Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/384751
26 • OCTOBER 2014 • WORLD FENCE NEWS Fence industry leaders share their insight BY TOM LUBY, PRESIDENT, PROFIT BUILDERS INTERNATIONAL Over the years, on occasion I have published articles regarding a fencer's point of view on important industry related topics of the day. They were basically interviews I conducted with various fence industry leaders to gain insight from our peers. Of course, this is not to be con- fused with the ever-informative Fenc- er's Field Report compiled each month by World Fence News contributing editor Jim Lucci; it is intended as a broader, long-range look at some im- portant issues facing the industry and will not be a regular feature or substi- tute for the business topics I cover in my monthly column. I am presenting the first of two installments this month. The second part will appear in the November ed- iton of WFN. My father taught me that experience is the best teacher, so I generally sought the opinion of fenc- ers with 30, 40 and even more years of experience – heads of major fence installation, manufacturing and distri- bution companies. Once again I have reached out to a group of fencers with a series of questions concerning issues central to our industry and concerns from contractors and installers. This time I turned to the member- force. Our industry is in great need of in-depth training on all aspects of our industry. I think the American Fence Association training programs have a lot to offer, if more people would take advantage of these programs." Coming from the AFA's executive director, not a surprising comment at all! • In my second question I asked if my friends had seen any changes in the industry in their respective area as far as viable new product type and/or new service offerings that their cus- tomers have responded well to? In other words, what's the hottest new thing in fencing (if anything) in your area? In the opinion of Randy, there was "Not anything new, but more or- namental and automatic gates," and Bobby added that in the Mid-Atlantic region, "Railing and access control seem to be the hot topics." "I would say the influx of manu- factured fence products, and the new access controls for these new data process centers with pop up bollards and wedge barriers, i.e., Ameristar's, etc.," said David. Scott simply com- mented, "Nothing new." Tony had a bit more input on the ship of the American Fence Associa- tion for help, and with the aid of Tony Thornton, AFA's executive director, we found a number of willing partic- ipants for my interview questions, in- cluding Tony himself. I want to thank Tony, Randy Ward of Modern Fence, Scott Neal from Abbey-Fritz Fence Company, Bobby Batchelor from Seegars Fence Co., and David Gregg from Sunnyvale Fence for their input. The questions I chose were basic industry related inquiries that were rooted mainly in personal experiences and intentionally opinionated, not rote "number survey" type questions that can be boring and not much fun. Both questions and answers (in most cases) are short and to the point, and I thought it might be interesting to share them with you unabridged. Each of the above named respon- dents has a long and prominent his- tory with deep rooted interest in the fence industry, so again their insight is appreciated. Here goes. • Question number one from my list was, "Fence sale price notwith- standing, what is the biggest challenge facing your fence company this year and how are you dealing with that challenge?" Randy Ward from Modern Fence told me his biggest challenge was "Finding qualified employees," while Bobby Batchelor from Seegars Fence had a similar comment: "Finding good installers… develop an in-house training curriculum." David Gregg from Sunnyvale Fence commented, "Companies do- ing work for free – profit is not a dirty word – and there is a reason for being in business: To earn a living and take care of your family." Scott Neal from Abbey-Fritz Fence Company added that, like Ran- dy and Bobby, his biggest challenge was "Labor advertising, looking for qualified help." Tony Thornton from the AFA chimed in with a similar sentiment – arguably a good one – that one of the biggest challenges is "Developing a professional and responsible labor