:26

So it started really for me a couple of years ago as the greenhouse kick really started to take off. As more and more states legalize, everyone wants a greenhouse and that's kind of where it started, where if you're building a shed you're already in the greenhouse business. You just didn't know it. If you don't put the walls and roof on, if you go with a transparent plastic, you know either clear or a soft light depending on where you're at in the world. You're now in the shed or the greenhouse business, and where that is evolving to is. Now I'm seeing combination buildings that are half storage shed with walls and a roof and a section on the back are half greenhouse where you can walk through the shed to the greenhouse area, versus a dedicated greenhouse, because a lot of those dedicated greenhouses end up becoming sheds eventually. So that business is migrating to sort of the combination building. That was my entry into the shed world and how I got introduced to a lot of these customers. What it has become now.

BUDDY PULLEN: 3:27

You know the corrugated like you mentioned. You're usually in a nine inch on center profile. People call it ag panel, low rib D rib, but it's the basic nine inch on center. That's sort of a price point greenhouse that's going to be, you know, the lowest cost in the building material side. And then these guys are now starting to offer a multi-wall version which is still polycarbonate but it's a a flat sheet with a fluted core. It's a little. I guess depending on your point of view, it may be a little nicer looking. So it's kind of a price point entry-level greenhouse. And then they offer upgrades, different models, whether they add, you know, wainscoting or or anything else to change it up a little bit.

BUDDY PULLEN: 4:07

Then you know it started with a low level, entry-level greenhouse and it started to expand into a bigger business. And now what that has become even more is taking the PVC, the liner panels and doing insides of sheds, creating she sheds and outside spaces. I've even worked with some people that will take a use a shed for an outside office. Someone that works at home every day either maybe doesn't necessarily want an in-home office, because the kids are running around or the dog's barking or you know there's distractions when you work in your home. So what they'll do is put a shed outside, run electric out there, finish the inside with this liner panel and when they go to work every day they actually leave the house and go to work, so it gives them a little bit of outside space outside of the home.

BUDDY PULLEN: 4:55

You know it started with greenhouses. It's morphed into all sorts of applications. It started with greenhouses. It's morphed into all sorts of applications, even to the point where I've sold still sell polycarb to some builders who will put it just in the gable ends on a standard shed. So if you have a shed out in your yard you don't necessarily have to run lights to it. You can daylight it that way. So it's not just for greenhouses. There's an unlimited number of options with these plastic products that you can use in this space.

SHED GEEK: 5:24

So, on the polycarbonate, on the corrugated, it can come in a clear panel, it can come in a solid panel. The benefit to the greenhouse is obviously many people are getting those in the clear or transparent panel so they can get sunlight in. I've seen them just on the roofs of a couple different sheds. It's rare, at least in my experience so far, but what's sort of the the benefit versus sort of traditional uh, uh, you know, metal or shingled roof, uh, outside of the sunlight? Actually you know for a greenhouse what's sort of some benefits roof outside of the sunlight? Actually, you know for a greenhouse, what sort of some benefits from some of the products that you guys offer?

BUDDY PULLEN: 6:06

As far as the roof goes, the main benefit is going to be daylight into the building, whether it's the roof or the gable, you know, and it just keeps you from having to have electricity out in the building or anything like that. You know, outside of just daylighting the buildinging the building, there's no real structural benefit to it. If you don't want daylight in the building, longevity-wise you're going to be better with plywood subroof and then shingles or whatever you're putting on it. Metal that's going to last longer. Polycarbonate if installed correctly, you're going to get a good 15, 20-year lifespan out of it. And I say installed correctly, it's not just my plastic, it's any plastic on the market.

BUDDY PULLEN: 6:44

The biggest headache with any manufacturer is the installation. A lot of guys do not pre-drill and on the plastic you've got to pre-drill about three, sixteenths larger. It's plastic at the end of the day and it's going to expand and contract in temperature fluctuation. There's no way around it. Whether you buy it from me or anyone else, that plastic is going to do the same thing. If you don't allow it to expand and contract over time, you're going to develop spider cracks around the fasteners and you're going to have a bad experience with it. If installed correctly, that's not an issue. So I would make sure you consult the manufacturer, consult your buyer, your vendor, whoever's selling to you, ask them about that, make sure that you're aware of it, make sure you follow those steps as close as you can, but as far as outside of the daylighting for the poly. That's really the main benefit there.

BUDDY PULLEN: 7:36

The PVC on the interior. The benefit really is it's not drywall, so you're not having to go back and mud and tape and sand and mud and tape and sand. It's one step installation and you're finished and it's it's PVC. So I see it. And even in dog kennels I think some people call them pooch palaces you, you can go in there with a pressure washer and clean the walls out and you're fine, you're back to normal and you're back clean again.

