Special to NKyTribune
LVX Painting of Newport is in the national spotlight for painting an historic two-story brick home in the city’s East Row Historic District.
The company in late April was named a 2016 Top Job Award winner by American Painting Contractor for its work on a home on Monroe Street.
The Bethesda, Maryland-based magazine’s Top Job annual award honors a single painting company in a city for its superior work and commitment to excellence.
LVX Painting won based on several criteria, including offering the best craftsmanship on a painting project that transforms a space, home or community.
Randall Reese
It was among 33 contractors recognized nationally in this year’s contest.
Randall Reese, the owner of LVX Painting, and his company are among the winners featured in the April issue of APC magazine.
“I’ve always been proud of my painting crew, and it seems that the neighbors who’ve been hiring us also respect our thorough preparation before painting and beautiful detailing,” Reese says. “Getting an award from a respected industry magazines for our efforts is icing on the cake.”
The award comes as Reese has aggressive plans to expand LVX Painting, a business he started six years ago after being laid off by a local ad agency.
He contracted to paint his first house in 2010 and did two more in 2011. By 2012, Reese decided that painting was his future and invested $5,000 in making a business of it. Living in Newport’s East Row Historic District, provided him plenty of opportunities to work on the older homes he loves.
“Especially those that have been mistreated and need some love to come back to splendor,” Reese says. “We’ve cooperated extensively with the historic officers in Newport, Bellevue and Covington to maintain historic standards.”
He added most interiors his company does are fairly simple compared with the extensive work it does on exteriors. “But we’re one of only a handful of painters who can actually work with plaster instead of just drywall.”
LVX Painting has painted more than 200 houses in its first five years, about half of them historic projects. Reese says 88 houses were painted last year, and he aims to boost that to at least 125 this year. “We are on track to exceed that goal.”
To achieve his aggressive goals, Reese has hired a new estimator and project manager. He is convinced demand for his services will keep rising.
Among other things, Reese noted, many of the large old houses in the Northern Kentucky that had been subdivided into multi-family dwellings and are now being restored for one-family use. Painting not only helps make a house look attractive, but protects wood and other surfaces. “A solid paint job will seal a house against many forms of deterioration and decay,” Reese says.
LVX Painting also is benefiting from a national trend of less home-building and more home improvement work occurring now than before the 2008 housing bust.
He expects 2016 sales to rise 50 percent over last year. Reese plans by this summer to nearly double the size of his full-time painting staff that now includes six to eight painters.
Reese hopes to reach $1 million in revenues by 2018, but says that will require even more hiring.
“I’m eager to make it happen and confident that we have a strong foundation to build on.”
