Blake Thomas - Vinyl Fence Warehouse

What are the advantages of I'm excited to bring this to you guys and see what we got it's going to be an exciting show and I can't wait to show you what we're gonna do all right we got Blake Thomas here from vinyl fence Warehouse how are you man doing good Brian how are you today man good good good to see you I know we talk a lot on the phone but we don't get to see each other face to face much no I've seen you a couple times man everybody wants a piece of Brian and dude you're you're hard to get a hold of um no man it's just I'm at work every day like you guys I mean I get up I go you know do you do installation at your place uh I don't personally no uh we do offer it here um we actually started out you know in the installation business uh so we retain that company and so we do still uh install you know our own products um you know just try and keep everything you know top quality and things like that and give ourselves a good name yeah so like you guys my days starts off dealing with all that so if you uh try to get a hold of me at 6:00 in the morning I am just swamped until at least 9 or so getting them trucks out and dealing with all the normal you know day-to-day hustle of of getting your crews out and dealing with the customers and who didn't show up that day and how are you gonna move guys around and maybe one of the trucks didn't start and you got to get the battery jumped or you know Hey where's the ladders for that truck and you go to find out they left on the job the day before I just all the normal stuff that we all have to deal with so I think that's a big part of my day oh yeah everybody's got fires man every yeah yeah yeah so um if anybody doesn't know who Blake Thomas is um owner I believe right of of vinyl fence Warehouse I mean it was yours your baby you started it right uh somewhat so um it's actually you know my dad started the company back in 1992 um and we started in the garage of a rent house um you know I was uh five years old whenever we started um you know I was out in the garage you know watched my dad build out you know his own uh trucks and machinery and things like that you know to go install uh you know C handrailing and things like that um so you know we started out in installations uh so with him starting that you know it's just kind of evolved to where it's at now uh we are family-owned and operated uh kind of a you know tight-knit operation here um so yeah uh you know co-owner I guess you could say future owner if anything getting ready to hand that down you got any kids or anybody you're GNA possibly think about handing that down to already uh me no uh I mean I have obviously have uh you know two small girls um but yeah that that thought is is you know well off in the future um so you know they're not really in the fencing you know at 9ine and 12 just yet uh or 10 and 12 um so yeah I mean I'm just letting them you know do whatever they want to do you know stay away from fence right now and uh you know just not trying to push them into anything H just letting them you know be kids yeah yeah I mean this this is when we we typically all start getting into it so that's why I was asking oh yeah absolutely man um you know I was I was on the fence line you know starting at like age eight I think you know I actually went out on the jobs and and you know handled things carried you know maybe 20 pounds worth of anything uh but you know I was out there helping yep I think I got my first official ass beating um out on a job site from one of my uncles you know what are you doing walking back why are you doing walking back here without something in your hands yeah yeah got some empty hands man you're in trouble you are in trouble empty hands man you you definitely got your got your butt beat so so um what um what what made you go for that transition then from the install over to um doing some obviously you supply a lot of material is is it mainly you basically you say you're one of the largest in the southwest based out Oklahoma if I'm correct right yes sir right here in the heart of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City um yes sir uh we uh like I said we started out you know doing um Ornamental Iron uh my dad was uh by trade a welder uh you know on the pipeline and things like that and that's really what you know pushed him to start his own company uh you know and kind of do something you know more more homebased you know in in you know in our own Hometown um was that you know he was gone all the time uh you know out on jobs you know welding for months at a

Time uh so you know he brought came home and and you know used that same skill set you know to start making handrailings and iron fencing and things like that uh so he did that for a very long time and uh you ask him and he will just straight up say man I got tired of being so damn dirty so uh he uh you know right whenever that kind of you know happen happened you know he started getting sick of iron uh he discovered vinyl um you know we were one of the first companies you know in Oklahoma to start offering that um and you know just the cleanliness of vinyl you know not having any kind of that that you know welding dust or grinding dust uh you know no flames or anything like that in your shop you know it was really appealing um and so you know he started you know pushing more and more Vinyl Products and uh it just grew and grew and grew and we have grown to be one of the largest suppliers in the region boy look what you started around there huh look what you started there is vinyl fence