Golden State Fence Company - The History

The Golden State Fence Company was started by a man named Melvin Kay back in the 1980’s. It began as a small business and grew to a multi-million dollar enterprise. The principles that it was founded on are the basic tenets of the American dream, that with hard work and respectful treatment of others, success can be achieved. Here is the story of the tiny company which grew to be one of the most prominent fence businesses in the country.

Golden State Fence Company was started in California, the state for which it was named. It originally employed only five employees but through the real estate boom of the 1990’s and early 2000’s, the number of workers soared past seven hundred. Government, commercial and residential contracts were awarded to this giant in the security enclosure world. Fences were built from various materials such as ornamental iron, chain link, wood, vinyl and more. Specialty gates and openers were also distributed by this company. Services and items for purchase include installation or everything a do-it-yourselfer would need in terms of materials and directions. Many homes, businesses, horse corrals, dog kennels and more are fenced with high quality workmanship by the employees of Golden State.

The founder of this company, Melvin Kay, is a self made man born without wealth or connected to elite social and educational networks. His parents worked the farms along the state lines of California where the entire family harvested cash crops during his childhood. Kay began to work in harvest crews at the young age of seven. Because crop pickers must be available to move when the season tells them to, Melvin had to relocate often and ended up attending twenty different schools before dropping out to begin working in a timber mill at the age of sixteen. Due to his experiences with bosses that mistreated their employees, Kay vowed to treat his own employees differently when he ran a company in his later years. This entrepreneur started several businesses, including another fencing firm, a garage door manufacturer and a saw mill before beginning the venture that would hit golden. In order for a company to be successful, Melvin Kay learned how important it is to treat one’s employees fairly and with respect. A business cannot be well run without competent and loyal workers. It is for this reason, Golden State Fence Company paid its workers high entry wages and continued to escalate the salaries of those that continued with the firm. Many employees were steadfast due to the feeling of being a family member rather than just a hired hand.

The housing boom has wound down, however, and Golden State Fence Company has pared itself down along with the economic trends. The business no longer employs quite so many workers and has renamed itself Fenceworks. It still offers stellar workmanship and products as well as being run by the tenacious man, Melvin Kay, who began it years ago with little more than back bone, resourcefulness, and a willingness to work hard.