The equipment sourcing directory: a working data product, and what it shows about Build.
Aroc built this directory, runs it and keeps it live. It is a complete example of software engineering work: a database-backed product with public pages, structured data, and flows for the companies it lists.
Buyers cannot easily find equipment sourcing firms, and listing third parties carries obligations.
Industrial buyers look for machinery brokers, liquidators and appraisers by state and category. A directory that lists real companies has to be accurate about what is verified, and has to let a company correct or remove its listing quickly.
A directory that says what it knows, and puts the company in control.
Companies are browsable by state and category, each with a profile page. Listings are shown as unverified, with details from public sources, until the company shows it controls its own domain.
How it behaves today.
- Listings live in a relational database and the pages are rendered from it on request.
- A listing is marked verified only after a claim whose email address is at the company’s own domain.
- A claim is recorded in the database and notified by email; it does not change a public listing by itself, so a stranger cannot alter a record.
- An opt-out request suppresses the listing at once, before any email is sent, and the page stops being served.
- Each company page carries structured data, and a sitemap is generated from the database and refreshed within the hour.
- State and category pages with too little content are kept out of the index rather than published thin.
- The forms carry a hidden honeypot field and no listing is shown for a company that has opted out.
No usage figures, customers or results are claimed for this directory.
What building it took.
- Database design and a server-rendered application.
- Verification, claim and removal workflows with an audit trail.
- Structured data and indexing rules for search.
- Privacy and consent handling for data about third parties.
A directory, catalog or data product for your own market.
The same pattern fits any market where listings need verification and control: suppliers, practitioners, venues, partners. It is built through Build, scoped and priced in writing before work starts.
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