Good Neighbor Podcast Northport
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of Tuscaloosa and Northport!
Good Neighbor Podcast Northport
Nick Beeler and Stephen Swanson: Continuing the Legacy of Quality and Tradition at Farrell Calhoun Paint Company
Unlock the secrets behind a family-owned paint business that's been thriving since 1905. Join me, Patricia Blondheim, as I chat with Nick Beeler, the district manager, and Stephen Swanson, head of business development at Farrell Calhoun. Learn how this Memphis-based company has not only expanded into Alabama but also maintained its reputation for quality and customer service across 17 states. From their unique approach to manual tinting to the stability of their product formulations, Nick and Stephen reveal what makes Farrell Calhoun a standout in the paint industry. If you’re passionate about home improvement or simply curious about the art and science of paint, this episode promises to enlighten.
Explore the innovative products that set Farrell Calhoun apart, including their scrubbable interior paint and resilient exterior options. Hear firsthand about the company's commitment to consistency and reliability, ensuring that contractors and DIY enthusiasts alike can count on their products to deliver every time. With insights into the personal touches that come from being a family-run business, such as having one of the owners as the chemist, this conversation sheds light on the factors that contribute to Farrell Calhoun's enduring legacy. Get ready to enhance your understanding of why this paint manufacturer is trusted by so many.
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This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Patricia Blondheim.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. I'm your host, Patricia Blondheim, and today we're speaking to Good Neighbor's Nick Beeler, who's the district manager, and Stephen Swanson, in charge of business development at Farrell Calhoun. Farrell Calhoun is located in Trustville, Homewood, Greystone and Pelham. Gentlemen, how are you today?
Speaker 4:Great. How are you doing?
Speaker 2:Patricia.
Speaker 3:Good to see you.
Speaker 2:Good, thank you. Tell us a little bit about Farrell Calhoun.
Speaker 4:So, farrell Calhoun, we manufacture everything in Memphis, tennessee. We're family owned and operated. We've been manufacturing paint since 1905. We have 51 company stores. We have a dealer network that encompasses 17 states and we're all about the quality of the product and customer service.
Speaker 2:we came to alabama in july of 2022 and we, two years later, we we have four stores and we continue to grow so just to let the listeners know this is premium paint, and tell us a little bit about the structure and what makes Farrell Calhoun unique in the paint industry.
Speaker 4:So we're unique because we're family owned. We're not a big corporation, so we can keep costs down. Our product, you know, one of the owners is the chemist and he takes pride in what he makes.
Speaker 3:And you know, if we compare to a competitor's product, ours is always at least 10% more volume solids Right, and a lot of advantage that we have in the market is our ability to service our customers a lot quicker and get the products to the site and help them manage their business daily.
Speaker 2:Well, what are some of the most popular products in your lineup and what makes them stand out?
Speaker 4:So our evergreen for interior walls is scrubbable. You can wash markers off the wall. It covers really well. It touches up good, which is a big thing.
Speaker 3:You know, our paint touches up because of the higher volume solids, you get a better finish. You better touch up.
Speaker 4:Yeah, um, enamel X is another popular one for cabinets. It's a urethane.
Speaker 2:Uh, you got Dashield for the outside, which holds up really well, right so you have a lot of innovations that are um, that are part of feral calhoun. They have to do with you making your own paint and you say all of your paint can be touched up. I was not aware that you could touch up eggshell paint yeah, um, our eggshell touches up awesome.
Speaker 4:And then I think the main thing of that is the chemist puts a chemical in there where it dries, cross hatched, so you don't have to touch up the same brush or roller. Another thing is we manually tint our paint. So it's all a mathematical amount where most people that have those automated tinters they have to calibrate it and it gets off calibration, especially when they're beating the can on that tint machine. It's not going to be the same. It was two months from now, when you go back to get a color, it's a half shot off and you can see it from an angle and uh so regardless.
Speaker 3:Yeah, if you have a job that's going in a certain area and you pick it up to begin at one location, if you need another gallon or whatever you're needing to finish the job and you're over at a different area, each of our stores is, uh, manually tinted, so an ounce at that store is going to be the same at the at the other store and it doesn't lose calibration, so it'll be consistent and touch up from one to another. A lot of people will run into the situation if you run out of paint, you have to get it back at the same location you started at, whereas that's a huge advantage to us. No matter where you go, it'll match from one job to another.
Speaker 4:And another thing is we don't reformulate our products. Durashield's the same product. It was 10 years ago. The contractor line we've had it's the same for 40 years ago. So when we change or reformulate a product, it's a new product with a new label.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we don't just change the product number over time to make a new economical formula.
