Father-son investment team picks up Welhener & Saville

Self-described "serial entrepreneur" Jim Conley has sold the assets of Ozark-based Welhener & Saville Co. to a father-son team of investors from Springfield.

Scott and Ron Neville purchased the company, which manufactures canvas awnings and ornamental iron, for an undisclosed sum in a sale that closed Oct. 10. Kingsley Group brokered the transaction.

Scott Neville is a Realtor with CJR Commercial, and his father, Ron, is a self-employed investor and consultant who has served on the Drury University Board of Trustees since 1993. Ron Neville, a certified public accountant, was formerly senior vice president and chief financial officer of American Century Companies Inc. in Kansas City.

The Nevilles were introduced to Conley through Wayne Scheer, a Kingsley Group associate who also happened to be Conley's landlord in Ozark. Welhener & Saville is located at 1580 W. Skyline Ave., in a warehouse owned by Scheer.

Scott Neville said Scheer knew that he and his father were looking to buy a smaller, more traditional business and that Welhener & Saville fit the bill. Conley wasn't actively marketing the business at the time.

Conley, whose background is in manufacturing and engineering sales, said he acquired Welhener & Saville in June 2005, knowing full well that the business presented some challenges. At the time of the purchase, the company was on Commercial Street in north Springfield.

"I was essentially looking for businesses I felt were either undervalued or not performing up to their expectations," he said. "(Welhener & Saville) was in a facility that was inefficient, dated and in disrepair."

After a year, Conley moved the company to Ozark, where he focused on increased production quality and customer service by applying lean management principles. In the awning business, he said, the key is capturing return customers who have maintenance and replacement needs.

"Awnings are - and have been - popular," Conley said. "And by the nature (of the business), you have created somewhat of a built-in annuity, because they need to be recovered every eight to 10 years."

Scott Neville, a Denver University graduate who has degrees in marketing as well as commercial real estate and construction management, said the business model was appealing. Welhener & Saville also met criteria he and his father established for their business venture: It's a low-tech operation with a well-recognized name that plays off growing consumer interest in energy efficiency.

Neville, who knows numerous contractors and commercial property owners through his work as a Realtor, is actively soliciting potential clients. He said he's not deterred by waning consumer confidence amid the unfolding economic recession.

"I can take rejection pretty darn well," he said. "I've certainly put in my fair share of cold calls to people. I'm not scared of calling anybody. I think there's a lot of business that we can probably commandeer in town. ... I'm doing a whole lot of bird-dogging and scouting for the salesman."

In addition to a full-time salesman, Welhener & Saville employs two full-time welders, two full-time shop personnel, a part-time seamstress and a part-time office manager, Ron Neville said. Scott Neville said Welhener Awning, which was founded in 1902, acquired Nixa-based Saville Ornamental Iron Co. in 1994 to form Welhener & Saville.

Conley, who is actively consulting with several business owners "looking for turnaround assistance," is under contract to help out with the transition at Welhener & Saville, but he said his involvement has been minimal.

"I think they're in terrific shape and positioned for growth," Conley said, adding that he's already looking his next business investment - preferably in the manufacturing or distribution sectors.

Conley said he plans to administratively dissolve Welhener & Saville Inc. - the only part of the business he still owns - by year's end.[[In-content Ad]]