Start-Up Stories - Kelly and Rowdy Sloggett

A chance conversation was a pivotal change

In 2017, Rowdy Sloggett needed his fence repaired due to damage from a winter storm. He hired a professional fence repairer, and when he went to pay him, he asked, “What is the hardest part of your job?” His new fence friend told him it was removing the broken posts and the concrete plug holding the post in place.

Rowdy, a former steel fabricator with a degree in mechanical engineering, saw a challenge. After researching, he began to create a prototype of a tool to pull posts and concrete. His fence friend put the tool to work and offered suggestions on how to improve it. Rowdy made the corrections and began to investigate how he could build a business out of manufacturing and selling his new pulling tool.

“I joined Facebook in early 2019 to get the word out about NW Quik Pull and connected with Kelly. I had met her many years earlier and we would run into each other on multiple occasions,” Rowdy says. “Our friendship grew and in October of that year, we married.”

Kelly was an engineer in the Navy for 21 years. Her mechanical background was a great match for Rowdy’s, and she began to work with him to perfect and promote the NW Quik Pull.

“I began calling fence companies in our area,” Kelly explains, “offering to bring NW Quik Pull to one of their repair jobs and pull a post or two for them. Almost every time, I made the sale.”

“Once Kelly got on board, magic started to happen,” Rowdy says. “Without her, people wouldn’t know about this tool!”

Over time, they’ve found the NW Quik Pull has other uses, besides pulling posts. In landscaping, it can pull small trees, shrubs, bamboo and grapevines. It makes a good rental tool because the average homeowner doesn’t need to own the tool, but it is handy to have for residential projects. Also, it does a great job pulling out large event tent stakes.

“We hit the road and attend a variety of trade shows, including FENCE TECH, The Fence Show and Security Expo, The American Rental Association, The National Hardware Show, Publix Works Expo, and many others,” Rowdy says. “We’ve made connections with the right people and sales are increasing. It’s exciting to see the momentum and interest increase.”

To learn more, visit nwquikpull.com.

Those on the outside may think owning and growing a business is glamorous. They see the current building, the staff, the equipment and the profits. What they don’t see are the startups. The small beginnings, the ever-present worry, the dreams and the everyday decisions that can either make it or break it.

Fence News honors those who put their hat in the self-employment ring and built their business one small step at a time.