SHED GEEK: 8:04

No great point, especially as we see the rise of like these other ancillary products like dog kennels and chicken coops and things like that becoming more common, greenhouses becoming more common. But you touched on something I thought was kind of interesting. You know, on the finished out product, we're also seeing a large demand for that. So, like what used to be a shed guy that would just put together an outbuilding, throw something out there, uh, and and try to find a way to deliver it to you safely, uh has turned into like this much bigger product to where, all of a sudden, you don't know where almost one in part of the industry ends and another begins. I mean, tiny homes is like. You know it's. It's like, is it a phase? Is it here to stay? We really don't know.

SHED GEEK: 8:46

But I think affordable housing is what a lot of people are looking for. So, like even some of the different projects and people that we've interviewed, they've started like different projects around uh, cities for homeless, or creating a, you know, an rv park with multiple units that you can, you know, rent from, some on chassis, some are just put on a foundation or at least on the notched runners. I mean it's very common for us to see a finished out but not modular, certified uh product, so like, maybe it's got an interior, it's got an electric package, it's finished out except for the plumbing. Um, are you seeing more of a call for things like this and if so, what do you see, like the plastic sheets, the acrylic solid sheets, the polycarbonate sheets? I mean, you guys offer so many products. What would be most common for a shed builder?

BUDDY PULLEN: 9:40

So in that instance yes, I am seeing it it's almost a morphing of two worlds. So the shed builders are leaning into residential applications on a smaller scale. They're leaning into the frame building world on a smaller scale. You mentioned even in chicken houses or the dog houses. You know it's almost like a small scale commercial agriculture sort of application. So you know it's no longer just the shed out in the backyard, you keep your lawnmower in anymore. You know, now it's an outside office, it's a chicken house. It's a lot of things. You know for us what I'm seeing, you know.

BUDDY PULLEN: 10:20

Obviously, like I said, the greenhouse is driving a lot of it. That's where it started, but it's changing into and mainly really, the liner panel more than anything is being used as an interior finish. There's kind of two levels of PVC interior liner. One of them is going to be in that 9-inch on center profile, like you would see in metal or like you would see in the polycarbonate. That's, uh, really a price point liner panel.

BUDDY PULLEN: 10:44

That's, that's chickens or or even dogs in some cases, and then the, the snap together liner panel, which is actually all head and fastener. It's a waterproof system so you can pressure wash the walls without worried about getting the framing behind it wet if that's going into the outside office space. The she sheds the craft rooms, things of that nature. Those are the two main products that I'm seeing go into that shed world. Some other products like the FRP, on a smaller scale but maybe not necessarily quite as much. It really depends on the application, but those two, the greenhouse and the finished space, really seem to be what's driving the bulk of the business.

SHED GEEK: 11:28

Yeah, as I look through sort of the website a little bit Ameriluxinternational. com, I'm looking at some of the different products that you guys are putting out from multi-wall polycarbonate with several sub categories underneath that corrugated pvc panels and wall forms. Am I saying this right?

BUDDY PULLEN: 11:49

lexan thermoclick, that's lex, I'd say lexan. It depends on where you're from, I think everybody's familiar with lexan brand name. Uh, you know, you see it on. I see it on Mythbusters all the time when they call Lexan their bulletproof glass. You know, we're not selling anything that thick or that robust into the shed world, but it's the same manufacturer. So we're actually the master distributor in the US for Lexan products.

SHED GEEK: 12:15

Okay, so now are you seeing any of that in the shed space?

BUDDY PULLEN: 13:07

Honestly, no, not much. A little bit of the Lexan multi-wall. I say a little bit. The multi-wall that I sell into the shed space is the Lexan multi-wall just because it carries such a strong warranty. The cost difference isn't huge between that and other brands and for the peace of mind and the extended warranty and quality that comes with it, it makes sense and there's some confidence behind that brand name for that shed builder their greenhouse can be out on the lot with that Lexan brand name tagged to it. And if the guy down the road is selling the same greenhouse for $100 less but I can get Lexan polycarbonate on my greenhouse here, that's where I'm going as a consumer because, like I said, the confidence in that brand name. So yes, I am selling that into that world, but not the same product you see on Mythbusters. That's something different. And if they need a bulletproof shed, I would, uh, I'd maybe ask them to to second guess their life choices. And why do you need a bulletproof that would? That would make me worry a little that's a very fair point.

SHED GEEK: 14:14

Yeah, I've yet to have anybody ask for a bulletproof shed, but you know what? There will be a customer out there. It will be a time.