everywhere now man I'm telling you um you know we uh we we push our products you know um just as far as possible uh you know offering them in many different ways um you know one of the things that always hurts is is the cost of shipping um so you know uh we try to be as efficient as possible in in all of those things um but you know just the Big B you know size of vinyl you know it does make it a little bit harder to ship um so you know we've actually taken a lot of the things that we've done kind of condense them down um and you know we're able to ship products a little bit easier that way um but that's pretty much what we do now is we we basically ship um you know we actually probably serve a market uh larger than the state of Oklahoma um you know every day uh you know we just push our products more and more out of state yeah and and by the name vinyl fence Weare W house a lot of people think that you know you're a vinyl fence supplier in itself but they don't realize you have a larger line than just vinyl fence I mean I I see the Goliath is it Goliath the the iron panels and stuff that you put out as well are those aluminum or steel what tell us a little bit about the Goliath so uh you know like I said we we started out doing the iron switched into the vinyl uh you know basically uh grew our name off of that um our installation company is actually called iron tough vinyl fence uh so it just it just you know kind of evolved as we added you know uh the different products and things like that um so uh you know now what we've actually done is we have our own line of um imported products um you know we uh there's so much manufacturing you know that's done overseas um it's it's really you know just an extremely cost-effective way to to get things um and the quality you know is is what a lot of people have always been afraid of but whenever you are you know sending your specs you know to a Chinese manufacturer they they build it exactly how you want to um you know so here in Oklahoma you know one of the the biggest names that is out there you know obviously is a marar um you know they're based right here in in Tulsa um so you know that's obviously a product you know that that we kind of had to compete with um so you know what we did is we we formulated you know the type of product that we wanted had it spec out overseas and we have it made you know specifically for us uh so like what I'm kind of getting at with that was we we developed our own line of products and that would be the Goliath uh fence systems line uh so in that we have our our Ornamental Iron uh and then we also uh are just coming out with our own um residential black coded chain link uh which is available in a no dig which is pretty sweet uh and then we have our Flagship product the Goliath multipost fence system um so that right there is really kind of you know the the Cadillac of fence systems um which is you know really what we try to uh you know push and promote here is is you know high quality premium products you know we don't sell cheap things um you know we don't sell things you know that are going to fail on you you know quickly um you know everything that we sell here is what I what we all consider a a lifetime type product uh you know something that only needs to be installed once has very little maintenance and you know looks great year after year after year uh you know without having to go back and and restain or replace things um you know just just that type of product where it's like a oneandone kind of thing right

So where um where's your main market for these uh Goliath and the steel panels is that mainly in your area or is it do you see it over on the west coast as well or is it just areas you ship to and Supply I mean I think it's great that you got products out there I mean amera star is a great product I mean it's been around a long time they got a great brand they did one hell of a job marketing that to engineers and Architects to get it specked out oh my gosh that is amazing that could you could write a book about what an amazing uh marketing plan that was to be able to get all the Architects Engineers to call it out and a lot of contractors will say I just want you to use it because it's spec out so is your product something they could do an Andor equal is it something you got to do an RFP on or you know what I mean or you know to actually ask them a question and you know things like that to to get it approved um so for our our our Ornamental Iron line uh what we did and that's really where we kind of got the name Goliath is we wanted you know big bulky strong products um so you know everything that we've done it's it's kind of a step above you know their residential line you know obviously they you know their commercial line you know they're a little bit beefier line but their their more residential product uh I believe it's the Montage um you know we took it Just A step above that you know and so basically if if you know a customer is wanting that specific product we can say Hey you know we have something that's not only comparable but you know actually kind of A Step Above um you know obviously it's not you know an americanmade product but you know the price point is really good um and you know is actually you know slightly bigger and stronger uh has a couple more features to it but you know still installs you know in that exact same style um you know that everybody's used to you know with the brackets and the bolts and and all that stuff yeah I mean well well heck it sounds like you you didn't go Andor equal you went Andor better