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Standard Paints, Inc., the family-owned coatings manufacturer behind the Wood Defender brand of professional exterior wood stains, has expanded its long-running Certified Applicator Training Class into a two-day event that combines its Wood Defender staining class with a full business-strategy workshop for professional fence contractors.
The new format adds a Thursday business workshop—The 7 Strategies for the Professional Fence Contractor, led by featured instructor Tony Thornton—ahead of Wood Defender’s Friday staining class. The workshop, a $500-per-attendee value, is included with a refundable class deposit.
The two-day class runs monthly this fall in Mansfield, TX: August 20–21, September 24–25, October 29–30, and November 19–20, 2026. Each session combines Thursday’s workshop and an evening networking happy hour with Friday’s full-day class. Companies may send up to four attendees. A refundable $250 deposit per company reserves seats and is returned when the team attends.
Friday’s Wood Defender class is the company’s signature program for adding or growing staining as a service. Beyond hands-on product demonstrations and a live fence-staining at a nearby job site, the day covers how to market and sell staining services, select equipment for any budget, manage a job site, and gauge the revenue a staining line can add to a fence business. It also includes classroom instruction and a tour of the Standard Paints manufacturing facility. Graduates earn Certified Wood Defender Applicator status and four continuing-education credits from the American Fence Association.
“We cover the cost of Tony’s workshop because investing in these contractors is investing in our own business,” said Todd Steen, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Standard Paints, Inc. “When a fence company learns to sell staining, deliver a finish that lasts, and run a tighter operation, they grow and wegrow with them. Bringing in an instructor of Tony’s caliber and putting the whole program within reach is how we back that up.”
Thornton, founder of The Fence Consulting Group and a 50-plus-year veteran of the fence industry, is a former executive director of the American Fence Association and a member of the AFA Hall of Fame. His session walks contractors through planning, company culture, marketing, sales, operations, technology, and financials, and sends them home with drafted goals, a starter marketing plan, and a written standard operating procedure.
“Most fence contractors are excellent at building fences, but many don’t really have the time to fully focus on the business side,” said Tony Thornton, founder of The Fence Consulting Group. “We spend the first day on the key things that move the needle, and Wood Defender takes the group to the field the next morning. It’s a rare combination under one roof.”
Registration is open at WoodDefender.com/training or by calling 817-477-5060.
About Wood Defender and Standard Paints, Inc.
Founded in 1952 and headquartered in Mansfield, TX., Standard Paints, Inc. is a family-owned manufacturer of industrial coatings and premium exterior wood stains. Its Wood Defender brand serves the professional fence and exterior wood-staining industry with a full line of transparent and semi-transparent stain-and-seal products, supported by applicator training, technical assistance, and a network of certified professionals. Learn more at WoodDefender.com.
About The Fence Consulting Group
The Fence Consulting Group, founded by industry veteran and AFA Hall of Fame member Tony Thornton, provides business training and consulting to fence contractors across North America.
