Allan Horn says his company will paint pretty much any structure or cover any wall from luxury custom homes in Newport Beach to high-rise offices, but his business preference is clear.
“We like commercial jobs much better,” says Horn, owner and CEO of Precision Wallcovering & Painting in San Juan Capistrano. “They’re just bigger.”
His company won a Business Journal Family-Owned Business Award in the medium-size category on June 11 before 310 business people at the Irvine Marriott.
Other sites Precision has handled include new parking structures, remodeled casinos and office buildings, normally working with general contractors.
“We kind of do it all,” the CEO says, including original surface painting and repainting.
The company has an annual revenue of about $7.5 million, with about 50 employees.
Estimating Job Before Still Critical
Sizing up a job beforehand is still just as critical now as it was years ago, this time with software, computers and historical data. Brushes and rollers are used, just like in the old days, along with spray guns.
“Estimating is still extremely important to be profitable at the end of the day,” says Allan’s son, Chad Horn, the company’s general manager and paint project manager.
Lauren Horn, Allan’s wife and Chad’s mother, is a special projects administrator at Precision Wallcovering.
The company has handled countless schools, community parks, tenant improvements, hotels and residential houses.
Grandma-Style Flowered Wallpaper Out
As for wallcoverings, Chad says the trend has come a long way from “grandma’s wallpaper flowers.”
The coverings include graphics, simulated wood, simulated stone, graphics, and, for the really exotic-minded, a covering made of peacock feathers.
“There is one wallcovering we found out about recently and it has natural peacock feathers,” says Chad. “It’s $10,000 for one piece of it.”
Some of the materials that go on the walls include vinyl, silk, linen and wall carpet.
“We’re also doing a lot of wall protection for medical,” Allan says.
Paints have come a long way since you painted your bedroom when you were a teen.
Now they’re acrylic or latex and have a low odor and lower chemical content.
Training, High Pay Are Key
Allan says the key is starting with apprentices and “training our people.”
Precision Wallcovering’s pay is “some of the highest in the industry’’ while the company also provides various employee benefits, helping to retain good employees, according to the CEO and owner.
“We want to have good people who want to be here. And that’s how you get them.”
The company was founded in 1979 by Allan as a young student working his way through college.
“We complete over 300 designer installations a year, for some of the most reputable design firms in the country. We work on the highest end homes in the Southern California area from Newport Beach to Beverly Hills,” the company says on its website.
