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June 16, 2025 41 mins

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When you're in the business of metal buildings, the tools you use define not just your efficiency, but the quality of your finished product. That's why we were thrilled to welcome Wendell from Cold Spring Enterprises to share the fascinating journey of his family's three-generation manufacturing business and their game-changing VersaBend system.

Starting from a converted chicken house in Abbeville, South Carolina in 1977, Cold Spring has grown into a respected manufacturer whose VersaBend machines are powering production at approximately 130 metal building shops nationwide. What makes this system special? It handles four different tube sizes with one die, creates full radius bends for cleaner aesthetics, and processes a full bundle of 25 tubes in under 30 minutes – that's about a minute per bow. At $19,500, the compact machine represents an investment that quickly pays for itself through increased productivity and consistent quality.

Wendell shared an exciting preview of their upcoming Swedger machine, expected to launch in early 2025. This innovative tool will swedge tube ends so they fit directly into one another, eliminating the need for separate sleeve pieces and creating stronger connections while saving valuable assembly time. Beyond equipment, Cold Spring also manufactures thousands of the brackets, clips, and hardware components that are essential to metal building construction.

Our conversation highlighted a crucial point for both manufacturers and dealers: understanding the components and construction methods that differentiate quality buildings is essential for success in this industry. As Jared noted, "Time is money," and tools like the VersaBend and upcoming Swedger allow metal building professionals to work smarter rather than harder.

Ready to elevate your metal building production? Contact Cold Spring Enterprises at 864-446-3645 or visit coldspringmetal.com to learn how their American-made equipment and components can transform your business.

For more information or to know more about the Shed Geek Podcast visit us at our website.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube at the handle @shedgeekpodcast.

To be a guest on the Shed Geek Podcast visit our website and fill out the "Contact Us" form.

To suggest show topics or ask questions you want answered email us at info@shedgeek.com.

This episodes Sponsors:
Studio Sponsor: J Money LLC

Shed Geek Marketing
Realwork Labs

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Intro (00:00):
Hey, this is Joel Oney at the J Money Studio in the heart
of the Buckeye State, and Iwant to personally welcome you
to today's episode of the SteelKings Podcast with my good
friends Jared Ledford and EricOlson, better known to you as
the Steel Kings.
Be sure to check out jmoneyllc.
com for financing solutions foryour buildings.

(00:24):
And now let's get back to theSteel Kings podcast.

Jared Ledford (00:32):
Hey guys, what's up?
This is Jared and Eric, andthis is the Steel Kings podcast.
We are live for another episodehere.
And Eric, what's up?
Brother?
We've been missing you for thelast few weeks.
What's been going on?
You've been travelingdestinations?

Eric Olson (00:48):
Dude, I don't even know.

Jared Ledford (00:54):
It's the busy time of the year, right?

Eric Olson (00:56):
It's the busy time of the year and normally when I
get busy I'm also doing otherthings too, and it just seems
like I made a road trip out toSeattle Washington with a guy I
go to church with and pitstopped at like three different
people's houses close, somedeals did a water fast.
You know, typical Eric.

(01:17):
Life came back.
Now I'm doing podcasts, justthe normal just the normal stuff
, just normal day in the life ofa missionary man, I guess.

Jared Ledford (01:29):
So yeah, cool, yeah, well, I'll tell you what
man I'm gonna see you on camerain a minute, you know I'm, uh,
I'm, I am better than I deserve.
I uh, I am living a blessedlife.
We're on a.
We're on a podcast.
I'm on a podcast with my bestfriend.
I'm selling metal buildings andwoodshed.
Starting to dabble in polebarns.

Eric Olson (01:48):
We are better Kids are out of school.

Jared Ledford (01:51):
Yeah, kids got out of school.
So, you guys are probably goingto be getting this mid-June,
maybe first part of June.
Kids just got out of school.
Last week I've got a couple ofthird graders who are no longer
in elementary school, so I'mfeeling older than usual.
I'm getting a little extra grayin the hair, but yeah, you know
, I'm trying to trying to see ifmy hair will grow back.
I did the, I did the summerbuzz and somebody called me bald

(02:15):
recently.
So, we'll see.
You know, we'll see if it growsback, right, we'll see how that
goes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It goes with.
It goes with the flow, right?
I don't want to waste a wholelot of time.
We've got a really excitingthing to go to today.
We've got a new sponsor on thepodcast and that is Cold Spring
Enterprises.

(02:35):
These guys are behind theVersaBend system For all of our
metal building manufacturers andwannabe metal building
manufacturers.
This is going to be one tolisten closely to as we provide
you product updates and give youthe ins and outs of the product
line and, obviously, somethingthat you've seen at trade shows,
something that a lot of youmight already be using in your
shops.