that's what we have to do here we really do you know I don't believe in coming to the market with a lesser product um you know there's just that's just not what we do you like I said that you don't build a reputation you know off of off of cheap and um you know low quality and if you do that's not the kind of reputation that you know is going to keep you around for years uh you know we've been in business here you know since 1992 um and you know I'm hoping to be here till you know 2052 um maybe even longer uh but you know you're not going to build that type of uh you know Rapport and you know longevity based on cheap yep yeah and you've got some um I don't follow the whole I mean I I should probably because I'm also the president of the fense work Association but I don't follow um I don't follow the Politics as much as I should in our industry but there is a lot of chapters and things going on and you got some big news uh for you that I saw out there recently you became a board member or something of one of the chapters right of AFA yes sir yes sir uh so the American Fence Association obviously you know um uh we do have a local chapter the Midwest chapter um Daniel Brown the owner of Oakley fence here in Still Water um you know came one once he became president he came down to see me and you know we just kind of started chatting it up and you know we had a lot in common uh you know he kind of told me the goals that he had you know to be able to push the uh the industry and the chapter and you know really just kind of the oh I guess more than anything really Oklahoma fence industry you know and what we wanted to do with that uh and so you know just being really like-minded you know me and him are basically the same age you know what coming from what you know what I refer to as a legacy fence company uh you know one where you're you're you know the tor which has kind of been passed on to you um you know and and the direction that you wanted to go with that um so we uh you know our Interest really kind of align you know with some of the stuff that that the AFA was doing um and so you know it was just something that we wanted to you know be a part of and uh support and Daniel's a heck of a guy um you know so I really liked what he you know kind of brought to the table and uh yeah so he pushed me and pushed me and and push me and uh well he uh you know just pushed me so I just jumped on and you know we now board members uh so you know that's something that's that's

Voted on I think uh twice a or every two years um so you know looking forward to uh you know serving the Midwest chapter and uh you know seeing if we can you know bring some fun and excitement and uh you know make fencing great again in the midwest yep yeah no and I know you'll do a great job and and I I don't know I may have met Daniel somewhere I don't I'm bad with the name I'll see people's faces I'm like I know this guy from somewhere and you know it's it's like but but the name sometimes uh slipped me that but so if I did meet you if I did meet you Daniel I apologize I don't uh by by name I'm not sure but uh you know he sounds sounds like a good guy and I know you'll do a great job and one thing I like about seeing this is I'm seeing a lot of I want to say young blood coming in a lot of new energy and things people that are dealing with the issues and the problems that we're actually dealing with now opposed to 20 30 years ago so to see this shift in our industry and to see some of our leaders and some of our board members and everybody kind of Shifting over to people that are dealing with with the day-to-day issues that we deal with now opposed to decades ago because I remember working for my uncle's fence companies and they didn't have to deal with you know the the staffing issues weren't as much the compliance and the laws and even the permits and the building departments and hell all the utilities were overhead remember that those were great days now I mean they didn't have to deal with any of that I mean other than you know some water and stuff like sewer you didn't really have anything in the ground back then so um to to have people like you come in there and and help you know bring bring it more of a relevant conversation to you know how how we're dealing with problems now it's a huge deal I I see this across the whole country happening now not just from that but like you were saying the education on on the new Styles and the new ways fences are being built and and you know we're I think we're breaking through the barrier of PC and we're getting to hey I get it may not be politically correct to say it this way but this is what we're dealing with now so let's just bring it to the table and talk about it so I think you're going to be huge for um that chapter I believe was already one of the main ones for AFA wasn't it one of the busiest ones I do believe so uh I know that they got a chapter of the year or chap whatever their award is you know for being the best chapter in in the organization uh I know that they holding that Trophy last year um so yeah I mean one of the bigger things you know that that Daniel and I really kind of talked about you know is that that education um you know and being able to you know teach those you know that are coming up behind us um you know like you said you know you you worked for your your uncle sense company um you know obviously that's been you know how many years ago yep would you say 20 years ago right okay and you know did did he probably have you know any of the resources years what 40 who knows yeah yeah um