Transcript
Speaker: Welcome back to another episode of Under the Vinyl, a rental management media podcast. Kyle, looks like you're a little remote today. What do you got going on, buddy? I'm just working remote, Nate. You told me delegate more, work less.
Speaker: So I'm trying. That's all you need to know. didn't say work less. I just said, I didn't say work less. I said work on other things in the business so that you could work less in other areas. Let's let's set the record straight.
Speaker: Smarter, not harder. Is that how it goes? Yes, because I don't need Brian jumping my ass as soon as this comes out about how I told you to work less. Let's put it that way. Honestly, I got more done today than I've looked at the person golfers. But today we have a good guest that dabbles in a little bit of everything. And um I don't know if he outworks the most or he's just figured out a way to do less like what we're talking about.
Speaker: But he's got a lot of different things going on, one of those being Keeter Solutions. And, um you know, everybody knows Keith in the business, especially for his bobbleheads and his socks. Yeah. So we figured we've got to get him on so everybody that doesn't know Keith can get to know him a little bit more. Keith, how are you doing?
Speaker: Hey, I'm wonderful. Thank you for having me. You guys, I mean, it you guys do an amazing job. I've listened to a handful of your episodes and you guys, you guys are fun, professional. You bring on great guests. So thanks for allowing me to be a part of it.
Speaker: Well, ARA hasn't fired us yet. So I guess the professional part is still there, but we do have fun. Yeah, you that you do. That you do. You might toe the line, but you do good. I haven't had any calls yet but not yet not yet, but for the listeners that don't know, tell us a little bit how Keter Solutions got started.
Speaker: Sure, absolutely. So my business partner and I used to own a tent company way back in the day. You guys might not have even been born back then. ah Anyways, what made us different back in our old tent companies, we manufactured our own tents.
Speaker: Keter Solutions starting up came after we sold our tent company. And while we were at the tent company, we had a supplier of Keter. That company was called American Keter. They were the only ones manufacturing in the U.S. I've acquired them since. That's been some time. um ah And one of the times we tried to place an order, um they told us it'd be six weeks. yeah And that just that just didn't work. So at that point, we said, hey, we need to figure out how to manufacture Keter.
Speaker: So we did that for ourselves back in the tent business um and kept that faction of the business after we sold. And so really, ah I just saw a need in the industry. Number one, to have American-made Keter as opposed to people that import it.
Speaker: And then number two, this industry is nuts. You guys you guys are in it. You don't get forewarning all the time. um So yeah the need to inventory, and I i carry this in in all factions of Keter Solutions, having heavy inventory so that people don't have to wait. ah They can't afford to wait. They need to make their tent tops or they need to get the job done.
Speaker: um So we run Keter Solutions, where we run 24 hours a day, currently seven days a week to make sure that we keep our inventory levels. And when someone needs something that we get it out the door, if not the same day, the next day, we, I can get a call for literally 10,000 yards of Keter at three o'clock in the afternoon, and it'll be gone the next day. And even if it's not all on the shelf, we'll gone. The night shift, having having the night shift allows me to make it overnight to ensure that it gets out the door. So the need was really, i saw a need out there that there's got to be inventory on the shelves because in the tenting industry, which can be crazy, they need it and they need it now.
Speaker: This episode of Under the Vinyl is brought to you by Keter Solutions. When performance matters, tent manufacturers and rental professionals turn to Keter Solutions for premium Keter, fabric, rails, hardware, and accessories built for demanding applications.
Speaker: From event tents and fabric structures to industrial enclosures, we provide the components that keep your project standing strong. Keter Solutions, where quality materials meet proven performance. Visit KeterSolutions.com to learn more or call us today and mention Under the Vinyl to receive 15% off your first order.
Speaker: How the Keter's made, you know, I came to your place, I think, what was it, two years ago? Yeah, it's been a couple years. Has it been that long? Wow, that's crazy. um Did I have you sign an NDA? Yeah, exactly. When I came there, just seeing what we saw, I mean, it was so damn cool to see what goes into that. Thank you. And just how it's made and how it comes together like that. Yeah, sure. But how do you think the company's evolved from selling Keter into everything else you offer now today Yeah. So, you know what? I like to be turnkey as much as possible. And so even when I started this business, literally, just made Keter. And that was it. And that, you know, that still was a real thing. Because, again, it's not just the tent industry. It's the marine industry. It's the sign and banner industry. know, you name it.
