Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/138965
14 • JULY 2013 • WORLD FENCE NEWS We recently had the opportunity to speak with Mike Papp of Regency Fence in Rochester, N.Y., who told us that last season ended up OK and hopefully this season is building on that as it progresses. The company business mix is 60% residential and 40% commercial. Regency Fence was established 22 years ago (in 1991) and has a service area of about 100 miles in radius. The company does the bulk of their residential business in custom wood, aluminum and vinyl. Pool fence installations are an important segment of their residential market. On the commercial side, the company does chain link and gates for stores such as Sam's Club and WalMart, along with school facilities such as baseball backstops, tennis courts, and discus cages. They also do a fair amount of work at airports, and offer repair services. We asked Mike, going back to the start of the recession, probably 2008, how has the economic downturn affected the company? Mike's response was that it hadn't affected the company negatively. In fact, he said that they have actually grown each year; however, they were FENCER'S FIELD REPORT A monthly column of industry bits & pieces Compiled by contributing editor Jim Lucci and the staff of World Fence News forced to take a lot of work that they wouldn't normally accept. We then asked if the company advertising program has changed, and Mike acknowledged that it has. The company is depending more on its web site to target aluminum fence customers. However, he still has a presence in the Yellow Pages. We then asked how the labor situation was in his area and Mike told us that the situation was both good and bad. You can find a lot of people, he said, but few with specialized skills. We further asked Mike what the competitive situation was like in their service area and he indicated that it is very competitive, particularly on industrial projects. He said, for instance, that guys who get laid off from imaging giant Eastman Kodak's Rochester headquarters all of a sudden "become fence guys." We asked Mike how the economy was in the area and we were told that it was struggling a bit, but signs of prosperity were showing up, with a lot of blue collar manufacturing going on. He said he thinks that the area is able to make up the loss of the Eastman Kodak because its downsizing took place over an extended period of time following its bankruptcy filing. A business development initiative is helping to bring companies into the area. On the residential side, building is going well, and foreclosures aren't as bad as in other areas. We asked what the company strategy has been for 2013, and Mike told us that the company is trying to "buy right" and re-evaluate their marketing appeal to younger people by advertising on the iPhone. They are also going to continue to focus on service, as well as trying to increase work with Sam's Club and Wal-Mart. We also had the opportunity to speak with Dave Zima of J&M Fence in Cicero, Illinois, who told us that the season was getting bogged down, so to speak, with all the rain and flooding that was inundating the area, but eventually business will pick up as the weather improves. Dave told us that the company business mix is 90% commercial and 10% residential. The company was established in 1953 and serves Cook County, Will County and McHenry County. On the commercial side, they do chain link fence, temporary and construction fence, hand railings, pipe gates, indoor chain link, gate operators, ornamental iron fence, custom iron gates, bollards, commercial wood fence, cantilever gates, PVC fence, backstops/ball fields, tennis courts, playgrounds, metal stairs, dock railings, privacy slats, privacy screening, indoor cages, aluminum slide gates, and overhead gates. On the residential side, they do wood, chain link (including color coated), ornamental, PVC, aluminum fence, and split rail and stockade wood fence. They also sell and install automatic gate operators. We asked Dave, going back to the recession, which started approximately in 2008, how has the economic continued on page 16