Business Briefs: TapeTech Automatic Taping & Finishing Tools
Help your drywallers improve productivity and profitability.
By Mike Ventura, General Manager, TapeTech Tools
Construction is more competitive than ever. Subcontractors face increasing pressure to complete jobs faster and for less money. Efficiency is vital for profitability. It would be difficult to find a professional contractor who chooses a screwdriver over a cordless drill or who thinks that framing an entire house with a handsaw is as efficient as using a circular saw. But when it comes to finishing drywall, many continue to ignore the obvious advantages of Automatic Taping and Finishing (ATF) tools.
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The benefits of ATF tools are impossible to overlook.
ATF Tools are faster: Even a casual observation can help one understand how finishing can be accomplished up to three times faster with ATF tools compared to
finishing with a pan and knife alone. Automatic tapers apply tape and compound simultaneously instead of the traditional two-pass method — one along the joint to apply compound and another to apply the tape. Corner finishers complete both sides of the corner at the same time, eliminating the need to wait for one side to dry
before coating the other.
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Because Automatic Taping and Finishing tools apply tape and compound simultaneously, finishing jobs can be accomplished up to three times faster with ATF tools compared to finishing with a pan and knife alone. |
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Automatic tapers can apply tape and compound to flat and butt joints on walls, ceilings and corners up to three times faster than hand finishing. Corner finishers wipe down and feather both sides of the angle in one pass. |
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Automatic Taping and Finishing (ATF) tools significantly increase worker productivity, produce more consistent finishes and contribute to safer job sites because they eliminate the need for stilts or scaffolds in many situations. |
ATF tools produce a better and more consistent finish: ATF tools are calibrated to apply the correct amount of joint compound consistently over the joint. It’s nearly impossible to achieve such consistency by hand, resulting in more compound being applied to the wall and inevitably sanded off. In fact, many companies using ATF tools estimate that they use 10 percent less compound. Plus, a consistent application means less sanding.
ATF tools contribute to a safer job site: ATF tools easily allow the worker to tape and finish joints on walls and ceilings up to 10 feet or more without the use of stilts, ladders or scaffolding. This is not only safer but saves more time since the worker does not need to constantly move or reposition ladders or scaffolds.
Given the overwhelming benefits, it’s no surprise that the majority of the country’s largest drywall contractors and manufactured housing companies swear by finishing with ATF tools.
Smoothing over objections
Clean-up: Perhaps the most often cited reason for not switching to ATF tools is the amount of time it takes to clean the tools compared to hand tools. A standard set of ATF tools could take 15-20 minutes to clean at the end of the day, significantly longer than washing a pan and knife. But the savings and profitability resulting from the speed, consistency, worker efficiency, materials savings and reduced sanding time more than compensate for a few extra minutes of cleaning and maintenance.
Weight: Some contractors resist adopting ATF tools because they require more effort than just a pan and knife. There is no denying that a fully loaded ATF tool weighs more than a fully loaded taping knife. But that weight comes from the reservoir of compound that keeps the worker on the wall longer instead of reloading his knife every twelve inches.
And unlike the mud pan full of compound, ATF tools are supported by the wall itself the majority of the time.
Ease of use and productivity
Still, worker fatigue is a concern in any trade. TapeTech Tools has focused our product development efforts on making tools more ergonomic, reducing the amount of effort required compared to standard tools from other companies. The result is exclusive, patented innovations like Power Assist finishing boxes that require 50 percent less effort to push the box compared to standard boxes; and the MudRunner, which makes finishing inside corners nearly effortless.
And the new MAXXBOX extra-high-capacity finishing boxes are the first to match the usable capacity with the finishing process.
TapeTech is now developing products to reduce the learning curve associated with changing from hand finishing to ATF tools, helping workers reach maximum productivity as quickly as possible.
For the contractor supply distributor, ATF tools represent a new category to offer your existing customers or to expand your base. ATF tools typically
generate better margins than power tools and they have consumable wear parts, providing on-going, high-margin revenue. TapeTech offers the widest range of products and services, eliminating the need for multiple vendors to support the category.
Our exclusive ProService program is a turnkey solution that allows the distributor to offer the industry’s best repair services and realize a guaranteed 20 percent margin without investment for in-house repair technicians. And only TapeTech offers training options at our facility — at no cost to the user — or on the user’s job site for a fee.
Help your customers stop finishing drywall with the same tools that were used to build the pyramids. ATF tools are the proven method to increase profitability.
proven performance
Invented 75 years ago by the Ames brothers, these tools were available only through rental until the late 1970s. TapeTech, one of the first companies to offer the tools for sale, became part of the Ames family in 1981 and is the number one brand of sold tools in the world. We continue to focus on educating companies about the benefits of ATF tools and developing solutions that help our distributors and their customers be more profitable. CS
Mike Ventura is general manager at TapeTech Tools, 1380 Beverage Drive, Suite W, Stone Mountain, GA 30083. He can be reached at (678) 892-2307; e-mail: mventura@tapetech.com; or via the website: www.tapetech.com.
CONTRACTOR SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The October/November 2024 of Contractor Supply magazine is here!
Our cover story, A Rewarding Passion - Dale Hahs II, third-generation of Denver's AIS Industrial & Construction Supply, is STAFDA's incoming 2025 president.
A Special STAFDA section featuring a welcome address, an agenda, session previewss by presenters and much more. Also in this issue are our Industry Updates on: Lifting, Moving and Material Handling; Lasers, Levels and Measurement; Hand Tools; Cordless Power Tools; Drill Bits and Cutting Tools; and Toolboxes, Bags and Belts.
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