Speaker: But... yeah ah Just, you know what, in in talking with clients or in visiting people's factories, yeah knowing what their pinch points are, um i want to i want to be as turnkey as possible. So, you know, it started off as Keter. And then I saw a need for there to be a high-quality fabric, PVC vinyl.
Speaker: And so I started carrying that. And then I carry a full line of inline rails because there's applications where people need to hang something off a building. yeah So I probably have 30 different dies of rails. I have hangers for those rails. So again, it really does just come from talking with people and hearing what their pinch point is and how I can help and then carrying those inventories for people.
Speaker: Got it. Got it. And for the listeners that may not know, which I would think most people do know, what exactly is Keter? Sure. um So, you know, I call it, oh, it's an attachment point, right? And for people that don't have any clue what Keter is, yeah I always compare it to trying to hang something with grommets and trying to make it level and straight. Keter takes away the screwing around with making sure that this side of the banner gets raised a little bit because it's just a straight hanging point.
Speaker: As far as how Keter's manufactured, The interior core is a flexible PVC. um And so even here at Keter Solutions, I own two extruders. So I even extrude the PVC, which is the core. And then the fabric is unique. On one side of the fabric, it's polyester woven.
Speaker: um And that why polyester woven polyester woven, because that way it slides through a rail or into your structure much easier than if it was all PVC, if it was PVC, that creates friction. And so it won't slide as easily. And then on the opposing side, where it gets attached to the fabric, that side is PVC.
Speaker: because you can't weld polywoven fabric to PVC directly. um So the other side has to be PVC so that you guys, the tent manufacturers specifically, can weld it to their PVC vial.
Speaker: Got it. Got it. That makes sense. Yeah. And why is it why is it so important ah you know in the modern structure and tents that are coming out now? Yeah. I mean, it's funny. When I was a kid in the tenting industry, ketered tents weren't the thing.
Speaker: um you know It was all rope and pole. And rope and pole still serves a purpose, certainly. With where tents have come it is far As far engineering and snow loading and and and all, it's crazy what you guys do today. Ketered systems, they're just faster.
Speaker: um ah They're faster, they're safer, they're more secure. um and I think that's really how Keter has grown so much yeah is with the evolution of tens keep getting stronger and better and so and staying up longer. um They can stand more wind load than common rope and pole can.
Speaker: And do you think the quality of, i mean, obviously, I think you're going to answer this a certain way, but do you think the quality of Keter changes things? It does. It does. It absolutely does. um ah You know, whether it's the fully bonded Keter, for example, where it's welded all the way around. Early days, yeah Keter wasn't made fully bonded way back in the day. And so if you get a slice in your Keter fabric, it would fillet open and then the cord would become exposed. um So I think that that's a big improvement is having fully bonded Keter. It's something that I would totally not even think of. You know, to me, coming into the industry, I would have thought of Keter's Keter, right?
Speaker: Yep. Sure. No different than the ducting that we talked about on a couple episodes back. It's like you would think that they're all the kind of the same and the the same kind of quality goes into that. So you don't, because you don't necessarily see it, I guess, on the outside unless you're really in the depth on it. So Tell us a little bit about that quality and what makes it quality then. Yeah. So, you know, there's all different levels of Keter. um ah And we sell all different because, again, we're much more diverse ah than just the tenting industry, right? i'm selling to ah to people I'm selling to people, for example, that maybe can't afford an ah RF welding machine. So I make a different style of Keter that they sew onto their banners maybe.
Speaker: um ah When you talk about Keter fabrics, you know, does it need to be block out yeah in the tenting world? Predominantly, needs to be block out. But I sell a Keter fabric that is non-block out because in some industries, they don't need that.
Speaker: yeah I sell a Keter fabric within the tenting industry now that, again, because there was I saw a need. i designed a Keter that I call it my anti-wick. And so when when tent guys like yourself and your competitors are washing their own tops,
Speaker: Commonly, you wash your tops and then they go if they don't go into a dryer, they're in a wash bay hanging. Even if they go into a dryer, the vinyl is always dry, but the keter isn't. You got to let it you got to let it hang longer or dry it longer because the keter is still wet.
Speaker: um The the new key to newer Keter that I came out with a few years ago called Anti-Wick, that dries in like half the time of what normal Keter does. So there's always little nuances to Keter. keter's It's not like Keter's super sexy or super exciting to talk about, um but there literally are things that make Keter better than other Keters.