BUDDY PULLEN: 14:21

I'm sure there will certainly be a time. You know I get some strange requests from time to time. Uh, it's some things that are just out of the box completely and some one-offs which are are always interesting. But a lot of times you see those, you know those one-offs really take off as as a whole line and grow into something that it wasn't before. And that's sort of the instance with the dog houses. The very first package I sold of plastic for someone that was building dog houses was probably two years ago. It seemed almost off Like this doesn't make sense. I don't know why you would need this for a dog house, but okay, we'll give it a shot. And now it's grown regular with that customer and expanded to other bases. So it's it's. You know, it's an out of the box idea that kind of grew some legs and took off.

SHED GEEK: 15:09

Well, you kind of talked about that hybrid shed and greenhouse and I felt like I'm just seeing more and more of those all the time. Uh, one of the first ones I saw was in Northern Indiana, and my wife fell in love with it. So we had to leave quickly because we're uh we're uh 300 miles from home. At that point I'm like we're not dragging this thing back home with us, but it is awesome. Uh, tell me a little bit about Amerilux as a company. Uh, you're uh recently joined uh the crew, or you've been there for a long time, or how to? How does that work?

BUDDY PULLEN: 15:40

For about 15 months, ended in January of 2023. I had been in this business probably about eight or nine years prior and it actually just Merrill Lux used to be a customer. I used to sell to them, fell in love with the people, the culture, the way they do business. It just made sense. I knew from the first time I was there and meeting with them that if I ever left the current role, that that was somewhere I'd like to be. It's kind of a people first company. Yes is always the answer. We'll just have to figure out how to get there.

BUDDY PULLEN: 16:19

They have a list of culture statements that they read to me the first time I was up. I mean it just it aligned with who I am as a person, naturally without any effort. It made perfect sense to me and privately held, not a big corporation, not international money. That's always attractive. I have a direct line to the decision maker and the boss that that's important to me. It's based right here in the us. Uh, you know so we're not.

BUDDY PULLEN: 16:48

You know I saw a lot of profit dollars funneled overseas during covid and that you know that that never set well with me. You know it kind of left the country and went to shareholders in other countries and it wasn't reinvested in improving and manufacturing and innovation. And Amerilux is exactly the opposite, almost sometimes, in my opinion, maybe to a fault that it's all put back in. It's all put back in to improve, to expand, to grow. Just in the time that I've known them as a customer, they've probably doubled or tripled in size and they're doing it and they're still maintaining that small company feel.

BUDDY PULLEN: 17:28

Everybody knows everyone's name. It's just, it's a nice environment to work in and, at the end of the day, you know, a paycheck is a paycheck. Yes, but I have to. I have to like what I'm doing, I have to believe in what I'm doing and I have to respect the people that I'm doing it for. And Merilux gave me the best opportunity to check all of those boxes. I couldn't be happier with the company. They are everything I thought they were from the outside. Looking in Now on the inside, I realize it's not a sales pitch, it's not smoke and mirrors. It is actually a legitimate culture that everyone lives and eats and sleeps and breathes, and it's refreshing, to say the very least so.

SHED GEEK: 18:11

So how do you feel like it's so, like on their website, you know they they mentioned celebrating 20 years. Where do you think that, like plastics and pvc, is just, in general, going? And then, how do you think that sort of is relatable to the shed industry? I mean, we're talking about the roofing system for a portion of what meets the shed industry, but I mean, what about you know siding? I mean, what about sheds, you know being created?

SHED GEEK: 18:37

Like we see some crazy stuff nowadays. I've seen a shed recently created, uh, out of a 3d printer. You know, I mean so, like you just see, you just see everything. There's a, there's a company that uh, I'm getting ready to work with, uh, here that does a monolithic concrete pour for like a, um, uh, tornado shelter. You know what I mean. That's close by and we're wanting to buy one of those products and I'm like man, like all these different products, that's different than just traditional stick built. They add value, but they add options and customers want more options than they ever had and they enjoy that. So, and with the rise of online sales and being able to shop around and and compare through e-commerce opportunities to purchase like it's, where do you think it's going. I mean, obviously they're investing in this for a reason. So, like, what's your overall thoughts on that?

BUDDY PULLEN: 19:27

well, and if, if covid taught me one thing, it is that I have no clue what the future holds. Uh, you know when, when that started happening, you know, there was a moment of fear where it was turn down, production slow down, we're going into a recession. This is going to be bad news for the building materials industry, and that was a thought that was pretty commonly shared across the board. We were dead wrong, 180 degrees off, so it was exactly the other way. Uh, you know. So I have no idea. No crystal ball if I, if I were to guess, though, I see that the shed industry.

