How shipping containers are disrupting the industry: RoxBox

Show Notes

You won’t able to contain yourself after listening to this episode of The Building Code! Our guest this week is Anthony Halsch, founder and CEO of RoxBox Containers based in Erie, Co. We’re discussing what sparked the idea of using shipping containers, and what the future of shipping container construction looks like.

The Start of RoxBox

A motorcycle accident, an encouraging economics professor and Anthony’s hustle to make extra money are to thank for the start of RoxBox Containers. While working toward his bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Reservoir Systems and master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering, Anthony was looking to make extra money and heard of an opportunity to deliver shipping containers for some fast cash.

After experiencing bad customer service with shipping container companies, Anthony decided to use the money from his accident to purchase two shipping containers and resell them. Within four months, Anthony had done more than $400,000 in business, and his economics professor advised him to drop out of college to pursue his shipping container business.

Shipping Containers

Once RoxBox began modifying containers, the company quickly found its niche. The company builds within the commercial market and one of its specialties is called the Beer Can, which is a mobile bar and tap room. The team at RoxBox plans to expand to the residential market by the end of 2020.

You may be wondering, why shipping containers? Anthony explained they’re airtight, durable and fiercely strong while being able to have a faux outward appearance. Fun fact: one of RoxBox’s shipping container modifications was one of the only beach structures to survive Hurricane Maria when it struck Puerto Rico in 2017.

Want to learn more about the future of shipping containers in the industry? Listen to the full episode to unpack all shipping containers have to offer!

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Transcript

Tom Houghton:

Youโ€™re listening to โ€œThe Building Code.โ€ Iโ€™m Tom Houghton.

Paul Wurth:

Hello. Iโ€™m Paul Wurth.

Tom Houghton:

Oh, thatโ€™s so nice.

Paul Wurth:

I was cordial on this Monday.

Tom Houghton:

That was very cordial on a Monday. Thatโ€™s fantastic. Of course our listeners are probably listening on a Thursday, if theyโ€™re regular subscribers.

Paul Wurth:

You donโ€™t know that for sure.

Tom Houghton:

If we got to take a guess.

Paul Wurth:

But I think in context, they should know itโ€™s a Monday if weโ€™re off a little bit or slowerโ€ฆ

Tom Houghton:

Yeah. Sure. Thatโ€™s fair.

Paul Wurth:

Iโ€™ll just let you know itโ€™s a Monday.

Tom Houghton:

Itโ€™s a Monday for us. Joining us via phone today is Anthony Halsch of ROXBOX. ROXBOX is based in Denver, Colorado. Anthony, welcome to โ€œThe Building Code.โ€

Anthony Halsch:

Thanks guys. Happy to be here.

Paul Wurth:

We have Anthony on because I guess, I would not know what ROXBOX is until I went to your website, which is an awesome website. Whatโ€™s your website, real quick?

Tom Houghton:

Weโ€™ll put a link in the show notes too.

Paul Wurth:

We will but whatโ€™s your website?

Anthony Halsch:

Itโ€™s roxboxcontainers.com.

Paul Wurth:

So that gave a little away, as you were doing earlier. So Iโ€™ll let you explain it, but itโ€™s a super cool concept, a cool company. Youโ€™re a Buildertrend client, so cool stuff and Buildertrend, that that makes for a good podcast. So let us know, tell us about yourโ€ฆ Give us a 30 second rundown on what you guys do.

Anthony Halsch:

Yeah. So ROXBOX is a manufacturer of containerized infrastructure. So we take new and used shipping containers and we produce many different things out of them as typical infrastructure. So, we build bars, restaurants, offices, commercial kitchens, fire training structures, and then weโ€™re jumping into the residential a little bit more as we get a little bigger. Weโ€™ve mostly been focused on commercial projects to date so far. Weโ€™ve done some really, really cool office builds and fire training structures and our bars are probably our biggest product and seller.

Tom Houghton:

Nice. And youโ€™ll have to see, to our listeners, you got to go visit the show notes because weโ€™ll put some pictures and a link to their Instagram on there that youโ€ฆ Give them a follow because theyโ€™ve got some great content, some great pictures of what theyโ€™re doing with these. Itโ€™s really unique. So weโ€™ll definitely want to talk about that. But first, letโ€™s start with the most obvious question, I think, which is shipping containers, how did you get into that?