Speaker: And you said specifically to 10 guys in the tents, is there other industries that you are marketing Keter to? yeah or yeah so Yeah. I mean, Keter, it's it's amazing how many things Keter is used on, right? You know, you you can look at buildings and Keter is used on banners that are hung on the side of buildings. You can look at truck sites. In some cases, I have i have clients that use Keter on truck sites. It's almost endless how much Keter. I had a guy that does banners in Home Depots, and he it's all Ketered because when you go into a Home Depot and they're changing out sale banners all the time, they're not screwing around with hanging with grommets and such. Yeah, they' the he's going in putting in, putting in the new banner, and he moves on. So it truly is amazing how many different different applications there are for Keter.
Speaker: And so why are rental companies choosing Keter's solution specifically? What problems are your customers calling you to solve on the day-to-day basis or products that have become biggest game changers for rental companies now?
Speaker: Yeah, you know what? It really it it really depends. ah You know, one thing that we pride ourselves in is, again, is customer service and then ah listening to our customers.
Speaker: So we'll get a lot of custom calls of people that, for example, I said I sell a a full line of inline rails. I have people that, and they're anodized aluminum predominantly, but I have people that have custom projects and need me to source how to get those rails bent at the radius they need them at.
Speaker: Maybe, and you guys are dealing with it, you know, black is super hot in the industry right now, right? I'm powder coating frames. Now, I have people that I'm powder coating my aluminum rails for them because they have that application. I'm not always black. It can be red. It can be... So...
Speaker: Being, again, being a source to help people is what I really enjoy doing. On top of that, here at Keter Solutions, I have three engineers. So if it's something beyond my brain capacity, because I'm only so smart, um you know, we can we can help solve them and solve their problems ah with our in-house engineering team.
Speaker: Yeah, that was kind of one of my next questions is just when, you know somebody calls with the unique challenge and kind of shoots over across the bow to you, do you bring the team and get them involved right away? Or is it something that you kind of take on and run with? And and how does that go internally? Yeah, most things I can take on. yeah Um, but, uh, when it's, uh, uh, again, i i don't have necessarily an engineering mind, so I'm much more comfortable getting drawings and, uh, and taking it to my engineering team and going, Hey, what do you think is the solution? Uh, come back to me more of a think tank with them, I guess. Mm-hmm.
Speaker: And sticking with the customers, I guess, um you know, things are becoming more e-commerce online and wanting to purchase offline and people want it and they want it now and they want to click. And I think Amazon has ruined us as a society because of that. um So what how do you guys work with that? What separates you guys from simply just ordering the products online versus calling and things like that?
Speaker: Yeah. You know, what's funny is ah I think specifically in the tent industry, I always say people buy from people. ah And so, I mean, i you know, I may be the president of Keter Solutions, but I my cell phone rings often with large scale rental guys that want to place an order. yeah And I like that. So e-commerce, we do a bit of e-commerce and you certainly can buy for most via e-commerce.
Speaker: But in the industries we're in, it's it's still a people industry. And i and so, no, i think i I think more often than not and my sales staff is on the phone, touching base with customers, and our current customers are calling them and placing orders. And sometimes this is via email.
Speaker: But e-commerce is a smaller platform for us than the personal touch, which is why I think we've become very successful here at Keter Solutions. we we I want people on the phone. I want to know... I want to know about their kids. i You know, I go to ah people's weddings for their kids at times because that's the relationships we build here at Keter Solutions.
Speaker: Well, just in this industry as a whole, I mean, I joked it at the beginning about your bobbleheads and your socks, but I mean, your and in your marketing is just great. The marketing that you guys do and you send out and things that you send, I mean, golf balls, everything. um But yeah, just, just the person, I think that this industry, that's why we love this industry is just everybody's personal with each other. And it's, it's a tight knit group of guys and, and women that are just very well connected with each other and and in that way.
Speaker: Totally agreed. I may not want to set up tents anymore the rest of my life, but I don't ever want to leave the industry. Kyle does. Kyle wants to set up tents until he dies. Damn right I do. Well, he's so good at it. I can't i can't set the stuff up you guys do anymore. i would I'd scratch my head looking at some of the stuff you guys do.
Speaker: There's a lot of stuff that i don't I can't set up anymore that I scratch my head at some of the shit that my guys do, and I'm like, yeah wow. Isn't that crazy? Yeah. it's ah It's a talent. It's no joke what what everyone does out there.