but you know he probably you know did absolutely everything on his own uh you know he probably didn't have somebody you know that he could reach out to and you know ask questions to uh you know obviously there was no YouTube um you know so nobody could look up you know instructions on anything uh you know so a lot of those things you know were self-taught um and so now you know that all of those you know self-taught people you know like uh your uncle uh my dad um you know they they've taught that younger generation um but you know it's it's kind of beneficial you know to to go ahead and and teach those that are not just under you you know the ones that are coming up behind you in your own business but you know to to spread your knowledge you know across the industry uh because all it does is make it better so you know whenever you do that you know and everybody has the more education uh it just raises the it raises the ball you know if every single fence company out there you know is doing a great job on their installations um you know then then every single fence is going to fetch a higher price uh which is great you know for the industry period um you know keeps everybody's wallets a little bit more full um you know materials move more um you know the the higher quality materials move even better um so you know just just pushing you know the education and um you know being able to or being willing you know to help those that ask

Um you know that's that's really what uh you know what we're really trying to achieve yep and the industry is a lot less forgiving now than it was back then so the only good thing about not having the YouTubes and the social media and everything was you were allowed to make a mistake and yeah no one knew about it the whole world didn't tear you apart you didn't get uh you know kicked out of groups and and you didn't get like uh you know you didn't get attacked and and bered by a million people so um even even when you look at even things like uh uh you know associations or education things and and all this you look back and well starting something in the 80s or 70s or something would be a hell of a lot easier than starting something now because you're you're allowed to make mistakes and and you were allowed to fix it and you didn't have people trying to tear you apart while you were doing it now everybody you're under a microscope and I can tell you that just from the stuff I'm doing you're under a microscope and you've got a set it's just like our politics everywhere else you've got a set group of people that are waiting for you to make a mistake and back then we didn't have that you just made a mistake and the only person that knew was your wife or your girlfriend and she you know braided you a little at home and and people at work they didn't bug you your competitors didn't even know but now the whole world knows so I I think that we do have to have some of the stuff like you guys are doing a little bit more um education a little bit more Awareness on on how to do it correctly because if you don't they they won't be able to break past that barrier of just being you know working out of a truck from on the weekends so um it's huge what you're doing it's huge what you guys are doing and education will probably never be a huge huge passion of mine because I think there's there's so much out there and AFA has been doing such a great job for so long at it it's like why try to reinvent things you know we'll do our education but it'll be different you know what I mean yeah I mean anytime you can add something you know something of value you know to somebody then it's it's why not you know um whether it's going to be you know of of your products or your process um you know I guess the new saying is you know you don't know what you don't know um and so everybody that's being a little bit more vocal uh you know about how things are done and the successful way to do things is is you know great um you know every every chance I get you know everybody that comes through my door you know the majority of them you know well I've never you know put up a vinyl fence or I've never done this and so it's just me going you know hey let me show you because once you start doing it you know you realize hey it's just like any other fence um why would you know and and why why would you not want to make more profit than something yeah you know if you're better at it and you can push you know as a as a premium quality company uh because you have that education then then of course get after it right yeah know vinal fence scares me um it's like a for it's like a foreign language I mean it's crazy because I mean we're a pretty good-sized company in Las Vegas you know Las Vegas fence right so we got you know trucks going out every day you know almost 365 days a year basically especially even during holidays sometimes so but but we're used to doing you know 10- foot tall Security Fence and and you know we could go around prisons and whatever it is no problem I think I've you heard me say it before give me 50 feet of of vinyl fence in somebody's backyard and we will screw it up I don't know what it is I'll be out there for two months we'll never get paid there'll be complaints but uh and if you do if you do that now though I mean you can at least get on you know social media and and you know get some tips yeah so well you know what it is they're just in Las Vegas it's all it's a steal there's wall and steel walls and steel so just I think we've done like in the last 10 years we probably did one wood fence job and two vinyl jobs and the rest of it has been um all chain link and iron so there's just there's not even much aluminum here in this market right out here so I guess it depends on where you're at in the country too and then residential is probably a lot more vinyl as well right uh yes um it's just Regional you know um yeah there like like you know you had kind of mentioned you know steel you know being more towards you know any any either of the