Anthony Halsch:

Itโ€™s a funny story, actually. I was in school at the Colorado School of Mines and getting my undergrad in Petroleum Reservoir Systems and I was also taking masterโ€™s courses for Petroleum Engineering. And so, basically I was just looking for some extra money and Iโ€™ve been in sales my whole life and I had a couple of guys that moved out to Colorado from where I grew up. And they were working in the container yards, just the forklift drivers and jockey drivers, moving the boxes around. And they kept telling me about these older gentlemen, when they retired, who bought trucks and trailers and they were making a hundred dollars or charging a hundred dollars an hour for delivery on this. And I grew up on a farm in Iowa, I can handle the trailer pretty well.

Anthony Halsch:

So I was just looking into it more and more, and I started calling a couple of container companies and what happened was, basically I got shut out. That no one was calling me back. There wasnโ€™t hardly any customer service at all. And I was like, โ€œWell, I might as well not do the trucking thing. Iโ€™ll sit on my couch and sell containers, if this is the type of customer service that Iโ€™m getting.โ€ So, I was lucky enough to have a little bit of cash in my pocket. Some lady hit me on a motorcycle and she was texting and so I got 7,500 bucks. And so I took that money and actually bought two shipping containers, put them on Craigslist and all of a sudden in about four months, we did over $400,000 in business over the summer in 2015. And I was like, โ€œI donโ€™t know what to do with all this.โ€

Anthony Halsch:

So I called my economics professor at Mines who helped me start the business and he told me to drop out and run the container company. So it went from selling and brokering empty shipping containers for storage, to then, I had another partner who jumped in with me in 2017, to start the construction aspect of the container building. And then thatโ€™s really when we jumped into all that and then we bind the two companies and we call it ROXBOX Containers and that. This company, it was actually incorporated in early 2018 but my experience dates back to early 2015, in terms of the shipping containers.

Tom Houghton:

Iโ€™ve just learned so much, including the going rate for getting hit by a motorcycle, is 7,500 bucks, getting hit on a motorcycle of course.

Paul Wurth:

That was, no pun intended, a whole lot to unpack there.

Tom Houghton:

Yes. Well done. Yeah.

Paul Wurth:

That was quite the story. First off, I want to make a note because weโ€™re from the Midwest, Iโ€™ve always thought Colorado School of Mines is for really smart people.

Tom Houghton:

Sure.

Paul Wurth:

Minds, but itโ€™s actually Mine. Well, it might be for both actually, but is that like for-

Anthony Halsch:

Got it. Itโ€™s the box people, right? Yeah.

Paul Wurth:

Colorado School of Minds. Iโ€™m going to start my own school.

Tom Houghton:

M-I-M-E. Mimes, I reckon.

Paul Wurth:

So thatโ€™s a really cool, as you said, kind of funny story, a very unique. And I have heard of other companies who do some of this stuff, but so where does one find containers? And you donโ€™t have to give away any trade secrets, but I guess my mind goes to theirโ€ฆ Theyโ€™re obviously shipping containers and they canโ€™t find the home back to, once they came or they got damaged?

Anthony Halsch:

Well actually, thereโ€™s a growing problem with shipping containers. At the core of our business, weโ€™re essentially a recycling company. So we have these large steamship lines and leasing companies that own the containers or move them around and basically the logistics and the cost of the logistics to ship them back to China to be refilled, just donโ€™t equate anymore. So over the past three or four years, Iโ€™ve seen a decrease in new container pricing by almost $2,000. So for instance, we were buying them for about 5,500 in 2015. Right now I can almost get them for about 37. So weโ€™ve always seen a full drop in pricing on that. And itโ€™s because the China has restricted their recyclables, their contamination rate to so low that whatโ€™s happened is, weโ€™re not making shipping containers to go back and forth anymore.

Anthony Halsch:

Weโ€™re making what they call one-way or one-trip containers. Theyโ€™re literally manufactured in China, filled up with goods, sent to the US, unloaded and sold. Or not sold and they sit in a shipping yard for however long it takes to get them. So this is just an occurrence thatโ€™s happened in the last two or three years, so weโ€™re going to see more and more and more containers available, the prices are going to decrease. And that you can tell that Iโ€™ve got documents of orders that are taking place next year and the following year, and the ratio of one trip containers to used containers is getting extremely unbalanced right now and itโ€™s because of those logistics. So we have a ton of containers, a ton of infrastructure, a ton of supply, thatโ€™s coming to the US, that needs to be done with something.

