July 20, 2020, marked the beginning of a new adventure for the Nathan Yoder family in Little Suamico, Wisconsin. The trucks that arrived that day filled the unprecedented 6,600 square foot seed warehouse, which will now serve as the center of its new business, “Premium Metals.
Delivered to the truck were brand new roll forming machines from Metal Meister in Mattoon, Illinois and Hershey, Illinois, and Acu-Form equipment in Millersburg, Ohio, especially the two main machines: Acu-Form ag flat rolls Compression molding machine and Variobend folding machine.
Starting a roll forming business is a huge investment for anyone, let alone someone who has never operated a roll forming machine. But there is already a major customer lined up. Representatives of Acu-Form Equipment Company and Hershey’s Metal Meister are installing and preparing the machine on site, and then give Yoder machine operation training. He said: “Technology makes me feel frustrated.” Therefore, his wife Ruth is learning this business.
From the beginning, your Quality Metal will be a family business with only one additional employee. Before adding more content, they take a wait-and-see attitude.
The first customer is Kauffman Building Supply, a local logging plant and truss factory that has been around for 3 years. They will begin to rely on Your Quality Metal to provide metal panels and decorations to speed up local delivery.
Like many people in the molding industry, Nathan Yoder was initially a frustrated contractor. Once, he owned a construction company in Iowa with as many as 17 employees. He had a fast turnover source of panels and trims there, but when he moved to Wisconsin to start building a dairy farm to continue the business, things changed. “When we move here and order decorations, it takes five to seven days from when you order decorations to when you receive them. Then, if you make it short or miss the cut, it will be another five days before you finish your work. Before,” he said.
Although he loves dairy farming, it is not the most stable occupation, even in Wisconsin, Dairy State. Faced with the decision to increase his herd from 90 to 200 or 300 to compete or to develop in a completely different direction, he recalled his experience as a contractor. He understands the needs of contractors, rather than lack of a local supply chain to help provide faster supply to builders.
Joder said: “I thought of this idea about a year ago, but I felt very cold.” He had a young family to support and had to ask himself: “Do I really want to do this?”
But as his farm income decreased, he had to make a decision. The idea of roll forming never disappeared, and Ruth eventually encouraged him to take a risk. He said, “So I told her whether it worked because of her.”
Currently, Yoder plans to process milk and metals at the same time. He believes: “If you like your job, life will be good.” He also likes dairy farming. He likes animals, so he will continue to get up at 4 am and head to the barn. He said: “At that time I could relax, when I was in the barn with the cow.”
”That’s my passion, bull,” he continued. Although he thought he would like roll forming, he joked: “I have a dream that maybe one day I will turn to [roll forming operation], and then I will return to farming when I no longer make a living.”
The day after you unloaded the Quality Metal machine and placed it on the floor of the previous warehouse, you received Rollforming Magazine. With Yoder’s cordial consent, we will continue to track his journey in the future release of the magazine from time to time. There will definitely be some shared revelations: “hope I know”, “may be so different” and “the best decision I made”.
Readers who have already participated in this journey may see themselves in reflection, while readers who are thinking about similar journeys may dare to follow in his footsteps. In either case, we welcome your visit.
Post time: Dec-29-2020