Coasts and it's not as far as I can tell you know you don't want that steel you know being anywhere near that salt um so but Oklahoma you know there was actually a time where we you know uh man or had our own aluminum fencing manufactured and it just didn't sell um you know people didn't want aluminum you know whenever a mar star you know has such a great steel line you know it's just not comparable um so you know in in our region I'm sure even Texas uh you know aluminum here just doesn't sell um so you know that that product you know obviously that that is great for the coastal region um so you know just really kind of wherever you're at you know the the market decides what they want and you know you've just got to supply it you know you gota listen you know to what the market wants yeah I think a good reference I mean because you know we obviously being with the the fence worker Association we talk to a lot of people from around the country on a regular basis um like yourself and stuff so I get to learn stuff I didn't even know about the the industry around the country and I did kind of find out that hey you want to find out what sells in that area go to your local lows see what they talking you go to Lowe in one area it's all black black vinyl chain link and and vinyl you go to another one and it's just galvanized chain link and wood Fels and it's uh in steel fence so it's really they they kind of know what's selling in that area so it's a good reference to see what's being sold but if you walk in and there's no vinyl fence you probably don't want to open up a vinyl fence shop that's probably true now I just we uh us being a little bit larger of a company you know we we do compete you know with Lowe's and Home Depot um and and the biggest that we compete against you know is is the quality um but yeah those big companies like that you know they they have the money you know they have you know all the resources and honestly they're just smarter so yes like exactly like you said they' they've kind of already got a lot of this figured out um you know and and listen to them as much as you can um obviously you know like I said we do compete with them but I'm not going to lie you know I do look over my shoulder every once in a while you know kind of kind of see what's what what they've got going on you know if I can take any hints from it and you know make make my operation better then of course it will yeah yeah so what um do you have a favorite what's your favorite out of all the lines you have and of course and they're probably like your children these things you kind of grow yourself these different lines of fence out of all of them what do you think your favorite U one whether it's the vinyl the steel a certain style what's your favorite one that you make um man that's a pretty good one um right now I would probably have to say it is our our black vinyl um you know that is a product you know that is is again you know we that we Source from overseas um but you know just the uh the pure Simplicity of it uh you know our Goliath system uh multipost system um you know it's a beautiful horizontal style fence very versatile um you know you can actually do horizontal or vertical in a lot of ways with it but the uh the black Ranch fencing that we have you know just the the Simplicity of it um you know I'm able to you know fill thousands of feet uh you know with just a couple components um you know as opposed to you know those those more fancy systems uh you know that do have you know 15 components you know per section um you know I'm able just to go grab you know a handful of rails handful of posts throw them in some boxes put it on a pallet and I can ship that stuff Nationwide you know no problem so right now I'd probably say just the Simplicity of of our Ranch fencing is is the black one okay yes sir yeah I'll take a look at that by the way everybody's watching I'm gonna throw some pictures of that up there and I'm gon to put it's I'm gon to put that it's Blake's favorite and hope his other other style don't see it so um did I see some pictures of you rolling a race car around or something and some uh Team gear what's what's the deal with that I mean do you have your own race car man yes and no so that deal we were we were actually surprised you know at the end of 2022 that uh fence Tech was coming um you know to Oklahoma City um it's never been in the rotation before uh but we did just get a brand new Convention Center um and so whatever the powers that be you know they decided to bring it to Oklahoma City and I just you