Tom Houghton:

So it was a great time to be in the container industry. Thatโ€™s what Iโ€™m hearing.

Paul Wurth:

Yeah. And what you guys do, weโ€™ll reference the pictures all the time, but what you guys do with them is really cool. Itโ€™s unique, itโ€™s modern. Itโ€™s interesting that you havenโ€™t got super into residential because I have seen somebody stack four containers to make a whole house before. Is that what happens? But your business, your niche is a little bit different, right? Itโ€™s more the mobile bar, which is super cool. Itโ€™s called the party box?

Anthony Halsch:

Yeah. So itโ€™s the BeerCan.

Paul Wurth:

The BeerCan.

Tom Houghton:

The BeerCan.

Anthony Halsch:

Itโ€™s the BeerCan.

Tom Houghton:

The BeerCan.

Paul Wurth:

The BeerCan.

Tom Houghton:

The party box is a different offering.

Paul Wurth:

Okay. And then you were saying commercial add-ons, right? You put it next to a commercial building like an awning kind of thing, right? Did I see something like that?

Anthony Halsch:

Yeah. Yeah. So Iโ€™m sure youโ€™ve seen mods and things like that, on the side of schools and stuff that they use to increase their capacity and all that stuff? Well, we essentially do something similar for construction companies or warehousing companies that donโ€™t have enough storage. Weโ€™re able to drop off a 320-square-foot warehouse, basically, in a matter of a couple of days. And so, the cost to expand your warehouse by 320 square feet is nothing. And so we do a lot of that all the time. We still sell empty shipping containers but from the commercial residential side, the reason why weโ€™ve stuck mostly with commercial is that, first of all, B2B is a little bit easier in terms of design, payment, time consumption, all that stuff. We definitely want to get into the residential industry. No oneโ€™s really cracked that market yet for the shipping containers.

Anthony Halsch:

And so we will get into that once we get a little bit older and weโ€™re going to actuallyโ€ฆ At the moment weโ€™re doing a $4 million cap raise to either purchase or lease a warehouse in Denver and then create a residential line and a commercial line, itโ€™s going to be a manufacturing plant. So, hopefully by the end of 2020, weโ€™ll have that all rolling and weโ€™ll be able to ship out our first residential units at that time.

Tom Houghton:

So stay tuned.

Paul Wurth:

Any listeners who want to get into the container business, now is the time, it sounds like.

Tom Houghton:

Thatโ€™s absolutely right.

Paul Wurth:

Want to put your information onโ€ฆ Does that on show notes for investing options?

Tom Houghton:

Sure, investing options? Yeah.

Paul Wurth:

Maybe just send it to me because Iโ€™m in.

Tom Houghton:

Youโ€™ve bought in?

Paul Wurth:

Iโ€™m in.

Tom Houghton:

Nice.

Paul Wurth:

Iโ€™ll talk to the wife, but yeah.

Tom Houghton:

Well, minor detail.

Paul Wurth:

Yeah, actually.

Tom Houghton:

So letโ€™s talk about maybe some of the challenges that you face, because I feel like itโ€™s a different material to be working with when building. So what kind of stories you got there?

Anthony Halsch:

Yeah. So we definitely have our challenges, no doubt about it. The one biggest thing is that youโ€™re working inside of a structure thatโ€™s already built. So we donโ€™t use a level, hardly ever. Everything is built square to the container or our structure. And the nuances with building with a new container versus a used container, become great in the architectural realm. So what we like to do is, weโ€™ll actually start the architectural documents in-house for our construction docs and then we send them out to our architects and engineers to use our documents because weโ€™ve had so many challenges with architects sending us plans and then we go through the pre-con meeting and then all of a sudden we realized everything is wrong. All of these measurements are off. Because I mean, theyโ€™re built in China, so their tolerances are way bigger than ours.

Anthony Halsch:

I mean, thereโ€™s times Iโ€™ve had a container thatโ€™s off two inches out of square from a 40-foot length. And itโ€™s cutting all your boards at an angle and everything else and all that stuff. So thatโ€™s definitely a huge challenge for us, but whatโ€™s nice is, that we do get to work within a structure. So once we get the guys onboarded and everything like that, itโ€™s pretty easy to actually start working within that container. But thereโ€™s certain nuances, like we never penetrate the container with any sort of sheet metal screws. Thereโ€™s a lot of shows out there that Iโ€™ve seen people just popping through with a drill. That is literally the worst thing ever you can do to a shipping container. So, mostly our employees are all fabricators. So every single one of my guys knows how to weld. Their skills are a little varying, depends on what theyโ€™re doing and then they have a general labor skills, all sorts of framing, tower, drywall, all that stuff.

