Looking Back

• Shoo-fly Happenings
• August 1, 2018

40th Anniversary and how far Shoo-fly has come

In my 25 years with Shoo-fly we have gone from the office over the garage and the workshop/shipping & receiving in the garage to the large converted house we have used for the last 20 years. From stocking just a few cases of insecticide to ordering pallets. From purchasing a few drums at a time to ordering a 38' truck load. We are adding two new products this year and we have almost run out of room.

But we would not be here if it wasn’t for our customers. We really appreciate their loyalty. From the large universities to the small barn owner. Some call in once a year for their 4 stall barn and we recognize their voice because they have been with us for decades. There are a few who send an email that says ‘send another fill’ in the subject line and they know that we will take care of them. We get to help someone get their 15 year old system working again. We love to hear from the new barn owners that now understands their system and insecticides and, after installing it, call to tell us how happy they are because they have no flies in their barn.

How it all got started

It has been 40 years since Chuck was sitting in his kitchen, surrounded with parts, trying to design a system that would make life in the barn a more pleasant experience. Not much has changed. Chuck is always looking for something that we can add to our line up that will make life in the barn a more pleasant and healthier environment.

In the late 1970s, he was doing door to door sales of janitorial products, lubricants, fertilizers, etc. to the local farms. It was then that he saw the need for a safer, better and easier way to control flies in the barns. Chuck built and installed his first two master units in December of 1979 at Double Diamond Farm (link). They and many of his first customers are still using Shoo-fly products and service today.

That was just the beginning of what would prove to be a mutually beneficial endeavor. As he installed more systems word spread about how effective they were. Imagine walking into a barn and there are no flies bothering the horses. They are all calm and relaxed. Mare and foals are content, no sound of stomping feet. More people had to have one. There are Shoo-fly systems that have been in continuous operation for well over 20 years and are still going strong.

Not many people get the privilege of being with a company long enough to watch it grow. Most of us that work here have been with Chuck for 20-25 yrs. It is like a family. We work hard but we also stop for a cup of coffee, to watch the wild life outside the back windows or walk out to the garden to get fresh veggies for dinner. When you call in you will always get Angela or me, unless we are on another line even then you know that we will call you back.

So as we get ready to go into our 40th year in business, we want to thank our customers and our distributors that continue to be part of Shoo-fly. Also those that work to keep everything going: Greg who does our installation and servicing, the customers love him. Dan and Lena that assemble all the systems and parts and Debi who picks up the slack when we are busy and helps in any way she can.

We Look forward to more years ahead, getting to know and meet new customers as well as caring for the existing customers.

Diane