Speaker 2:It stays the same throughout the years, so and that's something that I think most people who engage in paint jobs don't understand. Painters do they understand that sometimes the base that they get is going to be slightly different than the base they got? I don't know. In some cases, even last month.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:And it's not going to hold the tint. The same way, it might not have exactly the same sheen. A different number, a different uh, different, a different formulation, and paint, even a small one, might mean that you have to repaint an entire wall in order to get a match right, um, or to overcome that you're not getting a good match absolutely and so that's a that I mean. That's very big. That consistency is a very big deal, not only for contractors but for homeowners who are frustrated by that Right.
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:What are some of the challenges the company has faced over the years, and how has that shaped the way they do business today?
Speaker 3:I think one of our big challenges that we've seen is just educating the customer. A lot of people get caught up on a name of the dealer of the product but not actually the products that they're getting at the end of the day. So that's a big thing is just trying to get people educated that you know there's different companies and in those companies there's different levels of product. You know, like you have your Ford, but it's not just that, it's like specific vehicles for different levels of what you're looking for. And that's been the hardest thing is just to let the people know. It may be you're using this manufacturer of paint for your project, but what product are they putting on the walls? What are you going to be left with after the contractors are gone? What's left on your walls?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that test of time. It always looks good when the painter leaves, Right. It's when you have that inevitable incident where you know your adorable granddaughter uses crayon on your walls, or through the years, you realize that the wear on the paint is excessive. What you would consider excessive, Right. What you would consider excessive, Right. So that's a huge problem that we don't think about when we're painting our houses. We think that if we buy the most expensive paint, that that's going to stave off that issue. Right, Don't give me a cheap paint. But I think my point here is that Farrell Calhoun has that paint at an affordable price point.
Speaker 4:Right, yes, and we can keep it affordable because, again, we're family owned, we don't have a big corporate overhead, we don't have a bunch of people sitting in an office doing whatever, and you know, yeah, and 80% of the job that they're getting done is labor, material.
Speaker 3:You know, 20% is material, 80% is labor. So that 20% that they're spending on material, they need to make sure that they're getting a high-end product from whatever manufacturer they're using.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and the most expensive isn't necessarily the best.
Speaker 3:I think that's the point we need to get across.
Speaker 4:You know there's. I'll put up Durashield against whatever product it's going to cover better so it'll look better in the long run and it's affordable, you know, against name brands and do you have I mean, do you have a proprietary pigment structure?
Speaker 3:so I'm talking about the color of the paint right as far as our own fandex colors that we offer are definitely proprietary, yeah, and we can.
Speaker 4:We can match anybody's colors too. I think that's another misconception people have. If they want this certain color, you don't necessarily have to get it from that manufacturer.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so if you find a color of any type, we can color match any color into our products. So if they find something somewhere else, we can always match it.
Speaker 2:Well, what do you hope customers think of when they see the Farrell Calhoun name?
Speaker 4:Quality. It's top quality and you're going to get the best service here. I mean, we've trained our team as the best.
Speaker 3:And not to mention, of course, like we've said, we're family owned. So you know, it's not a big corporation or a big entity, it's just us. You, you know our owner is very personable, he comes around to the stores you know and we're there for the forgotten consumer. You know we're right they're getting squeezed out of the. We're not just it's not just a transaction.
Speaker 4:You know some of our customers I have. I bring my family to their house. We have dinner together. You know I try to build a real relationship.
Speaker 2:I, you know, I try to serve as best as I can. That family structure is really unique and as a team, right, that must affect you as a team.
Speaker 4:So what do you, what do you enjoy doing for fun and relaxation when you're not immersed in this business? So the good thing about us is we're closed Sundays, so we at least get one day off and I enjoy spending time with my wife and kids, and I enjoy being outside with them, going hiking, going fishing, playing basketball Right, and there is definitely a lot better, you know, work-life balance that I've found here with the company.
Speaker 3:I've been with them for a year and I was with another competitor for 19 years and the work-life balance here at Ferrocom is a lot better. There's a lot more time on the weekends. You know. When I'm off I enjoy going to the logan martin lake with the family and just getting out and being on the lake or on the water somewhere relaxing.
Speaker 2:so it's nice to have that time what a great thing listen for our, for our listeners who are interested in learning more about feral calhoun, about your products or finding your paints. Where should they go?
Speaker 4:You can go to wwwfarrellcalhouncom. You can you can?
Speaker 3:we have a Facebook page.
Speaker 4:Facebook Instagram. Yeah right, I mean you can call me. I can give you my number 251-776-4009.
Speaker 2:Gentlemen, thanks for joining us and to our listeners, thank you all for tuning in. You're looking for premium paint at an affordable price. Be sure to check out Farrell Calhoun. Until next time, stay inspired, be good neighbors and we'll see you in the next episode.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpbirminghamcom. That's gnpbirminghamcom, or call 205-952-0148.