Fence News’ monthly Top of the Chain feature showcases leaders within the fencing industry who have achieved a level of success in their career. Most would say they aren’t finished yet; they have miles to go, but, looking into their accomplishments, there are definite pinnacles and markers in the road where they met their goals and enjoyed a moment of accomplishment.
ANNUAL RECAP
We would like to offer you a recap of our Top of the Chain recipients. A few from when we began back in October, 2020 and those throughout this year. This collection of industry leaders has much to offer. OCTOBER, 2020 RICHARD STELLABUTO, IRON WORLD MANUFACTURING, LLC Iron World began in 2003. CEO and President Richard Stellabuto originally learned the craft from his father-in-law, Jack Long, who was head of his own company. Richard eventually developed his own vision of how to make improvements, and started his own manufacturing business, Iron World. Beginning in a 5,000 square foot building, Richard performed jobs day and night, and he handled all aspects: selling, estimating, making the product, sub-contracting as necessary for powder-coating, and then billing. Over the years Iron World has made deep capital investments in its state-of-theart powder coating line, which amazingly now encompasses roughly three football fields, and can produce over a mile of steel and aluminum finished fencing products on any given day. Even with its success and capabilities, Iron World is continuing to strategically expand, partner with like-minded high quality companies in the industry and always examining new opportunities to innovate, while first and foremost taking care of the customer. Over the years, Iron World has handled numerous challenging high-profile projects, including the Pentagon with a custom logo cut and then expertly welded into the fence, the Naval Base in Norfolk, Virginia, the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, the Military Academy at West Point, New York, Legoland New York Theme Park, Visa Headquarters in Miami, Florida, NYESPN Capital Headquarters, and the NFL New England Patriots’ Gillette Football Stadium in Massachusetts.
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DECEMBER 2021 | FENCE NEWS USA
NOVEMBER, 2020 DAVID CALABRIA, D&D TECHNOLOGIES Founded in 1990 in Australia, the USA portion of D&D Technologies opened in 1996 and the European operation opened in 2003. David Calabria worked for D&D as a consultant from 1992, he officially joined as general manager in 1995 and became CEO in 2001. D&D started as a high-quality pool fence and balustrade company. The founders, David Doyle and Neil Dunne (hence the “D&D), became concerned with the amount of call-backs involving the poor-quality or ineffective gate latches and hinges used on critical applications such as pool fencing. They knew there had to be a better way, hence they created many latch and hinge innovations that revolutionized the gate hardware industry. Calabria worked in several industries before D&D and respects the uniqueness found within the fencing industry and admires all entrepreneurs who put everything on the line, year after year, and generation after generation. DECEMBER, 2020 TONY THORNTON, AMERICAN FENCE ASSOCIATION Tony Thornton with American Fence Association has worked with nearly every type of discipline within the industry, but he reflects that it’s not so much the disciplines that he enjoys, it’s the industry people. He says the fencing industry has some of the most robust, hard-working, honest and caring people that he genuinely enjoys spending time with. Tony implemented a business approach to the AFA; he and his staff focused their attention on the needs of the members
and membership numbers have increased from fewer than 800 members in 2014 to approximately 1600 at the end of 2020. The three main goals of AFA staff are to help members make money, save money, and minimize their risk. He invites anyone within the fencing industry to join AFA. JANUARY, 2021 PAT MOORE, SOUTHWESTERN WIRE Upon Pat Moore’s marriage to Max, she became involved in his family’s steel and wire business. Max was a founder of Southwestern Wire and Pat also helped him in virtually every aspect of business. After his tragic death, Pat stepped into a management role. David Weinand assumed the role of president and each team member stepped up and carried on. Pat says the loyalty, dedication and persistence of the team was invaluable and is the reason Southwestern Wire exists. While the fencing industry is maledominated, Pat says women can thrive. She says it’s a dynamic industry filled with some of the most hardworking, honest and down-toearth people. FEBRUARY, 2021 PAUL GERMAN, NEBRASKA PLASTICS Nebraska Plastics celebrated 75 years of business last year. It was founded in 1945 by Milo German. It is the oldest familyowned plastic extrusion company in North America. After a tragic airplane crash in 1957, leadership was handed over to Rex, Milo’s son. At the young age of 22, Rex continued the invention mindset with the company developing the first above-ground PVC gated irrigation pipe. Many other firsts were achieved, thanks to their innovation. Today,
