DeWITT –– Atlas Fence, Inc., a local fence construction company founded in 1979, has been acquired, and the new owner plans to make capital improvements and expand the business. The company’s new owner, 46-year-old Chris Polimino, says he had his eye on Atlas Fence for a while, and was fortunate enough to make a deal […]
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DeWITT –– Atlas Fence, Inc., a local fence construction company founded in 1979, has been acquired, and the new owner plans to make capital improvements and expand the business.
The company’s new owner, 46-year-old Chris Polimino, says he had his eye on Atlas Fence for a while, and was fortunate enough to make a deal with John Czebiniak, 59, founder and ex-owner of Atlas Fence. Czebiniak continues to work for the company following the sale.
“I purchased the company because I knew it’s a longstanding, well-run, high-quality company,” says Polimino. “There’s absolutely potential for growth.”
The transaction closed on Feb. 15. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
Atlas Fence, located at 6852 Manlius Center Road in the town of DeWitt, has been providing residential, commercial, and industrial fence products and services since 1979.
The business offers residential products including wood, chain link, ornamental iron and PVC fencing, lawn furniture, swing sets, tree-house play sets, and basketball hoops. It also sells commercial products such as guard rails, electric gates, gate operators, and cages.
After receiving the raw materials from its suppliers, Atlas Fence customizes the products based on the customers’ needs by using its own computerized router. The company also sells products it purchases from a wide variety of suppliers including Ameristar Fence Products, Master Halco, Backyard Adventures, Bison, and Douglas.
Atlas Fence now has customers all over New York State, and some in Pennsylvania as well. The company carries $5 million in personal and product liability insurance, according to Polimino.
New owner
Before buying Atlas Fence, Polimino worked at Tracey Road Equipment, Inc., a construction-equipment dealership, as the company’s CFO and COO for three years. Prior to that, he was the president and CEO of OP-TECH Environmental Services, Inc., a provider of environmental, industrial, and mechanical construction services, for 10 years.
Polimino and Czebiniak met about a year ago through Grenell Consulting Group, a Liverpool–based company that helps business owners with succession planning, training, and improving the performance of their key contributors. Grenell was advising Czebiniak, and connected him with Polimino, who says he decided to buy Atlas Fence from Czebiniak after their first meeting.
“I’ve known Atlas Fence for a long time ... and they have a great reputation in the residential and commercial municipal markets,” says Polimino. “It was a good opportunity and it matched my background of being in the construction-related industries for pretty much my whole career since college.”
He says he finished his due diligence, and was able to obtain financing from Alliance Bank, N.A., prior to the closing of the asset purchase. The acquisition includes the name of the company, the customer list, 20 employees, 30 service vehicles, and other business equipment.
The sale did not include the property. Polimino signed a five-year lease with Czebiniak, owner of the 7,000-square-foot building that Atlas Fence occupies. Polimino will have an option to buy the building when the current lease ends, says Czebiniak.
Czebiniak will remain on staff with Atlas Fence for a minimum of three years, serving as the vice president of sales and marketing. He says that at this point he does not have any plans for what he will do after that.
Polimino’s plans
Last year, Atlas Fence’s revenue increased by 11 percent from 2010. However, Polimino says that was not the main factor in his decision to acquire the company.
“Certainly it helps –– it’s better to buy a company that’s growing rather than shrinking –– but that wasn’t the main reason,” he says. “That didn’t have as much an impact on my decision to purchase as the reputation of the company and the way the company was being run.”
Polimino says he will follow the company’s existing game plan, which includes providing a high level of customer service, quality materials, and quality installation for its clients, as well as providing a safe and productive work environment for its employees.
“A lot of our employees have been either with the company or in the fencing industry for more than 20 years,” he says.
Polimino believes that the depth of experience of the company’s personnel makes it stand out from its competitors. To keep the solid foundation of Atlas Fence intact, he is keeping all 20 full-time employees, including three in the company’s accounting department, three in administration, four in sales and customer service, and 10 project superintendents.
He says he expects the Atlas Fence work force to swell to 45 employees when it has its full installation crew back as the peak construction season starts in early April.
Atlas Fence is looking for individuals with sales experience and a contracting background as it expands its sales force this year, says Polimino.
He says the company will also add more service vehicles to its existing fleet of trucks and trailers, and continue to upgrade its construction equipment.
“We’ll probably spend about $150,000 in capital improvements over the next 12 months,” Polimino says. “Our expectation for this year is to continue to grow our revenue about the same that we did last year.”
Challenges
When asked about challenges, Polimino identifies rising gas prices as the biggest concern for Atlas Fence.
“Certainly fuel prices are going to have a big effect on our business because we do have 30 vehicles in our fleet that we run on a daily basis,” he says. “So I see the fuel as being a challenge, and that’s probably going to be the biggest challenge ... ”
Polimino also notes that the residential side of the business depends on improvement in the housing market, which the company is seeing. Since the life of a fence is typically long, people generally do not need new ones unless they are buying new houses, he explains.
“When the housing market is strong, we have a lot more demand for fences ... ” he says, “We’ve seen some improved activity this year which has been encouraging.”
Last year, about 35 percent of Atlas Fence’s revenue came from its residential business.
Atlas Fence is now working on a number of residential projects, as well as projects for commercial customers including a major retailer, a trucking company, and an engineering firm. It is also taking part in the Onondaga Lake cleanup project.
Polimino says Atlas Fence is expecting more projects to come as April approaches, including in the health and education sectors.
“We are seeing quite a few opportunities on school-related projects right now, and we are seeing a lot of opportunities in the health-care-related industry,” he says. “Hospitals are making improvements and spending money, so we see opportunities there.”