(02:56):
I want to give a quick shout outand plug to our team over at J
Money.
They will help you out withyour financing needs, whether
you're a metal building dealer,shed dealer, manufacturer,
contractor, all of the above,the guys at J Money will give
you exactly what you need.
Contact the team over there.
Joel and Katie are happy tohelp, as always.

(03:16):
Podcast team over at Shed GeekPodcast and Shed Geek Marketing.
I want to give a quick shoutout to those guys.
I'm not going to waste a wholelot more time.
Eric, we've got Wendell fromCold Spring Enterprises, the
owner, here with us today.
I'm going to bring him into thestudio now and we'll let him
introduce himself and go fromthere.

(03:36):
Sounds good, Wendell.
Can you hear us, brother, areyou with us?
Yes all right, Wendell, it isan absolute pleasure and honor
to have you on the Steel Kingspodcast.
Um, for most of our listeners.
Um, I'm sure you've probablyheard from Wendell on Shannon's
podcast.
Um, he's been working with Samover on the Friday show, but

(03:58):
we're happy to have you with ushere on the Monday show the
Steel Kings Wendell.
How are you doing today,brother?

Wendell Hochstetler (04:05):
Doing well.
Yeah, we're blessed.

Jared Ledford (04:07):
Yeah, good brother.
So, Eric and I were superpleased to hear from you.
We made contact with you abouta week or so ago and we've been
wrapping back and forth ongetting on the podcast and
talking a little bit more aboutwhat you got going on.
Can you give us a couple-minutebreakdown on Cold Spring
Enterprises, Versabend, andwe'll kind of go from there.

(04:28):
I want to share as much of yourstory as possible, so tell us a
little bit more about Wendell.

Wendell Hochstetler (04:33):
Yeah, sure, just a bit of a history on our
business.
My father, Ernest, would havehad, his background would have
been in the metal fabricationside, and so he started the
business here in Abbeville,South Carolina, back in 1977.
I was still in school and, yeah, once I graduated from high

(05:00):
school I joined my father.
I'm the only son in the family.
I have three sisters and, yeah,we left the little chicken
house where we started.
He had taken an old chickenhouse, turned it into a little
metal fab shop and that is wherewe actually started doing the
carport frame.
That was soon after the tubularbuildings started showing up

(05:23):
and he made the first bender forourselves after doing one or
two carports.
And then we started bendingframes for other companies and
then one or two said, hey, whydon't you make us a bender?
So, we did that.
You know that's been, that'sbeen probably 25 years ago or
more, but in the last 15 yearsnow we have produced.

(05:47):
I'm thinking we probably havearound 125, 130 of these
VersaBend machines out andworking and we don't have a big
shop.
We have around seven, eightemployees here.
We do a lot of other metal fabwork but we do produce and build
them.
The tubular buildings.

(06:08):
We erect them, we make themachine, we fab out all the
brackets, hardware clips to gowith this.
We sell that to other tubularcompanies that are doing the
buildings.
So that's who we are, and we'dlove to do more of this type of
work.

Jared Ledford (06:28):
Yeah, that's what we want to hear, man.
I mean I think that you knowmost of our listeners are
probably going to be dealers andmanufacturers alike, but if we
can introduce someone that wetrust, someone that's been a
good proponent for not only theSteel Kings but for Shed Geek
and for so many of our partnersout there that are probably
using a VersaBend machine, Imean this is the man right here.

(06:50):
So, if you need anything fromVersaBend, Wendell is going to
be a really good contact for youguys.
It sounds to me like not justproducing tubular steel as far
as forming, you're alsosupplying the brackets, you're
also supplying hardware.
So, you become I mean, you'realso supplying the brackets,
you're also supplying hardware.
So you become I mean you'rereally kind of the American
dream, right, you started in ayou say, a chicken house.

Wendell Hochstetler (07:11):
That's right.

Jared Ledford (07:12):
So, we were talking a little bit offline,
and I was fascinated.
It's a third generationbusiness, that's right.
So, you're now onto the thirdgeneration of your family that
are that's doing this, and youknow that's just.
I mean, that's right up me andEric's wheelhouse.
I mean what we're trying to dohere is build legacy for our
family and we were learning frompeople like you, Wendell, that

(07:33):
have already built a legacy, andI mean third generation is
impressive.
I mean that's just something tobe really proud of and
something to be, you know, havea lot of honor in.
So, I mean we're really happyto have you on the podcast for
sure, Eric.
I know you're, I know you'rejust fuming at the mouth.
I can see you just droolingover there.
What do you got for us, brother?

