Top of the Chain

Jessica Burton PRESIDENT POLY VINYL CREATIONS

After working in various roles within the family-owned company, Jessica Burton became president of Poly Vinyl Creations in 2018. Her parents were one of the pioneers in the industry, offering vinyl fence with their original company, Burton Fence in the early 1980s. In 1996, Poly Vinyl Creations was formed to offer the ability of custom fabrication to end users through working with licensed trade contractors.

Today, Jessica continues her family’s legacy with a vision of growth through customization, customer service and offering exceptional products and services. She has completed the process and is a certified Women’s Business Enterprise through the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. Read on to learn a valuable lesson Jessica discovered at one of her earliest meetings.

WHAT TYPE OF BUSINESS IS POLY VINYL CREATIONS? It’s a pioneer in the specialty outdoor products market, serving its distribution network of trade contractors and supply houses with vinyl, aluminum and other specialty outdoor products which includes fence, deck, railing, and garden products. Based mainly in the southeast with four stocking and manufacturing locations, we ship nationwide as well as export products.

Our values are: People first. Offer the solution. Leave no stone unturned. Yearn for growth.

WHEN DID YOU BECOME PRESIDENT? I’ve been president since my father retired in August 2018. I became the majority shareholder when my mother passed away in April 2017. Prior to that, I had worked in various positions since June 2001 when I graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing with a minor in journalism.

I am a second-generation owner and owe my knowledge and diligence to my parents who raised me that to be successful, you need to commit to doing the right thing, making things happen, honoring your word and learning about the industries you serve and the products.

WHAT DO YOU HANDLE IN YOUR POSITION? A little bit of everything! My favorite thing is training staff, especially when I get the opportunity to see the light bulbs go on. Due to my background with marketing, accounting, and technology, I enjoy being involved in those aspects of the business specifically. However, I was raised to be extremely hands on, as my parents were, and I can work in the warehouse, assist with machine maintenance, inventory, special projects, assist customer service and sales as well as accounting. I even make sure my forklift skills do not get rusty!

I enjoy developing leadership staff within my organization and am excited when I see people start to spread their wings and develop their leadership skills.

Jessica with her father, Robert (Bob) Burton, founder of Burton Fence and Poly Vinyl Creations. He is a former AFA president and a certified fence professional.

SINCE THIS ISSUE OF FENCE NEWS HIGHLIGHTS WOMEN IN THE FENCING INDUSTRY, WE WANTED TO GET YOUR INPUT ON HOW WOMEN OPERATE WITHIN THIS INDUSTRY. DO YOU FEEL WOMEN APPROACH BUSINESS IN THE SAME WAY AS MEN? I feel women view things with more gray area than men do and analyze situations and events in more depth, often looking at multiple viewpoints before making any final decision on a situation. Women also tend to focus more on employee wellness benefits; you often see more women involved in the human resources and benefits side of business. I attribute this to culture and societal norms and expectations, but it allows for a different approach to business.

I also feel women are expected to be more empathetic and balance their personal and business lives to a higher degree which affects their approach to business. How women handle employees, work with vendors and customers as well as how they are viewed by employees, customers and vendors alike are different than with their male counterparts, especially in male dominated industries.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE A WOMAN WHO IS STARTING HER CAREER? Watch the guilt factor. As women, we are still expected to maintain home and family. However, for those of us that are career oriented, we sometimes feel as if we cannot have both or that a choice must be made between one or the other. Focus on balance more than anything and don’t beat yourself up when one must take more precedence over the other. Long term, life will balance itself and we need to allow that to occur naturally.

WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO BECOME A WOMEN MINORITY OWNED SUPPLIER MANUFACTURER? Ironically, a male contractor asked me about it a long time ago because it would help him in his bid if we were certified. I thought it was very interesting and started my research. I eventually found the program and went through a nine-month process of submissions and interviews to become certified.

Recently, I brought two members of my leadership team to the national Women’s Business Enterprise National Council conference to expand their horizons.

WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU HAD KNOWN WHEN YOU WERE STARTING YOUR CAREER? In one of my first meetings, I realized I needed to learn the language of my industry and how to adapt to customers. My father was with me in the meeting with a contractor, and I chimed in with my fresh-out-of-college knowledge and the contractor, a kind older gentleman, said, “Girl, I am not sure what you’re talking about.” It was a humbling experience. As a young adult, we often feel the world is at our fingertips and we know a lot more than we do. Luckily, I learned this lesson quickly. There is a difference between book knowledge and industry knowledge.

Jessica and Alana Chasky, Rockledge Branch location manager, as they are unloading a truck in the rain.