Speaker: So Keith, what product are you most excited about right now in terms of things Keto Solution is selling? Yeah, you know, that probably the the product that I'm most proud of is the fabric that I carry.
Speaker: um I've been carrying it for, I think, 12 years now. Same supplier, yeah super heavy inventories. um It's tried and true. um And what makes me unique with that is that I carry all different widths, all different colors.
Speaker: um yeah I mean, at times I sell semi loads of it at a time. um So I think that's probably that's what's excited me the most probably is being ah ah a strong source for a very high quality fabric.
Speaker: Mm hmm. And I carry, I mean, I carry this fabric, and again, all different weights, 10 ounce all the way up to 40 ounce. I've supplied 40 ounce fabric to indoor shooting club, not with bullets, with BBs, you know, shotguns, but the fabric is still hanging there because it's a backstop for, I mean, it's crazy that some of the things we get into here at Keter Solutions. um But yeah, my fabrics. Rental industry as a whole.
Speaker: Yeah, right. My fabrics I carry as wide as five meters wide, Kyle. um that That literally you can just put keeter on the edge. You're not doing a weld seam in the center.
Speaker: um So we're we're just ah very diverse with the the the items that we carry. But fabric is probably the thing that excites me the most. Are you seeing that customers are now looking for different items than they were five, 10, 15 years ago when you first started?
Speaker: Yeah. You know what? Nothing specific exactly. But what I what I get excited about the most is if I'm in someone's factory or or even just talking to them on the phone, that they have an idea that they would like to work.
Speaker: And I like taking that idea and making it a reality at times. um So I don't know that it's so much different. I just think people are trying to think a little more outside the box. um And I think, again, that's that's what made it's made us successful here at Keter Solutions is that we we want to get involved in everything.
Speaker: yeah and And sometimes those things don't work out. You know, sometimes you spend a bunch of time on it and it's just not a reality, whether that's the engineer saying, hey, that doesn't work. It's not going to work for that. um It's not always a reality, but I do really like getting involved in all of anything I can to help someone out. It's a feel good, truly.
Speaker: The sales are great, but it's a feel good thing when you can solve people's problems. It's why we're Keter's solutions. We like to be the solution. Do you see anything coming down the pike that might change the industry in terms of vinyl or Keter or anything like that in the next five, 10 years?
Speaker: not not real not Not in my head right now. Not right now, I wouldn't say that. Just kind of born industry, huh? I don't know about that. There's always something new out there.
Speaker: No innovation around here. You know what's really funny, though? Every manufacturer that we've talked to and we've asked, hey, what kind of cool? They are so tight to the chest. Nobody will say a damn word because somebody else is afraid. yeah Somebody's going to steal something. So we're not breaking any news here on this podcast, guys. Sorry to ruin your day.
Speaker: Totally agreed, man. Totally agreed.
Speaker: ah Keith, tell us a little bit about ah maybe a project you've been proud of that you've really worked on that has been fun. Sure. yeah Yeah. So ah one thing that I was super proud of, the and this goes, by the way, this says go back some time. So in Minneapolis, they built a stadium called us the U.S. Bank. It's where the Minnesota Vikings played. When they built that stadium, they built that stadium. Bear down, baby. Bear down. I am a Packer guy, so I don't like either of your teams. But anyways, yeah so they built that stadium. They built that stadium with a predominantly clear roof on it, which is really cool. Like, it's if you've never seen it, it's gorgeous.
Speaker: um However, one thing that they needed to do was be able to host concerts or NCAA basketball tournaments. So a company came to me um and said, hey, we need to create some kind of roof sheets so that yeah they they were hosting the NCAA basketball tournament.
Speaker: um So ah ah myself, along with this customer, um designed a system where I extruded the rails that had to go all the way up into the ceiling. um And then my heater was installed onto the panels. So the panels were built so that they could black out the interior of the building so that basketball could be played.
Speaker: um That was a really, and it was a super tight timeline when they came to me with this project and to help them find the solution. it had to be done very quickly and and we were able to achieve that. So that was a really cool, fun project.
Speaker: that love that's awesome I didn't even know that. Yeah. but Do they still use it today? I believe they do. I'm sure all of the, mean, the rigors that had to be up in that ceiling, i I would assume that all that rigging is still up there. um You know, yes, I would guess, I would venture to guess it is.
