Billy Ellis Patents
Billy liked the concept of a metal roof but was uncomfortable with the installation details. First you could not walk on the roof. Second the original system allowed water to flow under the roof in the valleys and gables. Some starter strips were made in to two pieces and caused water to flow along the fascia. It also had a problem of wicking between the two pieces of metal.
I could have just said it's a bad idea and gone on to something else, just like everyone else. But I was intrigued with the beauty, energy savings, fire resistance, light weight, wind resistance, and the permanency of the product.
With my installers help, we came up with a one piece combo trim for the gable, starter strip and a mitered valley that kept the water on top of the roof. We solved the problem of water being allowed to enter the roof system. Over everyone's objections we applied for and were granted three patents on our improvements.
The Billy Ellis Injection Molded Foam Backer fills the entire cavity of the aluminum shingle thereby making the roof extremely strong. With the foam backer you can walk on your roof, the foam backer also makes the roof much more hail resistant and increases the energy efficiency. The Foam Backer is made of injected molded poly stiren (the same thing coffee cups are made of) so it is a great insulator. 
The Billy Ellis Patented Mitered Valley System carries the water off the top of the roof. Each valley shingle is custom made on the job, and as an added safety feature we install our custom valley pan under the actual valley shingle creating a water proof system that will last as long as your home. 
Now take a look at the standard installation which allows water to penetrate the roof!
The standard gable system called for a long piece of J-Channel to be installed up the gable edge of the roof, them the actual aluminum shingle would be cut to fit inside the J-Channel. This presented two problems first once again it allowed water to get below the actual aluminum shingle and then be carried down by way of the J-Channel. Second it just did not look as good as the rest of the roof we felt it made your home look to much like a commercial building. 
Billy got together with the install team and came up with a Patented Gable Trim with Billy's system the actual aluminum shingle is custom formed with special metal brakes to fit down over the gable and into the trim never allowing the water to get under the shingles. It also looks great creating the warm residential look of wood shake, tile or slate.
So once again Billy got with the installers and with our special metal breaking tools created a one piece starter strip. Because we made the starter out of one piece the water could not wick thereby eliminating the problem and once again we feel like it makes a better cleaner looking roof edge.