Anthony Halsch:

So weโ€™re a mixed bunch and all these guys are a jack of all trades. So thatโ€™s another challenge too, is getting them to work in the best capacity that they could be together as a team. But theyโ€™re great dudes. So yeah, thereโ€™s lots of different nuances and stuff, but at the end of the day, itโ€™s more fun, I think. And we build a stronger product than pretty much anything else on the market. I canโ€™t think of another house that has 16 gauge sheet metal on the outside and itโ€™s builtโ€ฆ Interior framing, we do wood framing as well. So you have just an immense amount of strength and then we use spray foam on top of that. So youโ€™ve got your exterior core of the 16 gauge sheet metal and then your framing and then we spray foam on the inside. So these things are some of the most airtight and efficient units when it comes to energy consumption and things like that.

Paul Wurth:

Yeah. Efficiency, Tom.

Tom Houghton:

Iโ€™m big on efficiency. Yeah.

Paul Wurth:

Yeah. Itโ€™s a big enough to park a Tesla in?

Anthony Halsch:

Oh yeah, you can park one in there.

Paul Wurth:

Yeah, there we go.

Tom Houghton:

There you go.

Paul Wurth:

Youโ€™re good. I feel like we had Tad from โ€œTwo Chicks and a Hammerโ€ on, HGTV show. What was the show?

Tom Houghton:

Good Bones.

Paul Wurth:

Good Bones? I feel likeโ€ฆ

Tom Houghton:

I thought youโ€™re a big watcher now. Catch it. I wouldnโ€™t need any this weekend. Marathon.

Paul Wurth:

Just the name-

Tom Houghton:

Youโ€™re a little busy right now.

Paul Wurth:

โ€ฆ the name threw me, but I feel like your company has got some legs for an HGTV show. That would be a great show.

Anthony Halsch:

Actually, yeah. Weโ€™re getting filmed right now by a show that could potentially get sold to Netflix, DIY or HGTV. Itโ€™s called โ€œContainer Mastersโ€ and hopefully weโ€™ll see that here pretty soon. So theyโ€™ve done a lot of filming for us over the last four months.

Paul Wurth:

Thatโ€™s awesome.

Tom Houghton:

โ€œContainer Masters?โ€ Well, keep an eye out for that, listeners.

Paul Wurth:

Iโ€™d watch that.

Tom Houghton:

Yeah.

Paul Wurth:

So you guys have been in business since 2015, is that right? Four years?

Anthony Halsch:

No, the first container company that I started, yeah, it was in 2015. The current business, ROXBOX Containers, was incorporated in early January 2018. So we just combined basically two businesses and called it ROXBOX Containers.

Paul Wurth:

Mm-hmm (affirmative). How many employees you guys have now?

Anthony Halsch:

Weโ€™re up to 11 now. So in April, or call it March, there was three people working for the company and we had a couple of contractors, but now we have 11 full-time employees and a handful of probably six or seven contractors that work for us on a part-time basis.

Paul Wurth:

Wow. So youโ€™re in the same boat as, I would assume, many of our listeners, whether theyโ€™re in their 10th or 15th year of business, but they probably experienced it, some of the growth that you have today. What are some of the challenges when you add seven people in the last eight months and what are you looking to the future of challenges and hopefully where you guys will be?

Anthony Halsch:

Yeah, no, thereโ€™s a whole host of challenges. I mean, we just had Denver Startup Week, this past week in Denver, itโ€™s the largest free entrepreneurial event in the country. And I was on a couple of panels discussing this exact thing and around a bunch of new business owners and things like that. And it basically, the thing is, is that when youโ€™re leading a company like this and itโ€™s in this rapid period of growth, you have to give up so much of your control over your processes and systems. And you have to have immense trust in the people that you bring on. And so thatโ€™s one area that, we were still startups, we have to hire people that may not have the greatest experience. They come in at a little bit lower rate than professional who has been in the industry 15, 20 years, especially with the Denver market right now.

