Armored Coast™ Is Winning Jobs Miles Inland, Proving It's Not Just For Coastal Jobs
By Ken Krawcheck Jr.,
Director of Sales & Business Development
Check International
Armored Coast™ was built for the toughest zones
on the map. Coastal air, hurricane winds, beachfront buildings that chew through other metals. But the ZAM® substrate, PVDF paint, and cut-edge protection have held up where lesser coatings could not. That is how it earned its place on the coast,
but that is not where it is staying. Now showing up nowhere near the beachfronts, miles from the waterfronts, Armored Coast™ is getting chosen for performance, not just location. This is not about overkill. It is not a luxury upgrade. It is
the evolution of metal roofing and where things are headed.
It started quietly, with just a few spec flips here and there. But now a real shift is taking place. Builders are discovering that for just a few cents more per square foot, Armored Coast™ offers them a significant upgrade over AZ50. And that is
helping them win bids. Aluminum, once the automatic choice for premium or coastal jobs, has fallen out of favor. From August 2023 to August 2024, the average price for LME (London Metal Exchange) and MW (US Midwest Spot Price) saw a significant increase
of 67 cents, or 56.3%. As those numbers climb, the value proposition flipped and suddenly Armored Coast™ is not just the corrosion-resistant option. And while aluminum still has its place, it is becoming more difficult to justify.
No-one is going to buy tires only rated for the speed-limit, and no rock climber is going to trust a carabiner rated for their body weight. That's not
overkill, that's just good business. For too long, roofs were being specified with whatever met the bare minimum. But now there is a better option that is stronger and still affordable and that is Armored Coast™. Even a mere 300 feet from breaking
surf, Armored Coast™ carries a 20-year substrate warranty, a 40-year paint finish warranty, and all the strength, formability, and compatibility of the 24-gauge architectural metal that roofers already know how to use.
So why stop at the shore? Armored Coast has already been proven in areas like Florida, California, and Hawaii. But it is not just a coastal thing anymore, inland jobs are choosing it too. There are projects in New Jersey that are miles from the ocean,
where builders and salespeople are flipping specs to offer something better, not just for corrosion, but because it lasts, it looks right, and it keeps clients off their backs. It also helps them win bids!
The shift is happening one job at a time. Armored Coast™ is continuing to show up because it works. And it is too good to leave behind just because the water is not in sight.
Ask for Armored Coast™ for your next project.
About East Lake Metals
East Lake Metals is a leading provider of prepainted and mill finish steel and aluminum coil and sheet products to fabricators and independent formers of metal roof and wall systems for commercial, industrial, and architectural applications. For projects in coastal regions, the company distributes ZAM® coated steel products under the Armored Coast™ label. East Lake has in-house slitting and sheeting capacity and a network of
partners to supply a wide range of accessories, fasteners, underlayment and roll forming machines. To learn more visit www.eastlakemetals.com.
