Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/75653
WORLD FENCE NEWS • AUGUST 2012 • 23 so the company can move on to the next job. We were further told that cur- rently buying by the job is as good as if he were buying by the truckload, which also helps as well. As for phone books, Ken said that he is taking line ads only – no major ads in the Yellow Pages. We spoke with Steve Rydzik of Statewide Fencing Corp. in Franksville, Wisconsin. We asked Steve how his season has been to this point, and we were told "strange." For example, it would pick up on Monday, get going to midweek, and then back off before picking up again. In other words "fits and starts" charac- terizes the year thus far. The company business mix is 80% commercial and 20% residential. On the commercial side, Steve said that they are bidding smaller jobs but are also bidding jobs that are as much as a year down the road. Steve also spoke of about a half dozen jobs that are ask- ing for bids that take into account "al- ternative" types of fencing that can do the same type of job as wrought iron, chain link, etc., and this is creating crazy pricing. The company is currently doing work on state, municipality and county projects. Steve spoke of an interesting con- cept that he has been working on to hopefully expedite payment for work completed. He called it "an invoice by anticipated date of completion" prin- ciple. Sometimes, this concept can ex- pedite payment, which always helps. On the residential side, the com- pany carries a full product line. Wood and PVC are the biggest movers of the season. Steve also pointed out that chain link is a dying form of fencing in his area, which is basically a 100 mile radius. We then asked Steve what he thought about the outlook for the resi- dential market by the end of 2012. We were told that calls are slower than in previous times and people are trying to get five or six quotes, seeking the best price, and it all appears to add up to a slow year. We asked whether or not the com- pany has instituted any cost saving measures, and Steve told us that the company is operating "lean and mean." He said that they are not hiring like before; his people are working overtime to pick up any slack, and some people are coming in before 7 a.m. (which is start time), working but not clocking in until start time, just to help out. We then asked whether or not the company tries to sell additional items along with their fence jobs, and in a word, we were told "no." We also asked about the economy The Strong Silent Type... Quiet, Rugged, Ask Tymetal about CUSTOM GATES (Telescoping, Stacking Overhead Slides,...) for LIMITED SPACE openings. Dependable. Tymetal – There is NO EQUAL in the area, and we were told that it was "touchy." He said that people are nervous about the future, and that they are picky about where to spend their money. For the most part, Steve said people are not replacing fence, but rather are repairing it. Further, we were told that, for in- stance in Racine, unemployment is at 16%, while the rest of the state is at the national average of about 8%. We were told that there are a lot of foreclosures as well. Additionally, we were told that a large lighting fixture plant in the area is undergoing renovations. On the residential side, a lot of apartments are going up; housing units are being converted to rental units as well. Further, self storage facilities lo- cations are growing. We asked about the strategy that was being utilized for 2012, and Steve told us that they are bidding everything that they can. He said that they are continuing to stay "lean and mean" and are looking to combine travel for crews so that they can stay together in a given area when it makes sense to do so. Finally for this column, we spoke briefly with Melinda Rodgers of continued on next page