Anthony Halsch:

I mean, an architect or project manager is making over a 100 grand and thatโ€™s just not feasible for us on a salary basis at this point. And so, weโ€™re bringing in people, having to train them and itโ€™s really just about keeping your processes as tight as you can. And then just the communication aspect, I canโ€™t stress enough, is how important that is to have everything in line. And I mean honestly, Buildertrend has been an absolute phenomenal program for us to use. And all of our systems are set up, all of our contractors are set up. We have 1,200 or 1,400 cost items in almost five or 600 cost group. So weโ€™re able to pump out proposals so quickly, that weโ€™re getting in business quickly as well. So itโ€™s really great. And I mean, having a system like this has beenโ€ฆ We wouldnโ€™t have been able to grow this quickly without it, to say the least.

Paul Wurth:

Thatโ€™s great. And what are you guys looking for? Obviously youโ€™re doing a 4 million cap raise right now and youโ€™ve got some plans for that, but what does the company look like in 12 to 24 months?

Anthony Halsch:

Thatโ€™s a great question. If we were able to raise that amount of capital, basically it would go for me to hire the high level C-suite that Iโ€™m looking for. Iโ€™d get the plant manager in there and weโ€™d actually purchase or lease a warehouse depends on the valuation and things like that, how the money comes in and then weโ€™d set up the manufacturing plant. So in 12 months, I mean, we could be looking at, Iโ€™ve got 45 to 60 people on the payroll and weโ€™re trying to pump out, weโ€™re looking to do 15 to 20 units per month of any sort, either house, bar, kitchen, whatever it is. And so at those numbers, we can really grow and so this year weโ€™re going to hit our goal of a one and a half million in revenue.

Anthony Halsch:

And then our margins, weโ€™ve raised our prices four times this year. And so, people keep saying, โ€œYes.โ€ So I keep raising prices until we start hearing some noโ€™s there, and then weโ€™ll be at the right spot. But basically, weโ€™ve just gotten so busy that we can take in the money, get the factory and keep going with our current lines that we have, and once we take that money, we would put a ton into marketing and advertising all over the country, in North and South America as well and then really blow that up if we could. So if we can capture that capital this year or early next year, hopefully 2020, weโ€™re looking at anywhere from seven and a half to 9 million in revenue. And then from there, the skyโ€™s the limit. We can take over the market.

Tom Houghton:

Skyโ€™s the limit. I feel like Iโ€™m on the podcast version of โ€œShark Tankโ€ right now. Youโ€™re already be like, โ€œIโ€™ll give you 10% for it but I want what 1 cent for every shipping container you sell or something.โ€

Paul Wurth:

Kickback.

Tom Houghton:

Yeah.

Paul Wurth:

Thatโ€™s awesome. Thatโ€™s great to have that goal for sure. It sounds like itโ€™s a really unique opportunity for you guys. Now I was going to ask, can you buy these from anywhere in the US? Will you guys ship them to anywhere or do you guys have limits there right now?

Anthony Halsch:

No, no. We can ship them anywhere. Thatโ€™s the nice thing about a shipping container. It goes on the back of a flatbed and you just truck it wherever you need to. Weโ€™ve sent bars to California, Wyoming, Florida. Weโ€™ve sent a couple of stages and currently weโ€™re in production for multiple units going to Killington Vermont Ski Resort and Copper Mountain Ski Resort, which is obviously in our backyard, and then Park City, Utah, as well. So if youโ€™re out there, look for some containers and it was done by us.

Paul Wurth:

Thatโ€™s awesome.

Tom Houghton:

Very cool.

Paul Wurth:

Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Tom Houghton:

Have you done any home offices? I feel like a lot of people, like the office sheds are a thing. I feel like Iโ€™ve seen shipping containers.

Paul Wurth:

In the back yards?

Tom Houghton:

Yeah. Use for that.

Anthony Halsch:

Itโ€™s called a She Shed.

Paul Wurth:

Oh. She Shed.

Tom Houghton:

Yeah. There you go.

Paul Wurth:

Oh, I see. Like a man-cave in your backyard-

Tom Houghton:

Yeah, basically.

Paul Wurth:

โ€ฆ or an office-

Tom Houghton:

Or an office.

Paul Wurth:

โ€ฆ or a She Shed.

Tom Houghton:

Or a She Shed.

Paul Wurth:

Yeah. Thatโ€™s cool.

Tom Houghton:

I mean, does that something you guys do if you were looking at that?