BUDDY PULLEN: 20:05

Moving into exactly what you mentioned earlier, uh, a version of affordable housing. You know, housing has gotten almost out of reach, especially starting out for a small family, the tiny house thing I had some experience with in the past in a residential roofing application, a high wind, lightweight roof, which was perfect for tiny houses because they go down the road. So I got some exposure to that industry and there's something there. It was a bit of a bubble. It has shrunk, but it's not gone, and with you know, you see the news every night. It's all about global warming, it's all about price increases, it's all about the cost of living. You know, I think we're going to see a shift back into that industry, that or that mindset a smaller footprint, you know, a more affordable housing option. I think it's going that direction. You know, outside of that, who knows what the future holds? You know that 3D printed shed was new. That's news to me and I'm in the industry. So it's changing constantly.

BUDDY PULLEN: 21:10

You know consumers are going to drive the demand. I think the consumer is certainly more price minded than they were years ago. They're certainly more now environmentally educated. They're more concerned about their carbon footprint. Is it a recycled material? Is it a recyclable material? I think those are going to be things important in the future and you know we're addressing that across the board in the industry, not just the Marilux, but I think everyone is looking to that.

BUDDY PULLEN: 21:38

You know how can we get recycled materials into this product? How can we make sure this product is post-life recyclable? You know to kind of put that green stamp on it. That's going to be important. You know the consumer is going to drive the demand and that's what they want. So that's what we're looking for. But you know to tell you what plastics is going to be 20 years from now I I wouldn't even try. I expect if you talk to anyone at amerilux, you know you talked about the 20-year anniversary. If they'd, uh, if they would have predicted today's situation 20 years ago, I would be awfully surprised, because it it it changes constantly.

SHED GEEK: 22:19

Well, you, you touched on something there that that I do like to address from time to time and probably just need to do like a a show on that completely. You know, we, we find this in some of our other businesses, adventures and things that we do is, like customers don't always shop the way that you shop, uh, and, and you touched on something there that I think super important is, uh, the customer drives the, the focus of what you're doing, and you know we're a fairly conservative industry, so a lot of times I think we get, uh, that stinking thinking you ever heard of that. You know what I mean. Sometimes you get, you get caught up in sort of the way that you do things, uh, and and you know the industry might be affected by outside thought and and and people are concerned about that, right, like the carbon footprint and things like that. And, uh, you know we try to stay away from like cause that can get real political really fast, right, uh, but it's it's, it's just really paying attention to the market and seeing what it's doing.

SHED GEEK: 23:11

Not so much trying to invoke our own personal bias on the the shopper, but there are, there are folks who are uh strong in that opinion they're going to be a strong driving force of the economy as well too. So, um, I don't know, I just think, uh, trying trying to figure all that out, and uh, you know, when you're a, when you're uh, uh, maybe a shed manufacturer as a dealer network of 300 or 900 dealers, you know, maybe you look at that a little bit different than if you're a shed dealer or manufacturer and you're sort of a one man operation or a mom and pop store that you know puts out you know, five hundred thousand, a million dollars a year worth of sales and you just kind of keep everything in house, you do it yourself and you just one man show kind of thing or whatever. So it you probably have to, you're probably have to prepare for those things differently, you know, is what I would say. So I'm glad you touched on it.

SHED GEEK: 24:05

As far as, like, how people are thinking, how do you guys distribute? You say you know we're not necessarily, uh, a large company, but I think you guys work, probably do some distribution of some of your products through maybe some of the big box stores or have some relationship there, and I, you know, I want to make sure I'm doing justice to your, to your company here. So I want you to share and not me.

BUDDY PULLEN: 26:33

So, and you're right, we do distribute through some big box stores. We're stocked in Menards, all the Menards in the upper Midwest, and we're actually currently loading into about 900 Lowe's locations. So we'll be distributed through Lowe's, through Menards, some small scale, on the cooperatives, the Orglesles that do it best, the true values of the world, and a lot of direct sales. You know where I make my living is, you know direct sales to these shed builders, these guys that you know. You don't have to order a full truck to buy direct. All the time, depending on where you know.

BUDDY PULLEN: 27:08

Everybody always asks me what does it cost? And that's a loaded question. It depends. You know how much are you getting and where is it going, because I've got. You know how much do I have to buy to get free freight? And let's be clear there is no such thing as free freight. Somebody's got to pay it. You know with enough volume that freight can be wrapped into the material price. So I'm fine with calling it prepaid, but I never call it free, because that's just not true and I'm not going to mislead anybody. Freight's going to have to be paid, but this is the best way we can beat it.