Know my eyes got this big I'm like no way we we've got to be a part of that um so you know us never being involved in it before um you know being a a relatively you know just small you know region you know basically only kind of serving the Oklahoma Texas Missouri you know Kansas Market just those in States I knew that this was a great opportunity you know to to get us and our name out there um but you know like you said you know what uh what does a marar do you know they have the best marketing team along with all those Engineers you know they they have it all how do you compete with that so the only thing I can think of you know being a small fish in this big sea is just to scream as loud as possible and man I have a a passion for for dirt race cars um so I actually borrowed a buddy of mine's car um we went out and what you do you know in in racing is is you know to pay for your racing uh you know you do get sponsors um you know just like any kind of event or anything like that you know just like you with the the uh the show um so you got to get sponsors you know to pay for these things uh so we went out in uh in race car fashion and uh you know got sponsors for the the entire thing uh we had the car wrapped in uh the sponsors logos um we made shirts uh you know just an actual racing shirt just like you would find at a dirt track we sold those you know to uh to bring in you know a little bit more funds um and you know that's how we got uh you know this little company of ours you know on the on the big stage um you know uh how else you know can can you get noticed uh if you aren't screaming you know and that thing just screamed you know hey come check us out um you know whether you're here to look at fencing or not it's at least a cool race car um you know we had some pretty cool giveaways and things like that and uh you know yeah that's uh just kind of how it's done in the racing world and I figured you know hey it's got to translate you know in in into the fense world as well and and it worked really well for us um you know it really kind of launched us you know to to where we're at now um you know it did bring a lot of attention uh which was the goal um so yeah uh next time it's in Oklahoma City we'll probably do something just as loud and obnoxious uh you know and and have a lot of fun with it yeah well I wasn't in Oklahoma um on the LA was it the old Nashville is what I was thinking where the last show Nashville was was was 24 so the 23 was Oklahoma City okay okay 23 yes so I saw the one oh looks like we just lost Blake for a second let me see if he comes back on we lost you for I you got a bad signal there I forgot to pay my phone bill dude or something like that my AOL ran out I was just I know I was just zelling you some money for your phone bill you didn't pay it I was going to buy that sponsorship on the shirt where does that money go missed opportunities man that's the thing is it just goes to pay for the racing it doesn't actually pay I know I know you don't make anyy sometimes people think we're making money on stuff that we're doing just because you see a fancy shirt or a sign or a logo or hats and they don't realize that uh half the stuff we do as men we don't we don't think that that far ahead nope not at all I yeah pretty much you know the goal just have it not cost us as much as it would if we didn't have it right we do things yeah we do things for fun but uh I know it looks like uh it looks like I appreciate you coming on it looks like I know you had another meeting going on and you were going to try to get to so I appreciate you getting on here and uh kind of telling us about your products uh last thing you did mention some of the shows we were just kind of going over with Nashville and and Oklahoma what any what do you got coming up in the in the future any shows you got coming up uh well we are still trying to make uh the demo days for your show man um Co I am trying to get some product built up uh so what we have now uh give uh just a quick you know SK on it here um our Goliath multipost system uh we are developing uh what I am calling a a no dig Spike um so what that is is going to be a driven uh post that drives down into the ground obviously and uh our Goliath post sleeves over it so this will actually make for uh the first no dig horizontal modern you know fence system um you know something that goes up extremely quickly uh you know there's there's no compromise or sacrifice in strength um and you know hopefully in the end you know brings the actual cost down of the

Of the system um you know makes all all everybody's installations quicker so you know brings the the cost down on the labor as well uh and you know also will um allow us to ship at a much lower rate um whenever you ship anything like I was saying about the vinyl you know it being so big and bulky uh those things cost a lot to ship uh so if we can make our components shorter and smaller uh we'll be able to ship that out at an even lower cost and you know be able to push the product out even further so horizontal so there's nothing for I mean I don't I don't do much no dig so it's it's always kind of a mystery when I I hear people and I know there's a lot of controversy over no dig and digging and putting collars and you know how everybody does it differently um but so there's no dig system which is where they they pound the post in and then they sleeve the original post they want to use uh for the fence over that so is there there's nothing for vertical when you say uh horizontal I mean you got it you're talking about going this way yes sir okay there nothing there doing that right now for no dig uh well there's you know there have been a couple um you know new horizontal type systems come out um all of them you know great in their own fashion you know they they serve their purpose um what we've done here with the Goliath system you know is made a system that is for one extremely versatile uh you know you can put just about any kind of infill in it um you can you know space it out and and have a semi-private um you know and then the actual post itself being you know big and you know an extruded aluminum