Anthony Halsch:

Yes, actually, currently weโ€™re in production of two. This is our venture into more of the residential market. So basically weโ€™re starting off with two Airbnbs. Theyโ€™re just single 40-foot containers and itโ€™ll be more of a studio-style apartment, but they will have a nook for a desk and things like that, in the one weโ€™re doing in Denver. The other oneโ€™s going up to Blackhawk, right by all the casinos up there. Thatโ€™ll be one of six Airbnbs and so it should be a pretty good revenue stream for our client.

Paul Wurth:

Yeah. With your regular product and your one-offs, can you actually just go get a quote from you online or how long does it take to get a quote from you?

Anthony Halsch:

Oh, it doesnโ€™t take us, I mean, it depends on how complex the project is, but a lot of times we can knock this stuff out in a day or two and itโ€™s thanks to Buildertrend. I mean, like I said, you guys, I canโ€™t tell you enough, all the spreadsheet work and everything we were doing at the very beginning of this company, it would take us six, seven, eight, nine, 10 days, to get out a quote depending on the complexity of it. And now, no matter the complexity, itโ€™s not taking us more than four or five days.

Paul Wurth:

Thatโ€™s awesome. Good for you guys.

Tom Houghton:

Itโ€™s great to hear. Thanks for the shout out, by the way.

Paul Wurth:

Maybe we could negotiate something for next year.

Tom Houghton:

Sure.

Paul Wurth:

Our little mobile bar.

Tom Houghton:

Exactly.

Anthony Halsch:

Yโ€™all have a big bus, right?

Tom Houghton:

Thatโ€™s right. We got an RV. Yep.

Anthony Halsch:

Yeah. There you go. Just pull one of the BeerCans behind it. Now you got the RV and youโ€™ve got the BeerCan. Start yourself a party right there.

Paul Wurth:

I love it.

Tom Houghton:

Boom.

Paul Wurth:

Weโ€™re planning the 2020 budget right now. Weโ€™ll pencil that right in.

Tom Houghton:

Right on in. Nice work. Letโ€™s talk about whatโ€™s next. So, I mean, obviously a big growth for you guys, but whatโ€™s next in the world of shipping containers or what trends are you seeing there, that people should be keeping an eye out for?

Anthony Halsch:

Well, itโ€™s booming. What the deal is, is basically the United States is anywhere from five to 12 years behind the rest of the world in terms of container infrastructure. Honestly, I think itโ€™s just because weโ€™re a little snooty and during the early 2000s and everyoneโ€™s making a ton of money, we have the McMansions and everything else, no one wanted to look at alternative building materials. You see modular homes basically took a massive hit after 2008, not that anything else didnโ€™t, but they didnโ€™t rebound quite like it has in the last four or five years. So weโ€™ve seen modular construction absolutely explode in the last four or five years. And then the shipping container component is a unique piece thatโ€™s a side deal for a lot of these large modular home companies. But the reason why we decided to go after such a large raise this early on in the company, was because we have an opportunity to take the market right now, in terms of the factory built residential containers.

Anthony Halsch:

And the reason is, thereโ€™s hardly any players that are out there doing it big. So weโ€™ve talked to a number of large modular home manufacturers, some owned by Berkshire Hathaway and some other local ones in Nebraska and Kansas and Wyoming. And basically, theyโ€™re booked out six plus months. They donโ€™t have any room for any more products on their current lines but when we talked to them about this, about potentially adding a line to their current production, they were like, โ€œThatโ€™s not possible but if you could produce them, weโ€™d like to purchase them.โ€ So we have a potential to where we could actually sell to the current modular home companies because they donโ€™t have a modern product with the type of strength that this house, this inner houses, can offer. And not only that but the price point as well. We can get really, really close to what these current modulars are at. And itโ€™s a much, much stronger and more modern looking house than whatโ€™s being offered in the market currently.

Tom Houghton:

When you-

Paul Wurth:

So your value prop, sorry, itโ€™s not only just being unique and forefront when it comes to design, but actually itโ€™s stronger, better insulated. Is that fair?

Anthony Halsch:

Oh, certainly. Yeah. The amount of air that can pass between the walls with the spray foam and the steel, is none. So weโ€™re basically creating just an airtight structure in there and with the current advances in your mini-split systems and things like that, I mean, it doesnโ€™t take much to heat and cool this stuff, especially since weโ€™re able to get underneath the floor and actually spray underneath the container with foam. And then depending if we add a sub floor or not, I mean, youโ€™re talking, Iโ€™d say at least a minimum building code, but then we can even go more if it depends on the mountains, things like that, where itโ€™s going to land in what zone for insulation. But yeah, itโ€™s definitely a much stronger product. And I would say itโ€™s one of the most airtight and energy efficient types of construction that you can have.