Eric Olson (07:51):
Well, I'm, I'm just in awe about our connections
that we've made over the years.
And, um, you know, at firstit's like oh gosh, you met an
owner of a carport company andthen you meet a couple of them,
and then you go some trade showsand it gets deeper and then you
hear people's stories.
It's just, I'm thinking ofwhere I started selling sheds,
and it similar to a chicken coopor chicken house.

(08:14):
You know, this is ahole-in-the-wall place and it's
so cool to see how God's blessedeverybody in their businesses
and I mean, obviously we're.
So, we're fortunate for you toget on the show, because we do
have a good network ofmanufacturers that either we can
.
We'll connect them somehow, andI'm sure we'll get some pings

(08:35):
after we launch the episode too.
But so thankful to see Legacy.
Legacy is good and it's hopefulfor the future too.
So, I'm just excited for you tobe here.

Jared Ledford (08:47):
I think it's fair to say.
I think it's fair to say,Wendell, your, your dad,
probably had a fair amount to dowith the growth in the industry
.
I mean you as well.
I mean I think that you know,when you're talking about 120,
130 vendors out there, I meanthere's not that many, there's
not that many folks out theredoing these.
Now it seems like you know,when you talk to dealers and you

(09:08):
think about it like we workwith I don't know, 18 to 20
manufacturers currently acrossthe United States, I mean and
those are those guys are sellinga lot of buildings, I would.
I would venture to say most ofthem are probably using a
VersaBend in at least one oftheir shops.
Wouldn't you think so, Wendell?

Wendell Hochstetler (09:25):
Yes, we've sold quite a few.
Most of the places where we'vesold the machines have been to,
uh, smaller, you know fellascompanies.
We did sell to one or twolarger ones, so I'm not sure
exactly where all they're at umbut yeah, how does one, how does
one go about?

Eric Olson (09:45):
do you find that trade shows cold calls and like
hearing a referral, somewhatsomething like that, like how,
how is, how is it best for youguys to gain new business is, uh
, do people just call you andinquire?
Do you reach out?

(10:05):
Is it you know?

Wendell Hochstetler (10:07):
yeah, how do?
they locate you yeah, so tradeshows we have found the last
number of years have been agreat way.
That has been really good.
That's why we don't want tomiss one.
We do have a very good onlinepresence.
We, we, we joined up with um,the impact, and they really got
us online.

(10:27):
Anybody searching for a tubebender we pop up pretty quick,
and so we have a lot of websitereferrals wanting to know you
know what's the price, and sothere's a lot of that connection
as well.
And, of course, you knowbusinesses that have had a
machine want to add another onereferrals.

(10:48):
That's all been good as well,yeah.

Jared Ledford (10:54):
I think that's exciting stuff.
I mean, I think that it doesn'ttake much, right.
I mean, this is a product thatkind of sells itself in the
space.
It's affordable, it's not goingto break the bank, it's not
going to break anybody's wallet.
It's something that you reallyare benefited by having.
I mean, it's a toolspecifically built for our
industry, specifically built forwhat we do, right.

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Wendell Hochstetler (12:37):
Our machine would be different than there's
one or two other machines outthere that are being sold and
work and do the job.
Our machine comes equipped tobend four main sizes of tube in
the industry, so that onemachine comes in to do all of
those.
It also does a full radius bendon the corner if you're going

(12:58):
to do a, you know, a bent framecorner versus most of the other
benders are doing two bendsthere they have just two kind of
like two hard crush bends wherewe do one full radius Gives it
a little neater look.
So yeah, that's what we haveand it's been a very good
machine.
It's just very simple tooperate.

(13:19):
All the components are just,you know, off-the-shelf type
components.
There's nothing.
You're going to have to waitlong.
If something does break down onit, we can get you up and going
again.

Jared Ledford (13:32):
That's awesome, that's awesome.

Eric Olson (13:35):
When you first started making that machine,
after that first customer, didyou guys know like, this is the
business.
We need to make these.
We need to business, we need tomake these, we need to figure
out how to make these.

Wendell Hochstetler (13:46):
No, no, okay, it was no, it was like we
built, you know, one and then,and then we built the second one
, you know, maybe a year later,and it took, you know, I don't
know, eight, eight or ten yearslike that, just one or two here
and there.
But now it's probably in thelast 10 to 15 years that you
know we're pushing it andactually trying to sell it.

(14:08):
So, we manufacture thebuildings.
I only have one local crew thatdoes it, but our goal is to be
more involved in this piece ofmachinery, as well as the
components and the brackets andclips that we do thousands of
them now and ship out as well tomanufacturers and so when you,

(14:31):
when you guys first started, didyou guys sell the pull the kits
, like the building kits,because I heard you kind of you
erected them.