design uh the actual design of it you know just makes it extremely strong uh so it's going to have some of the highest wind loads you know of of dang near any fence uh as far as I can tell this is the only system that you can do like an 8 foot tall 8 foot wide section on and still have you know 100 m hour you know wind loads on on it uh so you know we're trying to get that into kind of a no dig system you know not everybody needs that absolute strength um but you know everybody wants you know that that newer style of fence um so you know if we can do things you know to modify it uh you know and offer it in a different fashion you know to help bring that cost down you know for a lot of a lot of customers across the country uh then you know that's what we're going to try and do and so that's what I'm I'm trying to bring to demo days is our our new Spike uh so we'll be out there hopefully you know uh with you know quite a few of those pieces uh just pounding them down you know letting people know you know see how the system kind of works and goes together um um and so that'll be kind of our Pro of concept you know uh for for that new product nice do you have a um a special pounder you use typically or no sir so what I'm actually what I've been doing right now is is you know I've got some buddies you know that that do a lot of no dig um you know a Titan post driver or Rhino um I think they both got those we will be using a a sky drill uh you know for our our test coming up here that we have uh inhouse um as far as I can tell that thing you know pound anything down um the sky drill where's that come out of where's the sky drill come out of no I don't know I just know the guy that had hes one so okay I don't know I and maybe they're gonna be there I mean I know Susan's been handling a lot of the demo Day stuff out there I'll probably get involved here um as we get closer like 30 days out um to the demo days to kind of get some of that stuff going um we're still working on some of the shade structures and and that's going to be kind of cool um I know homeland's going to be doing a big party out there if you haven't heard of that yet yeah so they'll be doing something big outside there going be some live music there's going to be a pretty cool event I mean we're going to see how it goes it's the first one I mean obviously the normal Expo is going to be happening uh you know Wednesday Thursday Friday inside so that doesn't change but we're we're just kind of testing it out because there one thing about me fwa is we're not afraid to try something yeah you literally you never know until you try um you know just you know we we've been kind of you know pushed away on this this no dig thing for this system um but you know hey you got to give it a try otherwise you'll never know so we are uh in the in the proof of concept phase with it uh you know I'll be building up some uh uh sample pieces um you know probably 15 20 of them or so and uh we are going to try to you know

Kind of team up with the uh all of the drivers that are going to be out there uh so you know if if any of those companies want to get with us and you know show guys you know hey uh this is how easy that their product drives with our product you know we'll be totally open for that um you know same thing you know there's also other companies out there that we'll be uh trying to get with uh because each one of these spikes that we drive down we're going to need something to pull them back up so uh you know there's another way there you know for somebody to test out some product um so yeah it's still something that we're kind of putting together um I'm I'm getting to try to make it you know by the skin of my teeth but uh man I'm I'm hoping to make a trip out to Vegas and uh come see you and man maybe me and you can sit down at a craps table or some do some black jack yeah yeah we got we'll have one right on property so that's make it easy yeah I'm excited to see I don't think they'll it's going to be Vegas uh and Nevada so I don't think there's going to be a lot of people walking around saying this is how easy it is wait till he start pounding post out here so this is going to be a good test for all this because you know we pound posts um on chain link you know fences and sometimes around vacant lots and and things like that uh but mainly we dig in set but even then we've got big pneumatic equipment with one of those compressors you pull behind your truck and sometimes we sit on a post for 10 15 minutes with a one and that's a one and 58 post full weight with a 45 degree on the end or something trying to get it in so I and then that's why you get certain areas and I tell people hey just be careful telling everybody they got to do no dig everywhere because you can't you know it's it all affects the ground conditions too and you can't go down three feet here you can't pound a post three four feet in the ground here it's it's doesn't work I mean you could pound a post probably 16 inches in the ground here uh and 16 18 inches and you wouldn't be able to get it out unless you had a piece of equipment yeah really and truly that's um that's that's what I'm really excited you know about my no dig spike is um this right here should be able to drive uh easier and faster you know than just any kind of round poost uh can't really speak much more on it just yet but looking for it um you know it's it's something that's absolutely proprietary but works you know in in a variety of fences uh so it is definitely something you know that I'm really anxious and excited you know to to get out there get tested and hopefully have this thing you know to Market you know for for hopefully 2025 yeah no now now you got my head just spinning on this spike thing I mean I I'll be thinking about it man I can't wait to see it hey Mark go find a spike and bring it in the shop no no no that's not fair Brian that's not fair yeah but no I'm excited I'm excited to see that new stuff we need something we need something that pounds easier out here um and and where we get stuck is we're so overregulation