BUDDY PULLEN: 27:41

It's sort of made it my life's mission to beat the freight companies because they're just kind of in the middle, they don't help me or the customer. I tell people all the time I want them paying for material, not for miles. So there's some real inflection points when you're ordering that you can double your volume for 20% more money, and I spend a lot of time working with customers to make sure we reach those points and they're not spending more on that freight than they have to. Outside of that we're shipping out. We have a couple of locations in Wisconsin. There's a warehouse down in Tampa. Florida, there's a warehouse out in Nevada, outside of Las Vegas, that we ship from. So we kind of have three points, four points nationwide currently looking at some expansion, and for again to beat that freight, that's always the kicker, that's the one part of the equation that we have a hard time controlling is what we're paying to ship it and he said that doesn't help the customer or me, so we're doing what we're paying to ship it and he said that doesn't help the customer or me, so we're doing what we can to get around that.

BUDDY PULLEN: 28:39

But a wide distribution network, direct sales opportunities, it's a. It's a matter of just you reach out, hit the office, you ask a few questions and somebody will get you to the person you need to talk to. You know, if you're a homeowner and you want a little bit of plastic to build your own personal six by eight greenhouse in the backyard, we're probably going to send you to one of these distributors, to the Lowe's or the Menards of the world, because there's no way that I can ship that to you and get it there efficiently. You're going to be better off at your local hardware store and you can go back for something you forgot or the little onesie, twosies, I missed a piece of H-channel or I needed an extra ridge cap. It just makes more sense If you're the shed builder building putting out five, six, seven, eight greenhouses a week, or 100 a year or whatever it is, and you've got space to store the material. It makes sense for you to buy from me directly.

BUDDY PULLEN: 29:43

So you know it's my job, I guess, to have that conversation with each customer, one-on-one and regardless of potential size I treat them all the same to find out exactly what it is they're doing, what they want to do, what their plans are and decide you know what's the best way for you to get into this and I'm not always the best option, and it is what it is. I'm not going to try to sell somebody if I don't think I'm the best option. I tell people all the time I'm 47 years old, I've got at least 20 more years in this business and if I make enemies now, I'm not going to make it 20 more years. So even if I tell you something that steers you away from me today, you'll remember that and if I am the right fit down the road, you'll come back and I kind of just I trust in doing right, I trust in karma and the universe making everything the way it should be. And I'm here for the marathon, not the sprint. And you know I'm here for the marathon, not the sprint.

BUDDY PULLEN: 30:36

I got I caught a little grief from a past employer during COVID because I didn't run my prices up. You know I believe in cost based pricing. I understand demand is part of that equation, but you know, again, I'm looking for a long term relationship. So I'm just trying to keep the lights on and make a living. I'm not trying to gouge anybody. So I'm just trying to keep the lights on and make a living. I'm not trying to gouge anybody and that's you know. I just I trust in the fact that if I do business the right way, the business will come back to me.

SHED GEEK: 31:02

Man, you, you, you said a mouthful there, couldn't agree more. You know what was the saying Don't let any good crisis go to waste. And I just don't think like that. You know, it's kind of a not every crisis is an opportunity. And if it is an opportunity, sometimes it's an opportunity to do something different and do something um that you're going against the grain, right where you're trying to do the more as an opportunity to help somebody than an opportunity to get over on somebody.

SHED GEEK: 31:32

Yeah, yeah, that's right man I love the business philosophy, love just sort of like your, your overall approach. Uh, I want to get touch on one more product, ask a question or two and then we'll get out of here. But, uh, easy, pvc, that's. Uh looks like a new product that you guys are, I guess I say new product. But um, uh, the, the panel side of this looks interesting and I'm thinking to myself, the interlocking liner panels. I'm trying to figure out where that meets, the, the shed space, or maybe the post frame guys or things like that, who are doing something on the inside. I don't know, are you seeing? Are you seeing much of that?

BUDDY PULLEN: 32:08

uh, so far, move yes, uh, that's what I was talking about the interior of the sheds, then the liner panel. That's exactly what I was referring to. It's not new, it's sort of new to us. Marilux acquired EZPVC a couple of years ago, another company that was a customer of mine in a past life, a customer of Marilux's. It's a small world, everybody knows everybody. Customer of Amerilux's. You know, it's a small world, everybody knows everybody. They ended up acquiring it along with the manufacturing of the EasyPVC and the AgriLite PVC product. So that's you know.

BUDDY PULLEN: 32:44

We see it in commercial food processing. We see it in car washes. We see it in interior finishes, where I'm starting to see that expand out. You know, in the shed market, obviously for finished spaces and inside of sheds. You know basements, basement ceilings, garages, you know it just anywhere that a drywall doesn't make the most amount of sense. This product's going in and it's and it's it's doing well, it's a.