Eric Olson (14:39):
So right is that like your typical four or five
foot off center Same deal asokay, gotcha, okay, and then you
kind of shifted away from thatLike where, where did that kind
of stuff be a thing?
That's right?

Wendell Hochstetler (14:57):
We did.
So, we weren't doing a lot ofthat, but we had one or one
particularly that we would.
There was another fellow toothat that we would sell the
frames to.
They would buy their ownheating and, you know, have
their own crew to put them up.
Well then, when we sold abender to the, the one company
you know, then he started ofcourse buying his own tubing and

(15:18):
gotcha and so, yeah, it kind oftook that business away from us
.
But we were okay and even now we, if someone's wanting to start
up, we're not so much abouttrying to sell them the tubing,
we'll.
We'll give them contacts fordifferent mills that roll tubing
and just let them buy their owntube.
If they want to buy a fewbundles from us to start off

(15:39):
with, they can't, you know,afford to buy a full truckload,
we'll help them out with that aswell.
But basically, just helpingsomeone get in business.
Um, and yeah, providing the,the hardware and things, and of
course, with the other, the newmachine that we're coming up
with I think we'll talk aboutthat here in a bit um, that's

(16:00):
something that's a big kind ofan interest for us to get out on
the market as well.

Jared Ledford (16:05):
Yeah, tell us about the Swedger.
Right, that's correct, theSwedger.
So, tell us a little bit aboutthis.
I mean, I want to give a quickpop off to you guys.
Check them out atColdSpringMetal.
com.
Give these guys your fullattention, because if you're out

(16:27):
there and you're using anythingother than a VersaBend machine
right now to bend your tubesteel, you're probably doing
yourself a disservice.
Um, these are guys that havecome up in the industry.
Like Wendell said 1977, theythey've got some, uh, some real
traction in this industry andthey've gone from, you know,
metal producer, metalfabrication, to now they're
supplying quite a lot of theindustry with really high- end
components, really the besttools in the industry to do what

(16:48):
we do.
Tell us about the Swedger,Wendell.
I mean seriously, I want tohear about this thing.

Wendell Hochstetler (16:55):
Right.
So, the Swedger is somethingthat we actually have a machine
here.
It is, it is working.
We're looking at actuallyoffering the machine and getting
it out on the market.
It's gonna be, I don't know,six, eight months yet, until
that happens, hopefully.
But a Swedger will take yourtubing, whatever.

(17:15):
If you're building your carport, your buildings, out of two and
a half, two and a quarter, twoby three, this Swedger takes
that and takes the end of thetube and swedges it down, takes
the last six inches of your tube, swedges it down so that it
fits inside of your joint, whichallows you to, you know, put

(17:38):
together these buildings withouta separate piece, an individual
little sleeve, that that youhave to put in there.
So, there's been quite a fewpeople asking us that have
bought our bender.
They're asking do we offerswedgers?
You know we just been saying no, we don't have it.
So that is our goal, hopefullyby the end of the year.
First of next is to have theSwedger available to where you

(18:02):
can sweat your tubing and slipfit your joints.

Jared Ledford (18:06):
You're talking about a lot of saved time and
money over time as opposed tousing sleeves and dealing with
the half.
So for installers this is ahuge deal.
I mean you know from I've beenon enough build sites at this
point to understand how metalbuildings are constructed you
probably know more than me by acountry mile Wendell but I mean

(18:27):
you're talking about asignificant amount of time and
cost savings over the course ofa run.
Right when you're talking aboutsledging versus using, you know
, brackets and sleeves and allthat kind of stuff.

Wendell Hochstetler (18:38):
That's right, yeah, yeah, and, and I
think there's also I don't know,we haven't done any testing,
but I think there is even a, a,a strength issue as well,
because you know, you just havetwo, two pieces joined together
versus three now.

Jared Ledford (18:54):
So, um, yeah, we're excited about it and I
think there'll be a market forit yeah, anytime you have
movement, anytime you have likean additional piece in there
that can cause friction andmovement, I feel like there's
room for it to be less, you know, less well built.
I mean, I don't know exactlythe word I want to use, Wendell

(19:14):
but to me if you've got a pieceof steel moving in between two
other pieces of steel, thatfriction can cause, you know,
hardware to back out things likethat, whereas when you swedge
you've got that built-in kind ofconnection off the rip and then
use your fasteners to hold ittogether.
Is that a good understanding?
yeah okay, yeah, I like toreally.