If there's any problems at all we are standing in front of contractor's board defending ourselves why we didn't put use concrete and not that you won't win not that we can't dig out you know International building codes and dig out ASM standards and show that there's there's reasons why you can drive that just doesn't mean that you're not still standing there defending yourself every time you know what I mean so we gota we gota I think the industry's got to get together and figure out how you break that barrier and because our time is worth money so even if you won I mean what did you win you Sav the customer some money and you got to stand there and waste a month of your life and defending yourself right to be able to allow them to drive a post in the ground so there's a there's a balance and I think the reason everybody's getting away with it is more now is because they don't you know most of the country is not regulated and you're and you're allowed to try you you know that this is and that's a good that goes back to the laws and regulations it stifles Innovation so you're allowed to innovate you're allowed to you're allowed to to find new ways to do stuff that's better then you get in over regulated areas like mine and you can't you don't have the option to try new things with whether it's better or not so you know I love the freedom you guys have and I think that's what our industry needs and what everybody you know you need to be able to innovate and make better products and these laws and regulations are are stifling it it's making it to where you can't build better fences you can't build better gate operators you can't build better accessories you can only build per this this law and it's uh which makes for some very very boring products a lot of the times so yeah yeah a lot of times the these great products come out great fence Styles great operators great access controls whatever it happens to be and they can't make it to Market because it doesn't meet this standard this code that we made up you know what I mean and and to get that changed the people that are in control of it don't want to change it so and that's the worst part is they aren't even the ones you know that came up with it um you know they're just they're they are the powers that beat um how they got to be that I don't know um so it is what it is that's a whole another that's a whole another topic but yeah I we'll we'll set aside at least three four hours for that one let's let's let's do a schedule as soon as we hang up here man I'll probably I'll probably edit that out of our entire video we're doing that's okay man I don't blame me you just out my whole face start yeah we'll put something on there disguises our voices be that guy off in the shadows talking with a with a really weird dude voice track us down no way well they'll never find us yeah all right well thanks for coming on I appreciate it um I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing you out there something we could do at our end to help out let us know um it's a big deal you've always been a huge supporter of ours and we've always you know loved watching you're doing is supporting what you guys are doing for the industry too and I think um the suppliers like you are the ones that um are feeding the industry and it's important to small to mediumsized companies that are coming up as well without suppliers like you I don't believe um they have a shot so I appreciate everything that you're doing well thank you so much Brian I really truly appreciate that kind words um you know I absolutely love everything you're doing with fwa I mean I think every time that you know we do talk about this I just tell you man I'm behind you I'm under you I support you keep going if you need anything from me on it dude I'm here um yeah so and I I I do uh you know obviously 100% support fwa like you said you know we do support the AFA as well so if I could just put in one quick plug because it does involve me as well uh November you know since we're talking about education more than anything uh November 3rd through the 9th uh up at Tulsa here in Oklahoma um the AFA is putting on their um uh installers School uh so I will be teaching the uh vinyl fence installation portion um so you know if you are in need of uh you know installation techniques um you know just more industry knowledge on that subject uh as well as all of these other you know fence installation types uh you know be sure to sign up for that through the AFA um you know Tony Thorton he's

Always kind of the go-to guy you know for for you know that type of education uh he's heavily involved in this as well um so you know again November 3rd through the 9th um AFA installation School uh Blake right here will be uh teaching that so excited about that couldn't think of a better guy of be teaching it um definitely send us some information on that so we can help get some shouts out for you on on the education stuff um we will talk to you later have a great uh rest of the week right you too Brian well how you later man awesome thanks all right