Rio Grande Fence Co. of Nashville crew members competed in the Company’s inaugural Fence Skills Championship on Saturday, Aug. 13 at their facility. The competition determined individual winners and overall gold, silver, and bronze medalists in eight critical commercial fencing skills.

"In the spirit of this summer’s Olympics, we were inspired to create an annual skills competition at Rio Grande Fence Co. of Nashville to showcase our crew members’ professional fencing skills," said Derek M. Smith, vice president of operations. "After seeing the enthusiasm and competitive camaraderie among our crew members throughout the event, we hope one day to galvanize interest and support for a National Fence Skills Championship at FENCETECH."

The eight commercial fencing skills judged were Post Hole Digging, Concrete Mixing, Weaving Chain Link Wire, Chain Link Fabric Installation, Graduating Chain Link Wire, Gate Fabrication, Nailing Wood Pickets, and Ameristar Montage Panel Installation. Crew members were judged based on the quality of the work and the least amount of time required to complete each skill. Individual rankings for the eight skills were then compiled to determine Rio Grande’s overall bronze, silver, and gold medal performers. 

"Everything we do seemingly ties back into our slogan, The Commercial Fence Professionals™," Smith said. "The core events demonstrate to our staff the professionalism and abilities of their coworkers, motivating them to continually improve their own fence skills.

The initial eight categories set quality and production time benchmarks we can strive to achieve and exceed in the future."

The event was also recorded by professional videographers, giving Rio Grande Fence Co. an in-house set of training videos that will be used by the Company and crew leaders for training.