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16 • JUNE 2012 • WORLD FENCE NEWS FENCER'S FIELD REPORT A monthly column of industry bits & pieces Compiled by contributing editor Jim Lucci and the staff of World Fence News Recently, we spoke with Ivan King of New Holland Chain Link in New Holland, Pennsylvania. Ivan told us that the season had gotten off to a good start, and has progressed to an even better point at the time we spoke. Industrial • Commercial • Farm • Ranch Certified Fencing Materials Interstate Highway • Federal or State Land Projects Oil Field Sites and Open Pit Mining • Residential Certified T-Post 1.33 certified ASTM Cross Lock Fence High Tensile V-Mesh Fence Gives maximum protection. High carbon, steel wire construction bounces back. Cross Lock knot leaves no sharp edges. Ornamental Fence An old favorite, Class 1 galvanized wire fencing. Continuously interwoven vertical wires with horizontal cable form perfect hinge joints for flexibility. Available in 2 styles: M-5, I-2. 165 foot rolls. Right-of-Way Gate CG650 2", 16 ga. Available in Red, Green,Old Iron Gray, Canyon Tan or Heavy Duty Brown • Field Fence • T-Posts/Wood Posts • Barbed Wire • Tubular Right-of-Way Gates • Portable Fencing Systems • Corner/Anchor Posts • High Tensile CROSSLOCK Game Fence The company has a business of 90% commercial and 10% residential. At the time we spoke, Ivan told us that he was working on a large job at Wil- low Grove Naval Air Station, north of Philadelphia. He reported that the mil- itary had shut down three quarters of the base, but that one-quarter of the base was being kept open. On one side, they were working on the installation of some 8,000 lin- eal feet of 7' high chain link with barbed wire with anti-crash cable (two strands of cable 5" apart and 36" off the ground). The company does other commercial type jobs, such as ball fields, etc. Ivan told us that he is cur- rently working with some GCs who are bidding other air base work in dif- ferent states. We asked Ivan what his outlook is for the residential market in his area, and he said he felt that there was a lot of inventory to work off, but it's possi- ble that, as the year goes along, it might pick up a little, particularly if the economy improves. We asked if the company has initi- ated any cost savings measures, and Ivan said that he has cut back on his inventory and that he has been "buy- ing better." He has worked out arrangements with some suppliers that include bi-weekly deliveries at rela- tively little increase in cost, which has worked out well. We asked Ivan whether the com- pany tried to sell add-on items along with their fence jobs, and we were told "not really." When we asked how the economy Specification B-11 (Single Loop) styles with uniform pickets the entire height for a more open appearance. Specification A-11 (Double Loop) fence has closely woven picket wires at the bottom and double-loop wires. Both available in 36", 42", 48" Call for quotes meeting state and federal DOT specifications www.hutchison-inc.com 800-525-0121 was in the area, we were told that con- struction was going well and things overall were relatively "decent." He said that foreclosures are less than they were a year ago. (Currently, he said that there were about 100 properties on the list in his area.) He said that per- haps 30 of them will go the full process. He also said that unemploy- ment was the lowest it has been in four years. Commercially, there are new CVS drug store renovations being done. Overall in the county, construction is improving, Ivan said. He was quick to comment that there always seems to be a paperwork logjam, but there are lots of projects on the board. The overall atmosphere, he said, seems to be on the upswing. On the residential side, things, of course, have slowed down. The inven- tory of homes is still quite large; how- ever, the apartment rental business is booming. Finally, we asked Ivan what the company strategy has been for 2012. He said the company has gotten more help to try to keep jobs flowing. The company, by purchasing materials in a more controlled manner, has moni- tored inventory better and that has helped them keep a better eye on cash flow. We also spoke with Lanny Sea- mans of Seaman's Custom Fence in Shiloh, Ohio, who told us that this spring was his busiest ever. The com- pany business mix is 50% commercial, 20% residential and 30% farm fenc- ing. They service a 100 mile radius. The company carries a full prod- uct line. According to Lanny, vinyl is doing very well, but Western Red Cedar is "on a roll." Lanny also mentioned that they fabricate their WRC fence on site. On the commercial side, Lanny shared that they were working at an airport in Mansfield, installing some 34,000 lineal feet of 12' high chain link with 2' buried in the ground. The family-owned and -operated company does many other types of commercial projects, including ball fields, schools, etc. Lanny told us that for the last 10 years, each year has shown an improvement over the pre- ceding one. The bulk of their business comes from word of mouth, so he has signif- icantly cut back on Yellow Pages ads and has created a web site. He also noted that the company has a thriving hardware and farm fence supply operation, which has been growing, as well. We then asked Lanny what he thinks the outlook is for the residential market in his area. We were told that he expects another good residential year. He told us that the company en- joyed its best residential year after 9/11, with people putting up "fences to nowhere," in his words. He also sells landscape items such as arbors. He said he expects another year just like the last, when all is said and done. Lanny commented that the com- pany doesn't use subs. We also asked whether, over the continued on page 18