About Alco Fence Painter<sup><font size="-1">® </font></sup>

Saving Fence

FAIRMONT - In 1982, Vince Nowell found himself immersed in the fencing business a lot quicker and deeper than he had planned.

"Dad died while I was in my last year at WVU," he recalled. "In the back of my mind, I'd always thought about joining the business, but I thought I'd have time to try something else first."

Instead, he barely had time to jump in and keep his head above water. The nation was in a period of recession. Interest rates were rising rapidly, but business was slow.

"We were struggling on the edge of bankruptcy," Nowell said. "We got into all kinds of things to supplement the fencing business. We got into satellite dishes, neon signs, guardrail and wooden fencing."

Eventually, business picked up and times got better. Alco Fence Co. became one of the biggest fence companies in the state.

Over the years, a number of customers called Nowell, asking if there was a way to paint their steel mesh fences to revamp their appearance and protect them from rusting away.

"I kept telling them 'no,' but enough people were calling that I decided to find a way to tell them 'yes,'" Nowell said. "I got hold of some electrostatic spray equipment used to paint office equipment like metal cabinets, and modified it so it would cover steel fence and not make a mess. Then I decided to start out as a fence painting contractor."

West Virginia University was his first customer.

"I knew [Athletic Director] Eddie Pastilong, and I told him I would make the 16-year-old fence around Mountaineer Field look like new," Nowell said. Eight years ago, the Fairmont contractor was given the green light to apply green paint to the rusting stadium perimeter fence.

People noticed the like-new appearance. "It generated a bunch of leads for us," Nowell said.

"Compared to replacing your fence, it costs pennies to repaint, and it adds years of life to your investment," he said. "But so far, nobody else is doing it."

After experimenting with three different electrostatic spray gun designs, Nowell came up with a unit he hopes will become the top gun in the fence refurbishing trade. The PRO 3500SC is now being put together in Fairmont, using parts produced for Nowell by Graco Inc. of Minneapolis.

Working with a Pittsburgh specialty chemical company, Nowell also came up with

a fast-drying paint that includes rust inhibitors, produces a high gloss, and contains polar-exact characteristics for efficient electrostatic spraying. The paint comes in six colors and is sold under Nowell's own Vinco label.

In January, Nowell started selling Alco fence-painting Fractional Franchiseships. For a bit less than $5,000, Fractional Franchises get the necessities for getting into the game, including a spray gun with hoses, a pressure pot, and a cart to haul the outfit around in.

So far, Alco has sold the set-ups to Fractional Franchises in 40 cities, from Texas to Florida, but mostly in the Carolinas, where the salty atmosphere of the coastal lowlands is hard on steel fences.

"We want to become the Ziebart of the fence industry," said Nowell. "We want to get people to paint their fences before they rust, so they can add life to them."

Nowell said the real bread-and-butter of his up-and-coming business will be the sale of paint to keep the Fractional Franchises supplied. But in the meantime, he said, he enjoys going to trade shows and selling his fence-painting set-ups.

"I never dreamed we would be in so many locations this soon," said Nowell. "This part of the business is fun for me, since I like to travel and talk to people. And it's really fun to hear from the guys I've sold to that they're making money."

This article was published in The Sunday Gazette-Mail in Charleston, WV, on 12/16/2001 By Rick Steelhammer

Saving Fence:
VINCE NOWELL HAS DEVELOPED PAINTING TOOLS AND MATERIALS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE SECURITY CONSCIOUS EVERYWHERE