Fenceworks Moves to Spring City, Expands to Add Landscape Supply

Fenceworks, the region’s premier fencing installation and wholesale fence supplier, has moved and expanded to meet the needs of more customers in Southeastern Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic area.

“We are the same crew providing the same quality service, but we now offer more customers more solutions to meet both fencing and a wide variety of landscaping needs,” said owner, Sean Trout, who acquired Fenceworks this spring after working his way up the company ranks over nearly two decades.

As part of the expansion, Fenceworks moved to a three-acre site in Spring City from its former location on Route 926 (Street Road) near Pocopson.

Fenceworks shares its new home with Stony Run Supply, a provider of landscape, hardscape, stone, and masonry supplies to both commercial builders and Do-It-Yourselfers. Trout acquired that company in the fall.

According to Trout, of Chester Springs, the move allows Fenceworks to compete in new markets in new ways.

“For the lifetime of the company, we’ve been in West Chester and strongly positioned here to serve the surrounding area, like Chadds Ford, Unionville, Southern Chester County, and parts of Delaware County,” he said. “We’re excited to branch out to the northern Chester County region and serve both the residential and contractor community here.”

In addition, the combination of both companies allows Trout and his team to be a veritable one-stop shop for nearly every fencing or landscape improvement project imaginable.

“We do automated gates. We do fences for farming, pets, horses, pools, privacy, security, and more with a multitude of decorative options. And now, we’re partnered with one of the best landscaping supply stores around,” he said. “Every day, customers contact us for fencing and also want mulch, grass seed, pavers, decorative stone, or something else. The best part is our design team can help make it all work for any project or budget.”
 
Acquiring the companies and moving Fenceworks during a global pandemic and widespread business closures has been challenging, Trout said. But both companies are poised for growth and Fenceworks is looking to hire.
 
“These are two family businesses. The first few weeks were slow and that was scary because initially, we weren’t selling wholesale and higher-margin products to contractors. But now that’s picking up. And we’re very busy serving a lot of families who are at home more and want to improve their yards,” he said. “Maybe they adopted a new puppy or want a patio where they can enjoy meals or are just tired of looking at an old fence or walkway. We’re here to help.”
 
Trout credited support from the Paycheck Protection Program and the U.S. Small Business Administration, as well as his staff of knowledgeable and loyal professionals, with keeping the businesses running.

“Basically, we got a late start to the season because everything was delayed. We were fortunate.  A lot of businesses did not survive,” he said. “We’re not out of the woods yet, but we may have weathered the storm.”

Early on during the business closures, he and his team also used some of the downtime to add much-needed office space and build a 3,000-square foot pole barn that provides dry storage and house a woodshop for both companies.

Since then, both Fenceworks and Stony Run Supply have adapted operations to meet CDC safety guidelines regarding social distancing, mask-wearing, and limiting in-person consultations.

Stony Run has a staff of five seasonal employees. Fenceworks currently employs 14 in seasonal positions, but Trout is looking to add between five and ten more employees, including an experienced foreman and a carpenter specializing in custom woodworking and fabrication.

What advice can he offer other entrepreneurs or small business owners considering launching or expanding in uncertain times?

“Have a strong foundation. Then, it’s just a matter of getting the pieces into place,” Trout said. “At first, when the virus hit, it was a mad scramble because no one knew what to do. But we moved forward because we had no choice. You have to have faith and you must be persistent.”

Contact Information

Jennifer Sommerfield

Scheduling & Inside Sales / Manager

Fenceworks

(1) (610) 558-3339

sales@fenceworks.net