BUDDY PULLEN: 33:13

I actually I'm currently building my own house and I'm going to use that product in the garage and the laundry room. So the laundry room coming in the back of the house is going to double as a mudroom and when I come out of the garage I'm always filthy and I put my hands on the wall to take my shoes off and my wife fusses because she can't get it off the wall. So that mudroom is room, is gonna be. It's gonna have this easy liner panel in it and you know when, after I get grease or mud all over the wall, I can actually take a rag back in there and wipe it off, and she won't fuss at me so much for for those who watch on video.

SHED GEEK: 33:46

I want to put a few pictures up of this interlocking liner panel. I mean, I just think of like multiple uses for this immediately just, uh, an alternative to a traditional uh um deck. You know, on some of the cabins, uh, but I mean, like you said before, even the dog, the dog, uh, kennels, the, the chicken coops and things like that man, this is perfect to be able to like keep that, especially for those that come back. I mean, some of these things are put out on rent to own so they get returned. They're a nasty man. You can just clean that thing up, uh, and just just move on, put it right back on the lot and get it sold.

BUDDY PULLEN: 34:20

You can hit it with a pressure washer and it's back to new.

SHED GEEK: 34:23

Yeah, that's. I don't know, I think it makes a great ceiling.

BUDDY PULLEN: 34:28

I see it getting used to ceilings in basements a lot and you as a homeowner, if you want to finish your own basement or even this whole thing started with this office space where people would buy a shed and they'd finish it themselves and some of the shed builders are starting to see that and they're doing the finishes. You don't have to do the drywall. If you bump drywall or you mar it up or you knock a hole in it, you're sanding and painting and taping and trying to match it up. You know this eliminates all of that. It makes it one step, it makes it simple, it makes it uh, you know where anybody can do it. Anybody can clean it. It just, it's just a better solution in in that situation and it really has a life there. It has.

SHED GEEK: 35:11

It has a place where it fits how are some of these products like manufactured they all manufactured here in the us. Like, how does how does the process work? Uh, is it similar for all of the products you carry, or is it a little bit different from one to the next?

BUDDY PULLEN: 35:26

so it's, it's a little bit all over the the mat really well, you know we source right now the poly from from multiple sources. You know some some u us, some not. Uh, the the pvc is all manufactured right outside of toronto, canada that's. That's where the manufacturing was when amerilux acquired easy pvc. Uh, no real sense in moving it. You know we, we also do business in canada, so we're either going to make it here and send it there or make it there and send it here, kind of thing. So you know it's a trade-off either way, and and moving a manufacturing site is is a pretty big on taking that's that's a job. So, uh, that that's up there. And this is the expansion planned. And you know all the expansion planned is in the us with some additional warehouse space. Uh, you know the the long-term goal is is to grow the footprint here in the us more so than anywhere else.

SHED GEEK: 36:18

Perfect man. So what's your message to a shed builder, shed manufacturer or maybe someone who might be using your products? That would be a listener today. What's sort of your message to them? I don't want to ask for your sales pitch, because I know me and you talked about. We don't really do sales pitches. We just kind of talk about the product and what it is. But what's something you would want them to know, or what would be your message to them if you could get a thousand people to listen all at once?

BUDDY PULLEN: 38:03

Absolutely. Before this started I'm not a salesman. In a past life I was in the logging business for 10 years. I have a forestry degree from Virginia Tech. I was a card carry and lineman and IBEW, local 70. I've been blue collar and worked my whole life. My back gave out so I had to find something else to do. So I'm in the building materials industry and my title is salesman. But I'm not a salesman. I'm a normal human being. I'm sitting here with a hooded sweatshirt on. I've got dirty work boots downstairs. I'm not that guy that's going to come out and, you know, baffle you with the BS. I'm going to tell you the truth. I would.

BUDDY PULLEN: 38:48

I would encourage them to ask questions, to look at what they're, you know, to look at their freight spend, to make sure that they're not spending more on the freight than the material, just to keep an eye on it. You know, try to deal or talk in landed pricing A lot of times Some of the games I see out in the industry, some folks and no names will be mentioned will quote really low material pricing, but then when you get the invoice you'll see giant markups on the skid or the freight and that's where they're making up some margins, so speak in landed pricing, so you're truly comparing apples to apples, and just make sure that you have a salesperson that's going to answer the phone, that's going to be available, that's going to you're going to be able to get in touch with, there's. There's nothing worse than you know order short shipping or something shows up damaged and and you can't get anybody to answer the phone to make it right or to hurry up and get that new material back out there. So I would encourage you to just evaluate your sources and it's not always about price. I know that's a big driver, but sometimes the cheapest product is the cheapest product and you're getting exactly what you pay for. So ask some questions.