(19:35):
I mean, you know, for all ofour metal building dealers.
I can't stress enough, you know, pro tip of the day.
You know we've been getting alot of feedback from.
We've been getting a lot offeedback from.
We've been getting a lot offeedback online that some people
love the pro tip, some of youdon't.
I can tell you.
If you don't like them, that'sokay.
They work well for us.
What I can tell you is you needto know your product inside and

(19:55):
out.
Raise your standards up, learnabout the manufacturing process
of the buildings that you'reselling, because you will be
that much more in the game whenit comes to talking to customers
.
I really want you to understandthe metal building construction
here, for those that arelistening.
When you're talking about anupper, so a leg, coming down
into a base rail, the differencebetween that base rail and that

(20:18):
upper or that leg meetingtogether with a sleeve bracket
to hold it together versusswedging, there's just a
significant quality difference.
And when you're talking aboutyou know, manufacturer A 4 foot
on center, 12 gauge, 26 gaugewrap swedged, the quality that

(20:41):
you're talking about, versus a14 gauge, 29 wrap, bracketed,
you know, we've seen this.
You know, eric and I have beendoing this for you know, eric's
been doing it for almost sevenyears now.
I've been doing it for a littleover four.
What I can tell you is thequality difference on the
breakdown of the building iswhat you can use to justify

(21:01):
selling a higher quality product, and that's why it was such an
honor for us to get with Wendell, because it was a product that
I already believed in.
I remember and I don't thinkWendell remembers, but I
remember meeting Wendell at atrade show, so I like Gary's
shows, the Shieldwall Mediashows.
We were talking about that.
Wendell, we'll be excited tosee you.

(21:22):
I'm sure we'll bump into you atthe next one.
Is the next one going to be inthe fall that you'll be out with
Gary?

Wendell Hochstetler (21:29):
It's in January,

Jared Ledford (21:31):
January, okay, so I was pulling that up here.
I wanted to give everybody aquick shout-out.
It's being rebranded as theRural Builder Show, is that
right?

Wendell Hochstetler (21:43):
Is that right?
I think that's right.
Yeah, he's putting kind of twotogether.
He's going to have a buildingthat will have both.

Jared Ledford (21:47):
Yeah, it was that really long name Garage Shed,
carport Expo, now rebranded theRural Builder Show.
I think that they're reallylooking to get into that.
Shield Wall is known for theirpost frame, Gary's.
Gary's really connected in thatspace and I think he's really
looking to tie together the twoindustries pole barn and metal.

(22:07):
And you know that's reallywhere our wheelhouse is, as Eric
and I, you know, start workingon our pole barn projects and
getting really excited aboutthat.
Wendell, how do how does acustomer make initial contact
with you?
Is it going to be through thewebsite?
Is there a phone number thatthey can reach out?
What's the easiest way to get ahold of somebody at Cold Spring

(22:28):
to get more information aboutVersaBend and future projects?

Wendell Hochstetler (22:33):
Yeah, so you definitely can get a hold of
us on our website and hopefullyI can get back with you fairly
quick and get back with youfairly quick.
But you actually do better ifyou just call, because it's
always good to just talk and youcan find out who we are and
what we have to offer.
So I'd love to have that chanceto just talk.

Jared Ledford (22:53):
Yeah, and I think we'll probably reach back out
to you fairly often I mean maybeonce every six, eight weeks and
just get a check-in with you.
I mean I think customers wouldlove to know what you guys got
going on at Cold Spring.
I know we're real interested inlearning when the Swedger is
going to become available sothat we can get that out to our
friends and listeners that arereally in the market for

(23:15):
something like that.
Again, these machines, you know, am I roughing it when I say
starting around 20K?
Wendell?

Wendell Hochstetler (23:22):
That's right.
Yeah, the first event is itselffor 19.5 and then most of the
time there's some shipping, butyeah okay, I mean that is an
affordable number.

Jared Ledford (23:34):
So, I mean, if you're listening to this and
you're manufacturing metalbuildings, I mean it doesn't
take long to overcome thatinitial buy-in.
And from there, what kind of?
What kind of service, what kindof you, what kind of you know
what kind of maintenance, whatkind of you know long-term
protection do you have on thoseWendell?
Do you guys service them?
Do you guys do that kind ofthing?

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neighborhoods you serve, oneshed at a time.

Wendell Hochstetler (25:23):
We would.
Yeah, I mean, I don't know thatwe've ever had a machine
necessarily come back forservice.
They just work.
But if there is something, thatbreaks or whatever, we're right
there to support.
Most of the time we can, we canjust talk, you know, a shop
manager, whoever maintenanceperson on the floor we can, we

(25:46):
can help them take care of theissue.
We can get them to parts.
We keep things here, butthere's very little of that
happening so far.