Speaker: What's one of the craziest applications you've seen for Keter or one of your products? Craziest application? um I mean, that would have that probably would have been one of the craziest applications that I was involved in.
Speaker: um I mean, i've had I've had people utilize our products for creating high-end interior build-outs. um ah ah People use my products, for example, in warehousing. yeah It's a lot less expensive to use curtains and keeter and rail um to keep a clean area, for example.
Speaker: um ah We had a customer that the the the ceiling deck was 40 feet in the air to build a dry walllled wall wall. Up 40 feet would have been hundreds of thousands of dollars. um So we found a solution for them that allowed them to utilize Keeter rail um ah to create a wall for 10% of the price of what it would be. Again, it's almost it's one of those products where you kind of, you dream it and you can, it's pretty simple. So in some cases, I'm replacing drywall now with fabric curtains for people.
Speaker: That's crazy. I would never have actually considered that at all. Yeah. Kyle, I'm not just good looking. Yeah. I've been wanting to do my back patio. and My wife won't do it, but that's just me.
Speaker: ah Give me a call. I'll help you out with the final, buddy. You're not going to help out with the wife problem, Keith? What's that? you don't want to help out with the wife problem, you know, convince her? Well, yeah, i I think she probably likes him more than she would like me. And I've met her. She's a wonderful lady.
Speaker: Thank you. Thank you. He's better looking than I am. Nah, depends what day it is. It's with that dyed beard. This hair's going, man. This hair's going. I don't know what's better, gray hair or bald. I'm not sure. I've got a lot of gray.
Speaker: sure Well, Keith, we're going to hit a little bit of a lightning round here. Just some quick questions. um What's the favorite trade show you've been to? Again, this is a loaded question. This is an ARA segment.
Speaker: ARA, by the way, truly all joking aside, I do ARA, I would say, and that's because I started in this industry when I was just short of 15 years old. And I remember at a very young age walking around ARA, having a, you know, it's different now, right? But having a pad of paper, negotiating your deals, you know, I need 10,000 shares, buying them right there. So, and then what about a favorite product?
Speaker: favorite product? i mean, again, that's a simple one. Keter.
Speaker: right you most underrated Most underrated product in your catalog. um You know what? the I would say currently I think I would choose two.
Speaker: um And that's my repair tape, um which is, in my opinion, every tent dude should have one or if Male or female, any tent person should have a role of it in their gang box because whether it's a light leak, whether it's, you know, the top got cut, um it's it's an instant instantaneous solution. You're cutting it.
Speaker: It's adhesive. You just put it on and you're done. um And I'm not saying that's the forever repair, but it gets you through the event. um And then I came up with a product called Vinyl Bond, and that's a vinyl cement.
Speaker: um And that's a newer product to me. um ah But same thing. It's one of those gang box things that, you know, you need some glue on site to patch an area on your top. I would say those two things are are once. And, hey, some of that is just, you know, get the word out there more on marketing.
Speaker: Absolutely. And if you weren't in this business, what would you be doing today? You know what? I would be, I would go into construction, I think, um, uh, building. So instead of building tents, which was my past life, building buildings, uh, industrial buildings. I think, uh, I think I, uh, I do a little bit of that now and have fun with it. But if I wasn't in this business, I think that'd be my first choice. Uh, building, building buildings.
Speaker: Building buildings. And if you were, if every rental company listening out there, if every, if every rental company out there listening, just wanted to remember one thing from this conversation, what's one thing you'd want them to remember?
Speaker: Um, you know what, uh, I would say, it just how, if it's about Keter solutions specifically, how diversified we are. and And what I mean by that is just, I don't think, uh,
Speaker: everyone understands how much we carry here. and And if you don't see it in my catalog or on my website today, I'll carry it for you next week. um So just knowing the the wide array of things that we can help people with here a Keter Solutions.
Speaker: Well, Keith, we appreciate your time today and coming on and thank you so nice telling us exactly about Keter. um And now that you're going to be a valued partner in the Under the Vinyl podcast, we appreciate that as well. Absolutely. And we'd love to get you on again ah to maybe deep dive more into your personal side of the rental side and just stories of that.
Speaker: um But want to thank you for coming on today, just telling us a little bit about your product. You guys are a gracious host. Thank you for having me. Absolutely, buddy. This has been another episode of Under Vinyl, a rental management media podcast.