BUDDY PULLEN: 39:58

Ask about the UV protection Two sides, one side, is it even there? Is it co-extruded? Is it a single layer? You know there's just a lot of a lot of things that people that aren't in the world of plastic just don't know. And if if you're not getting that information, there's probably a reason you're not getting that information. So just ask, ask the tough questions, and you'll know from the answers if if they're shooting you straight or if if they're giving you a sales pitch.

SHED GEEK: 40:27

Man, I love it. Uh, I feel like, I feel like that could be a 30 minute, a 30 second promo, just uh, that alone for uh wanting to watch this episode. There is a lot of shed manufacturers that are, you know. I mean they have dedicated purchasing procurement departments and they're you know, like you said, the customers drive in sort of the product. So when you have the time to take the time to learn more about it, I mean just different, different trade shows uh that probably a lot of the listeners uh go to, from the shed expo, garage, shed, carport, builder, nfba, I don't know what all else is out there, but there's tons of trade shows where you can market your product to the listeners who are going to be listening to it.

BUDDY PULLEN: 41:18

So that's generally at every one of them. I actually an FBA was just a couple weeks ago so I was out there. I actually went to IBS. That's probably not really for the shed builders. That's a large-scale show. It's really not even the world I live in. I'm more of the smaller, the regional shows. Nfba is a good one. The Shed Expo, the Garage Carport Shed Builder Show, the Construction Roll Forming Show, those are. I spend a lot of time there and we talked earlier about, you know, the Amish community.

BUDDY PULLEN: 41:48

I have a lot of customers in that world. A lot of you know landline phone calls and a lot of hand-delivered credit apps and it's I enjoy it, that's. I get accused of being too in the weeds a lot and I'll spend half a day working on an order that might only be $1,200. But that $1,200 order is important to that guy, so it's important to me. I don't take the size of the customer into consideration when I'm applying my effort. A customer is a customer is a customer and they deserve attention. But yeah, I'm at all of those things. So if anybody's listening that does don't already know me. I'd encourage you to at least stop by and say hi and introduce yourself. I'm I'm sure we know some of the same people out in the world for sure.

SHED GEEK: 42:33

Uh, well, you said you're located there in virginia, but uh, you got a good phone number. Email, how? How might they get a hold of your?

BUDDY PULLEN: 42:40

website. The cell phone number, if they want to call, is 540-226-9903. That's my personal cell phone. I don't believe in having a work cell phone and a personal cell phone. As much as I say, I'm not a salesman, I am in sales and that phone's with me 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I'm never off. I'm never out of the office. I'm always available. I'll get back to you within a couple hours in most cases, unless I'm on a plane or something.

BUDDY PULLEN: 43:11

Actually, my son made a funny comment not long ago. My wife was asking me if I could be off for something I don't remember what it was and he said well, mom, your Buddy's in sales so he can be off whenever he wants, but he's never really off. And that made sense. That was as good an analogy as I've ever heard. And, of course, if they have access to email, it's just Buddypullen P-U-L-L-E-N at Amerilux. com and that's A-M-E-R-I-L-U-X. So it it's A-M-E-R-I-L-U-X. It was just my name with a dot in the middle at Ameriluxcom. But that cell phone you call, text anytime. If you miss me, just leave a message. I promise I will call you back.

SHED GEEK: 43:51

I echo everything you're saying, man. On the sales approach too, I always try to make myself considerably available. This industry, I like to say, in the you know, maybe shed space, uh, specifically, is like, uh, over communication is, is is never really an option. Uh, they want communicated to um, there's a lot of over promising and under delivering and and like people get really disappointed in that. So, uh, some of the things you said today just were spot on, man, as far as, like you know, uh, uh, answering your phone, just being able to answer your phone, be there whenever somebody calls, I mean, those little things really matter and they begin to set up shop in in a person's mindset about how your business operates and things like that. So I always try to tell people I'll get back to you the same day. If I can't get back to you the same day, there's, there's, it's, it's rare, but I'm, I'm, uh, I'm just just terribly busy if that's the case, or recording, or, like you said, on a plane or traveling somewhere. We drive a lot across the country. So, uh, I'll be out in virginia, uh, this summer. So I don't know, maybe I'll have to see where you're at and love to swing by, uh, meet you, buy you lunch and I hope you get some calls. Man, I hope people know more about you.