Jared Ledford (25:54):
So yeah, well, that's good.
I mean, I wouldn't expect muchless from a third generation
American company making a reallytop, top, top tier type of
product.
And that's what we expect whenwe're when we're dealing with
like that quality.
Eric and I are really high onworking with quality partners.
Working with qualitymanufacturers I think we've

(26:15):
stressed that probably justabout on every episode is find
the right manufacturing partnerIf you're a dealer find the
right dealer find the rightdealer.
If you're a manufacturer andyou're listening to this and
you're tired of getting bumorders, maybe it's time to care
a little bit more about thedealers that you're bringing on.
You know you have to.
You have to continue to realizethat in this industry it is,

(26:40):
it's a quality concern and I andI want to make mention of this
just because it's on my mindevery day the race to the bottom
doesn't have to involveeveryone.
A rising tide raises all boats.
We don't have to.
We don't have to compete witheach other to the point of
nauseam and at the point whereit's costing us money.
You know, eric, and I go aboutthis.
I mean, we talk about thisprobably multiple times a week,

(27:02):
right, I mean, this is you know,we deal with this all the time
where we get competing quotesfrom dealers who clearly are not
looking out for the bestinterest of the customer.
You know, the only thing that Ican really ask you guys, from
an industry-wide standpoint, isdo better, not just for
yourselves, but do better foryour customers.

(27:32):
If you're looking for an optionin helping you scale your
business, a tool like Versabendis going to absolutely
revolutionize what you're doing.
I've seen some jobs.
I mean, Wendell, give us abreakdown on how much easier it
is.
I mean you can form tubes, youcan bend tube seal.
I mean, Wendell, give us abreakdown on how much easier it
is.
I mean you can form tubes, youcan bend tube seal.
I mean, but tell us why.
What's the why behind the 19-5?
You know, if you had to tellsomebody, the one reason why

(27:55):
VersaBend is the absolute besttubular steel bender on the
market.

Wendell Hochstetler (27:57):
What would you say?
Yeah, yeah.
So, I would say it's becauseyou're getting a machine that's
gonna bend four sides of thetube.
That's just.
It comes equipped for that onedie does all those tubes.
The only thing that you have todo is take we call them shims
and then that little shimliterally picks in and out of
the die.
No tools, no bolts or anything,it just slides in and out and

(28:20):
it's that quick that you canchange your die from a two by
three tube to a two and aquarter tube, so that you know
to change out for different sizetubes.
It's very, very quick, we cando.
You have two guys, one guyrunning the machine, one guy
running the end of the tube.
If you're doing a bent what wecall a bent frame, traditional

(28:43):
bent style carport you can do abundle of tube, which is 25
pieces.
You can do a bundle of tube inless than 30 minutes.
So that's just about a minutefor a bow.
So it's very quick.
And it does the full radiusversus the double bend.

(29:03):
Just a really neat-looking bendthat it does.
Do you bring that to a trade?
show.

Jared Ledford (29:12):
It gives you that quality.

Eric Olson (29:14):
Do you bring at the trade show?
Are you bringing a machine withyou?
We do yes and you just do.
And if there's somebody thereand you're not, you know,
obviously wasting material, butyou're putting on a show a
little bit.
Okay, I think the Steel Kingsare going to try to come to that

(29:34):
trade show.
We're trying to get a schedule,so definitely want to come by
the booth.
I know it's not until January,which is six months away, but
time flies in the metal buildingindustry.
So, okay, cool, I didn't meanto jump in there.

Jared Ledford (29:48):
No, no, For those of you that haven't checked it
out, check out Shield Wall Media.
I'm going to give them a freeplug.
I love Gary.
A free plug.
I love Gary.
I love the guys over there.
They do a great job with theirshows.
They do the Post Frame Buildershow, they do the Role Forming
show, which the Role Formingshow, ironically enough, is
going to be in date.
So, the Steel Kings will bethere one way or the other.
For that one for sure, thatone's going to be in date in

(30:12):
October.
And then the Role Builder shownext year, first part of next
year, and you know it's fun tosee.
That's what drew me to yourbooth, Wendell, when I was there
in Knoxville, was seeing theequipment.
It's not big either.
I mean, that's the thing Like.
If you're thinking this thingtakes up a big space, it's
probably, I'm guessing.

(30:33):
What about four feet wide?
What's the dimensions on itlook like Four feet by two,
that's right, it's probablyabout four feet wide.

Wendell Hochstetler (30:42):
you know stands about close to four feet
tall.
It might be about five feetlong, but you put in the back of
your pickup truck, you knowthat's the shocking part about
this guy.

