Industry Support Programs are Ready to Help, by Tom Luby

Industry Support Programs Are Ready to Help

Tom Luby, Business Consultant and Fence Industry Spokesperson

SHORTAGES IN MATERIALS AND MANPOWER HAVE PLAGUED THE FENCE INDUSTRY ALMOST AS DOGGEDLY AS THE COVID PANDEMIC FOR MORE THAN A YEAR NOW, YET FENCERS CONTINUE DOING WHAT THEY DO BEST, GETTING THE JOB DONE. MORE THAN EVER BEFORE, I FEEL WE ALL NEED TO HANG TOUGH TOGETHER AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EVERY RESOURCE AVAILABLE TO KEEP YOUR COMPANIES STRONG AND VIABLE.

Fortunately, there are many valuable industry resources to help in that capacity. This month I want to look into some of the vital resource opportunities available to the fence industry and how you can benefit the most from those resources.

I want to be clear I am not endorsing any individual vendor, group or association; I just want to point out as many opportunities as possible for you to take advantage of and investigate for yourself.

First, there are several fence industry trade groups, such as the North American Fence Contractors Association. I had the pleasure to speak to Al Martins and Clint Iams about their group and the programs they sponsor, both educationally and philanthropically.

NAFCA sponsors philanthropic programs each year at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., as well as a fence industry school in Sebring, Florida. NAFCA is first class, tight knit family of fencers.

There are also specific industry trade organizations such as the Chain Link Fence Manufacturers Institute (CLFMI), the National Ornamental and Miscellaneous Metals Association (NOMMA), and of course, the largest, the American Fence Association (AFA).

From its inception almost 60 years ago, the American Fence Association is one of the fence industries’ greatest resources. With Tony Thornton serving as the executive president for almost a decade, the AFA inspires professionalism in fencing by promoting honesty, ethics and the education and certification of its members.

Another extraordinary benefit the AFA provides are the many regional and national fence industry trade shows they sponsor. Shows like FENCETECH, the largest national fence industry trade association show put on every year, with the exception of last year, due to the pandemic. Also, regional trade shows like the West Coast Fence Show hosted by the California Fence Contractors Association in September of this year and the Garden State Fence Association show in Atlantic City, New Jersey in October of this year to name a few.

I have had the privilege of speaking at educational seminars for over 20 years at dozens of national and local events sponsored by the AFA. They take their mission statement very seriously of providing the conduits for professionalism in fencing through education and certification of their members and for decades, they have sponsored regional and national schools and resources to achieve this goal.

A few of the many other benefits of joining the AFA is the tremendous networking power they provide, along with industry specific business partners that offer industry specific goods and services at discounts, sales and marketing support both locally and nationally, shop drawings, ASTM Manual, Safety and OSHA Guides, testing and certification programs for