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42 • NOVEMBER 2011 • WORLD FENCE NEWS OVERSEAS DISTRIBUTORS, INC. BUY DIRECT FROM MANUFACTURER, IMPORTER AND WHOLESALER!! HOUSTON 11532 East Hardy Rd Houston, TX 77093 800-303-3348 FAX 281-219-0919 houston@odifence.com BALTIMORE 7636 Canton Center Dr Baltimore, MD 21224 800-531-3348 FAX 410-288-1112 baltimore@odifence.com WE CARRY A FULL LINE OF CHAIN LINK FENCE FITTINGS INCLUDING: BLACK POWDER COATED TENSION BARS, BLACK/GREEN POWDER COATED FITTINGS AND DIE CAST ALUMINUM AND POLY ROLLERS WITH METAL COVERS!! TAMPA 3719 Corporex Park Dr Tampa, FL 33619 888-921-3348 FAX 813-635-9344 tampa@odifence.com CHICAGO 8855 South Roberts Rd Hickory Hills, IL 60457 888-577-6563 FAX 312-238-9052 chicago@odifence.com Fencer's Field Report continued from page 38 Railing in Lumberton, North Car- olina was written up in a recent issue of World Fence News, and was kind enough to spend a few minutes with us for our Fencer's Field Report. At the time we spoke, Matt told us that the company was up 9% overall year to year. The company business mix is some 70% residential and 30% commercial. We were told that aluminum and vinyl are doing well, and growing over 10% this year. Further, we were told that the company was the only manu- facturing facility (through its acquired railing business) in the area (the day we spoke he was being visited by his Congressman to discuss this very thing). Matt told us that, while he has some 15 years in the business, the company is six years old. Sentinel Fence is a leading sup- plier in aluminum fence (residential, commercial and industrial), vinyl fence (privacy, 3-rail horse, pool code), aluminum estate gates, alu- minum railing and arbors. We asked Matt if rising materials www.odifence.com CONTRACTORS: PRIVACY PLUS SAVE A TRUCKLOAD OF MONEY BY SWITCHING SUPPLIERS AND BUY DIRECT. CHAIN LINK BARBED WIRE MANUFACTURERS & SUPPLIERS PH# 800-437-3761 FAX# 559-237-9704 TFC www.torresfence.com ; sales@torresfence.com "where price is the name of the game." PVC WIRE costs affected the way that he bid, and he said that "yes, they did," for exam- ple that for each year of a 3-year job he would add 10%; re-doing contracts for said period. As for doing business in general, he said that it has affected them as it pertains to price. When we asked if (A primer) The A's to Z's of construction BY STEVE SAUCERMAN From time to time, I like to take the enormous insight and wisdom I've acquired over the years and share it with all the little people. You're wel- come. Just don't come to my house. Here is my primer on construction ter- minology: A is for Architects. They are om- nipotent. They design gleaming, tow- ering structures supported by magic. They still live with their parents and find women "icky." B is for Bid Letting. This is the event where two weeks of hard work crashes and burns as you're announced 18th high out of the 21 bids received. C is for Carpenter. These are very special people. They measure and mark and cut and hammer and nail and drink in their trucks after lunch. D is for Deadline. It was yester- day. E is for Estimate. This is the cost there were any significant changes in the fence market this year, he said, simply "no" and there were no notice- able changes per product shift, either. Regarding the outlook for the fence market for the year, Matt told us that things are "terrible," that people are acting accordingly, and further, that he sees things getting a bit worse going forward. We asked him about the status of the labor market in the area, and were told that it is tough getting skilled labor; as regards to general labor, it is not a problem, with the local unem- ployment rate at about 25%. When asked about the economy in the area, Matt said, "in a word, terri- ble." He elaborated that "the tobacco industry is dead. The textile and furni- ture industry went to China. There is nothing going on." With unemployment at 25%, 500 people apply for a job a day; there are five to six applications a day for gen- eral labor jobs. As for foreclosures, they are just starting to hit this past year. On the commercial side, there is a little bit of new activity here and there. And finally, we asked what strat- egy was employed for 2011, we were told that the company is operating "lean and mean" and making sure that customer service was at its highest level ever, along with trying to maxi- mize each sale. As always, we thank our fencing friends for sharing their thoughts with us so that we might bring them to you. of construction as determined by the net weight of the blueprint and speci- fication manual x .9315. F is for Finishing. This has never happened in construction so why even discuss it? G is for God. (Note: See "A" – Ar- chitect.) H is for Harassment. This is what non-union contractors enjoy daily. I is for Incident … the one that just occurred on your jobsite and the one that the authorities are very eager to talk to you about. J is for Jail. This is what the au- thorities wanted to talk to you about. K is for Ka-put. This is what your backhoe is. Also, your generator. And your marriage. L is for Lien Waiver. This is the document where subcontractors and suppliers completely sign away all right to lien the job months before they actually receive payment. It's a perfect system. In fact, the dollar amounts are often left blank. M is for Morale. This is something that all construction workers possess a great deal of on the planet Pluto. continued on page 44