Jared Ledford (30:55):
You know, and I'll credit, I'll credit the
Deanna and the edit team becauseI'm sure they're going to show
one.
But if you guys are on theYouTube or you're watching us on
the video, hopefully we've gota spliced in picture of this
machine, because the cost isreally not that prohibitive.
If you're selling tubular steelbuildings, you're making enough

(31:18):
money to cover the cost of this, probably in one or two
buildings, and at that point,like Wendell said, you can do a
bundle in 30 minutes.
Bend this thing out.
I mean, think about the time,think about the quality.
We're talking uniform, we'retalking uniform bends, we're
talking things that look goodand are quicker and, at the end

(31:40):
of the day, time is what EricTime is money Time is
money.
Time is money.
So, you got to think about allthose extra minutes of bending,
all that you know, and the factthat you're not getting uniform
bends, the fact that you're notproducing the kind of quality
that you want to.
That's where something likeVersaBend really plays a key

(32:03):
role in scaling.
So, if you're you know Wendell,and we were talking before the
podcast started working withsmall manufacturers, I mean, if
you're a one man show, giveWendell a call.
If you're a huge conglomerateand you want a couple extra
machines, give Wendell a call.
I mean, this is not a situationwhere we're looking for huge

(32:24):
manufacturers.
We're not looking for reallyanyone in particular.
We're looking for someone thatwants to get into this industry
or just has a need.
It may not even be that you'rea metal building manufacturer.
You may use tube steel inanother form, but this gives you
the option to do, to do.
Let's see.
You said two and a quarter, twoand a half, two by three.
And what was the fourth one?
You said you.

Wendell Hochstetler (32:44):
You can do that also a two by two, which
isn't used a lot.
Okay, if people are you doinggreenhouses now you can do but,
we also have a separate die thatwill bend a two by four tube.
So, there's been a few peopledoing two by four tube and going
a little wider yeah, you know,I've seen, I I've started to see
stuff like that.

Jared Ledford (33:05):
I think the quality, you know, we used to
just see two and a half, two anda quarter, 12 and 14 gauge
framing.
You know, now we're starting tosee all these different
configurations of things.
You know they'll use two and aquarter in the know, they'll use
two and a quarter in the endsand they'll use two and a half
in the side.
I mean, they break down thesethings so differently.
The manufacturers are kind ofall over the place and you know,

(33:27):
again, for our metal buildingdealers and those who don't know
why, a lot of it's because theyuse the different components to
meet engineering specs.
So in some parts of thebuilding they may need to use
two and a half or two and aquarter, based on whatever
engineering specs.
That's one thing I wasfascinated about when I went to
my first build withsite-specific blueprints is,
even though I sold a 12 gaugeupgrade, I was expecting all the

(33:49):
tubing to be two and a quarter12 gauge.
Some of it was two and a half.
Just because it's what youexpect doesn't mean it's what
you're actually going to getwhen you get there.
Understanding every componentand makeup on the building is
super important to giving yourcustomer a thorough, a thorough
expectation of what to expectwhen they get their building,

(34:11):
and I think that's what we doexceptionally well.
Eric and I on our team, we knowthe product as well as any
dealers out there, I would think.
Eric, where does that benefit?
You know we're going to wrap uphere, but what you know, what
do you hear from this as adealer and as a you know someone
, that's just.

Eric Olson (34:30):
I think it's the thing that I was thinking about
is the Swedger is more of like aVersatube it.
And I just keep thinking ofthat guy in Michigan that was
going to buy that building fromus and his eye was struggling to
explain the difference.
And if you're a dealer and youdon't know, and really honestly,

(34:50):
if you're probably amanufacturer, you should know.
But if you're not knowledgeableand then you get questions
about something and you're justbasically ignorant to what the
information is like, what is thedifference between an American
Steel joint, an American Steelproduct, versus a Versatube
product?
Because they look the same, youknow and um, but being able to

(35:15):
describe where the joint hits,where the up goes into the base
rail, it's like that right theremakes so much sense and paints
confidence to a buyer, which iswhat this industry needs.
The industry needs knowledge.
The people perish from a lackof knowledge.
So, if you're just sellingsomebody something and you're
not sure, what I'm taking awayfrom this is that there's more

(35:35):
than one way to skin a cat andyou should know all the ways,
all the possible ways.
You should know, and I'm veryexcited to get a demo of the new
product that's coming out.
So, stay in touch with us aboutlike a release date and love to
get some footage, like afootage of it in operating, like

(35:57):
a 60-second clip of how quickit works or, you know, putting
you on the spot to say yes onthat.
But that might be helpful forthe new product line that's
coming out, and I'm sure youguys have some marketing team
that but, but, but.
But, just yeah.
So just to summarize my answer,it's just basically there is
more than one way to connectjoints.

