Integrity, Determination, and a Whole Lot of Family: How W.W. Enroughty & Son Grew from One Truck to a Mission-Critical Industrial Coatings Provider
For 40 years, W.W. Enroughty & Son has built its name the old-fashioned way: by getting the job done right, standing behind the work and keeping long-term relationships at the center of the business. Co-founder Wayne Enroughty says the company set out to become the “go-to” contractor for difficult jobs and time-sensitive work — tactics which built an exceptional reputation on the strength of hardworking employees and loyal customers.
From those beginnings, the company built a reputation for craftsmanship, integrity, and strong customer relationships, values that still guide W.W. Enroughty & Son today.
Along the way, the Enroughty team has learned a lot about their own drive and motivation to be the best in the business. That drive started before the company was officially formed. After graduating from Hampden-Sydney College in 1984 and working as a Project Manager for a small mechanical company, Wayne watched his father, Bill, and Uncle James at work as independent painters. Eventually he approached his Dad about expanding the business together. “Why don’t we give it 6 months?,” they agreed in 1985. Wayne tried to sell more work while Bill continued to handle the field operations. It worked well enough that W.W. Enroughty & Son was officially incorporated on May 30, 1986.
Going Big
Their business began in residential painting, but it did not stay there for long. With encouragement from his Dad, Wayne began looking for different projects, starting with commercial jobs and then moving into industrial sites. Their first commercial project was for the Sovran Center at 1111 East Main Street in Richmond. “We painted houses by day, offices at night,” explained Wayne. By networking with their paint and supply vendors, he quickly manifested much larger work for a growing team. In 1988, the company landed its first industrial site – a power plant – and larger opportunities soon followed.
Those early jobs set a pattern that would scale an impressive book of industrial business. Wayne cited Kings Dominion and Anheuser-Busch projects as important milestones in his company’s evolution. They began earning certifications from AMPP (Association for Materials Protection and Performance) while taking on more technical and mission-critical work. For example, what started as general maintenance work at the A-B brewery evolved into being responsible for floor coatings, tank painting, and a progression of projects that expanded their teams’ technical capabilities.
In 2003, they won the service agreement with Phillip Morris USA, who has been one of Enroughty’s biggest customers for over twenty years now. Colonial Pipeline, Dominion Power, Dupont, and AdvanSix are examples of the mission-critical customers and job sites they’re entrusted with serving.
From an entrepreneurial standpoint, their aim was refined from a shotgun pattern to rifle shots. The focus became earning long-term projects for ongoing maintenance that provided reliable, long-term stability of revenue for their growing family of employees. W.W. Enroughty & Son now had multiple crews painting seven days a week and during plant shutdowns. They developed vested crews who stay at a facility every day, and work through operational shutdowns on weekends and holidays at various manufacturing and utility facilities.
Diversification
As the company built its accreditations and demonstrated their dependability with every job, customers also began asking for metal finishing in a shop setting. Early on, Wayne rented a small space for blasting and coating that worked as a feeder shop to the field systems on job sites. These were increasingly complex projects with detailed specifications for quality-control, safety and timeline considerations from end users.
Then one day in 2001, EPAcoat’s blasting and shop operation came up for sale, and Wayne decided to acquire it. This new facility greatly expanded their capabilities, not only to serve their existing customers, but diversify into acquiring new types of projects and customers. In Wayne’s telling, it was a response to customer needs and an extension of the same business — one more way to do the work well and keep expanding what the company could offer.
In 2005, W.W. Enroughty & Son acquired Phoenix Maintenance Coatings in Covington, Virginia, as part of a strategic effort to expand the company’s geographic reach and strengthen its presence in the industrial maintenance and protective coatings market. The acquisition established a permanent Enroughty presence in western Virginia, providing greater access to the region’s pulp and paper mills, chemical plants, manufacturing facilities, power generation facilities, and other industrial customers.
The addition of Phoenix created another important piece of the Enroughty organization: a locally based operation backed by the resources, technical expertise, safety programs, and capacity of a larger coatings contractor. Alongside W.W. Enroughty & Son and EPAcoat, Phoenix helped build a more complete group of companies capable of supporting customers with shop preparation and coatings to field application, ongoing maintenance, and outage support.
A Generational Commitment
The Enroughty story is not just about a growing company. It is also about the people who have grown along with it. The first chapter started long ago with Wayne’s grandfather, who painted in his off days as a municipal firefighter. A knack for the trade was handed down from him through Bill to Wayne, and now Wayne’s sons, son-in-law and other family members are all involved in running the company.
Price and Garrett Enroughty are now helping lead both W.W. Enroughty and EPAcoat but started out washing trucks and working shutdowns in the wee hours and on weekends. “We never put any pressure on them to be part of the business, but I think they saw that it’s been good to our family and realized there are opportunities here. They’ve made a huge difference already,” Wayne said of his two sons. “It’s a special opportunity, being a family working for a common goal. It motivates me more knowing I get to see my family members every day and to grow the business together,” observed Price.
Naturally, the trio can’t help but wonder if Wayne’s grandchildren may also step up to the plate one day. “Who knows, maybe the next generation will come along too. It’s kind of exciting. I’ve been blessed with many good friends who own businesses, and I’ve witnessed that they don’t always last from generation to generation,” he said. “We’re defying the odds.”
A Company of Families
Garrett and Price point out that W.W. Enroughty is far more than a family-owned business and a family of companies — it is in fact a company of families. There are currently over twenty different families that have multiple members employed at W.W. Enroughty & Son! “It’s a strength when team members are willing to recommend the company to their friends and relatives, because it says something about the stability of the work and the culture,” said Price.
Why is it such a good place to work? The company offers its people a safe work environment and a consistently strong paycheck, while also asking them to hold up their end of the bargain.
“We have so many valuable employees and associates that understand we care about them. In return, they are there for us,” Wayne observed. “We’re all one team. We ask everyone to look in the mirror and ask, ‘what can you do to make a difference?’”
That sense of accountability is carried over to customers and helps the team deliver on high expectations through their versatility and availability. Enroughty has long been known as ultra-dependable, successful on difficult projects, and always with an eye on maintaining long-term relationships. It’s a culture of trust, respect and commitment that drives that success.
“This business gives us the opportunity to work alongside people we trust and love. We’re building and growing something that our employees and families can depend on,” said Garrett.
A Vision for the Future
Looking ahead toward the next 40 years, the company plans to focus on constant improvement, training and adaptability among their already-exceptional team.
No matter how big or small the job, the quality of work has always remained at the center of everything the Enroughty family does. “You don’t get calls back if you’re not putting out good quality. We took a mission-critical path – tank-linings, pipelines, fast-tracking steel coatings – if you don’t get that right, you’re not getting a call back.” explained Price. “And if something’s not right, we make it right,” added Garrett. “We’ve grown over the years, but the values stay the same. Afterall, our name is attached to everything we do.”
It’s clear that Wayne, the original “son” in W.W. Enroughty & Son, has developed two new leaders that are eager to shepherd in the next era of quality service and exceptional results. They’re excited about exploring new technologies that can help improve efficiency and processes without losing the commitment to quality that built their reputation and success to begin with.
“Our goals are to remain a company of families that customers can trust, and that our employees are proud to represent,” Garrett summarized.
For W.W. Enroughty & Son, that may be the clearest description of all: a family business that became a company of families that will never give up on doing right by the customer.