Tom Houghton:

You mentioned stronger a few times. Iโ€™m curious, would this solve issues with hurricanes and tornadoes and other natural disasters? I mean, what can these things take?

Paul Wurth:

Good question, Tom.

Tom Houghton:

Thanks. Take a lot.

Anthony Halsch:

Yes, Basically weโ€™ve got just the basic container without any modifications and stuff. Youโ€™re looking at 192 mile per hour gust that it can withstand and, yeah, youโ€™re looking at, I think, a category five hurricane. So my construction manager, heโ€™s from Puerto Rico and he has flown down there and helped his family build some structures. Well, after I believe it was Maria or Rita or something?

Paul Wurth:

Yeah. About a year and a half ago. That was the big one. Yeah.

Anthony Halsch:

Right. So that hurricane there destroyed everything on the beach except for his container ice cream shack. They were the only company that was able to turn everything on, because they run off generators, the next day. They opened their door, turned everything on and they started cooking all types of food for all different people. So thatโ€™s just a testament and one example of where they can withstand type of weather.

Tom Houghton:

And I bet you probably could do some solar on the top, since the roof is flat, right? I mean, do you do complex roofing on that then orโ€ฆ

Anthony Halsch:

You certainly can. Yeah. Weโ€™ve done everything from a trussed roof to basically adding corrugation at an angle thatโ€™s Vulcraft style decking that they use for a plate underneath concrete. So if there is a high snow load or something to that effect, then we just have to add a small pitch deck to the top and itโ€™s all steel, so itโ€™s all just welded on. And thatโ€™s the other thing too, all of our products on the exterior itโ€™s going to be steel unless you want a wood facade or something like that and thatโ€™s another thing too, we can actually put a facade on the container.

Anthony Halsch:

So all we do is take and use a 2 x 2 tube. And in every deep corrugation, we weld it vertically in there. And then weโ€™re able to do is, screw in with any type of siding, wood, stucco. You can put all your chicken wire up there and do any sort of stucco that you need to do or whatever else. And so it could literally look however you want it to, at the end of the day and still have that structural integrity.

Paul Wurth:

Sold.

Tom Houghton:

So, I mean, this sounds like a win-win-win right here.

Paul Wurth:

Sold. Sold.

Tom Houghton:

Weโ€™re in.

Paul Wurth:

Right.

Tom Houghton:

Right here. Paul and Tom-

Paul Wurth:

Weโ€™re investing.

Tom Houghton:

Weโ€™re investing. Youโ€™ve heard it first. I guess we have to disclose that now in the podcast apparently.

Paul Wurth:

What are the minimums?

Tom Houghton:

Weโ€™ll talk about this maybe after, when weโ€™re off air.

Paul Wurth:

Yeah, exactly.

Paul Wurth:

Letโ€™s wrap this up. Anthony, thank you so much for coming and sharing your passion. I mean, I can definitely tell youโ€™re passionate about this and you know a lot, which is great. Thank you for sharing that with the listeners. We wish you continued success in your business, of course. Thanks for using Buildertrend and being a client of ours. And weโ€™re just excited to see where you guys go from here.

Anthony Halsch:

Awesome. Yes. Thank you very much, guys. I really appreciate the opportunity.

Paul Wurth:

Yeah, everybody look out for that Buildertrend BeerCan on the road soon, in 2020.

Tom Houghton:

2020, here we go.

Paul Wurth:

All right. Thanks, Anthony. Appreciate it.

Anthony Halsch:

Awesome, thanks guys.

Tom Houghton:

Want to share a suggestion for a future guest, have a question about Buildertrend that youโ€™d like us to discuss or a topic that youโ€™d want us to cover on the podcast, let us know by calling and leaving us a message at 402-596-6437. Thatโ€™s 402-596-6437. And who knows? Youโ€™ll maybe hear yourself on the podcast. Love what you heard? Donโ€™t forget to rate and subscribe to our podcast, so you can hear from more guests that will benefit your business. Also, please check out our show notes page for more information on what we discussed on this episode, you can find it at buildertrend.com/podcast. Thanks for listening and weโ€™ll see you next time on โ€œThe Building Code.โ€ Appreciate you.

Anthony Halsch | RoxBox Containers


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