(36:18):
You know, there's the oldfashioned way with a three foot
brace or and some welding, oryou got this new thing, and it's
important to know thedifference between both, because
customers some customers aregoing to be picky and want
explanation and some customerswant the cheapest, and then you
don't even have to tell them,you just give them the cheap,
you know, cause you know theydon't care, and so, um, yeah,

(36:43):
we're blessed to have you on theshow, Wendell, yeah.

Jared Ledford (36:46):
I'll follow up.
I'll follow up with one lastthing for our manufacturing, for
our manufacturing friends, ifyou are not using, if you're not
using, a Versabender, you know,I would question why.
I would at least say, hey,reach out to me, I can, you know
, at least give you someguidance, connect you with
Wendell directly.
Um, I think it's one of thosethings where work smarter, not

(37:08):
harder, measure twice, cut once,kind of a thing.
If you can save 10, 15 minuteson a bundle of steel, you really
need to consider what you'redoing right now.
And not just that, but again,the uniform, the precision,
everything behind this machinespeaks to quality and it speaks

(37:28):
to saving your time, which inturn saves your money.
So, Wendell, you got anythingfor us on the way out?
Yeah, I'm sure we could talk toyou all day because you're
again one last time.
Third generation business, us,all the things that you want to
hear in a business.
They help build this industry,they help shape this industry.

(37:50):
Wendell, leave us with somegood, some good remarks for
everybody remarks for everybody.

Wendell Hochstetler (37:58):
Yeah, well, thank you for having me on and
great sharing this.
Yeah, the other piece that Iwould say you know, not only do
we have the VersaBand and theSwedger that's coming up, but we
make all the components.
If you go to our website,you'll see that there's a little
two by two angle clip and a twoby four flat clip that's used
in the industry.

(38:19):
Literally thousands of theseare made.
We make that.
We bought a new machine so wehave the price down, I think
about as low as you can findthem out there.
We'd love to pick up more ofthat business.
Of course, the more you buytype thing, the better the price
.
We have those at a very, verygood price and, yeah, we'd love

(38:41):
to just sell components toanybody that's interested yeah,
I, I, I cannot encourage youguys enough.

Jared Ledford (38:52):
Check them out um Cold Spring.
Let me get your website pulledback up one more time.
Cold Spring is the companycoldspringmetal.
com.
Check them out.
Give us the phone number.
One time as a shout out, saythat again.
Give us the phone number thatthey can reach you at yes, 864

(39:16):
446 3645.

Wendell Hochstetler (39:18):
Alright, that they can reach you at, yes,
864-446-3645.
All right.

Jared Ledford (39:23):
Well, I'll tell you what guys we're going to end
on that note.
This has been a great episode,Wendell, we're so appreciative
of you.
Brother, we're going to hearfrom you more in the future.
We're going to get some videosup for our listeners and
everything on how the VersaBendworks.
We're going to share some links.
Be on the lookout for those ofyou that are listening for the
newsletter from Shannon.
We'll make sure to get you guyssome really good content from

(39:46):
the guys over at Cold SpringEnterprises.
Again, coldspringmetal.
com.
864-446- 364 5.
Contact the team over there foranything that you need as far
as components.
I'm sure they're happy toanswer any questions about
VersaBend.
Be on the lookout for theSwedger, hopefully first part of

(40:08):
next year, and we'll keep youupdated on that too.
Eric, you got anything as weclose out this week, brother.

Eric Olson (40:16):
I have no pro tips.
Sometimes don't have pro tips.

Jared Ledford (40:20):
Yeah.
That makes sense Fair enough.

Eric Olson (40:23):
The pro tip is.

Jared Ledford (40:25):
I'm going to leave it like I always do guys
Get out in your community.
Get out in your community andbe a good neighbor, Be a good
friend.

Eric Olson (40:32):
Do something for somebody else.

Jared Ledford (40:34):
That's right.
Do something for somebody else.
Trust me, you will feel goodwhen you do.
I promise you Amen.
So, in the meantime, guys, I'mJared, he's Eric.
We got Wendell over there.
We love you guys and weappreciate you guys.
We will be back for anotherepisode of the Steel Kings
podcast next Monday.
Check out Shannon's show onWednesday, if you have anything.

(40:56):
I'm Jared at the Steel Kings,he's Eric at the Steel Kings.
We will talk to you guys soon.
Have a great week, all right,peace out.

Eric Olson (41:05):
Thank you, Caleb Grimes, you're next.

Outro (41:13):
Before you go, the J Money team wants to thank you
for listening to today's SteelKings podcast.
Remember, money is king.
If you need a financing optionon your portable wood sheds or
steel buildings, we are here tohelp.
Just check out jmoneyllc.
com for more information.
Don't forget to catch the nextepisode.
We'll still be here.
Have a great day.
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