SHED GEEK: 45:06

We kind of view the podcast as a way to just get in front of people and talk about your products, your services or talk about your stories. We didn't even really get into who Buddy Pullen is, but maybe we can do that sometime. But you know what? The best way to find that out is just give you a call and an email with the numbers you suggested. Love your products. Wish you guys lots of success. I've been doing this here recently. You might have nothing. This is off the cuff. I didn't prep you too much for this. Do you have any questions for me? Shed related, not shed related, podcast related. I really don't care what question you got. If you don't have any, that's fine. Um, but one or two questions and maybe I can elaborate on if you.

BUDDY PULLEN: 45:44

Something comes to mind you're immersed in the shed world almost exclusively and you asked me where do I think it's going? Where do you think it's?

SHED GEEK: 45:53

going man, it just like every time we put a ceiling on it we find out that's a glass ceiling. So, like you know, some of my first interviews going back, uh, um, uh, with gideon zook, uh, up there in pennsylvania, was talking about in the 70s, late 70s, how him and his two brothers were building sheds and his dad says two of your boys are gonna have to get out of this, you're gonna flood the market. You know, just just imagine, you know now, like 60 shed manufacturers in lancaster county or something of that nature. I don't know what it is, that's just what I've heard. But I mean, uh, even during covid, you know, we, we sort of thought the same thing that you did like, oh no, what are we going to do? Where's this going? And inventory flew off the shelf like we could. We weren't having a problem selling, we're having a problem building. We couldn't get the build times down. It was 14, 18 weeks things you never heard of for a new build and people were buying and I was like I don't even understand how you're able to decipher the difference in 14 and 18 weekly times accurately. I mean it's just because, like for some people, 14 weeks or 18 weeks both sounds like no deal, but they're not going to go anywhere else and get it like. They're going to take what's available because there's no inventory. So, um, you know it is, it is, um, a hybrid approach in some ways. Now people are trying to set their self apart and do some different things, uh, so not just in design, uh, but also in the products that they carry, uh, and there's just there's just new things coming to the market. I mean, there's just it's. It's really cool.

SHED GEEK: 47:25

I'm I'm excited about some of like the solar approaches at some of these things. Um, um, I'm trying to, yeah, wrap my head around where some of those things are going. You were talking about some of the green things and, and a couple of the guys that advertise with us is, uh, is mobino solar, solar Solutions, and then Ecoethics Solar, and I just re-interviewed Ecoethics. But I want to get with Mobino again in the future and just like some of those products coming to the market where they're self-sufficient and self-sustaining. That's just impressive to me. You know what I mean.

SHED GEEK: 47:57

Like it's, you know, instead of a traditional louvered vent, you can actually move the air around. So now, all of a sudden, you can take someone in. You can sell them the shed if it's an inventory piece on the lot and it's cheaper, or you can provide your own power and that's what a lot of people are looking for, because some of them want complete off-grid systems. But I mean beyond that, just even like the rampage doors I think is cool, you know the, the RV type looking door that raises up and down. That way you can just drive your mower and you don't have to open the doors to the side. It's just a little, just a little something different.

SHED GEEK: 48:25

And every shed lot I go to they're trying to set their self apart just a little bit somehow. And some do that through price, some do it through service, some do it through products, some do it through all of those. But man, it's just interesting to continue to watch it morph into tiny homes, greenhouses, you know guys are going into play sets and and chicken coops and dog kennels to try to offer different products that you just wouldn't have seen. You'd have to go to I don't know tractor supply and get something like that or like a big box store to get that at one point. Now they're able to specialize in that and then make a whole business plan and off of it it's. It's just cool to me to see like small america mom and pop ingenuity that's driving the, the the economy, move forward with like just creativity. So I guess that's what I would say, man. That's my, my overall arching thoughts on it.

BUDDY PULLEN: 49:16

So yeah, anyway. And then in the quality of the build, I mean it's it. You know most, most of these guys at least all of them that I know of and work with are putting out a quality product. I haven't seen anyone really chance down on the framing or the materials. They haven't tried to cheapen the model, to extend the margin, and that's what attracts me to the world is that they're doing clean, clear, honest business and just trying to make a living. You know, if I can find a way to help those guys do that, I'm all about it.

SHED GEEK: 49:46

You got it, man. Love your product, Love your sales approach, your attitude and everything about it. Uh, look forward to meeting you at the one of the next shows.

BUDDY PULLEN: 50:01

I'm familiar. I'll track you down. All right is this one will not let you do is get away without at least saying hi and having a conversation. I I prefer a face-to-face, in-person meeting anytime I can have it that's right, amen.

SHED GEEK: 50:13

I appreciate that, buddy. I appreciate you being on today. It's been great I thank you.

BUDDY PULLEN: 50:19

I appreciate the time and the exposure to the listeners. If there's anything I can do in the future to help out or come back around, I'd be happy to do it.

SHED GEEK: 50:26

You got it.