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Invisible Fence Inc

Invisible Fence Inc.
Corporation
Industry Retail, Consumer Electronics
Founded August 1973; 43 years ago (1973-08)
Headquarters Tennessee, U.S.
Area served
World Wide
Key people
Willie Wallace (Chief Executive Officer),
Randy Boyd (Executive Chairman)
Services Pet Containment
Number of employees
100+
Parent Radio Systems Corp.
Website http://www.invisiblefence.com/

Invisible Fence Inc. (commonly referred to as Invisible Fence) is a company that designs pet fence solutions for cats and dogs. Manufactured and distributed by Radio System Corps, the company sells wireless and fenceless systems that revolutionized pet containment when it was first introduced in 1973. Its best known product consists of an underground wire installed by an Invisible Fence employee or franchisee around the perimeter of an area, a collar with an integrated transmitter that provides a signal to the pet when it approaches the perimeter, training provided by Invisible Fence and additional training instructions for the pet owner.

In 1970s, a traveling salesman by the name of Richard Peck worked as a sales and product manager for companies in Pennsylvania. His work took him from city to city and as he drove through these towns, he was saddened by the number of dead pets lying along highways and city streets. As an animal lover and an inventor he enjoyed searching for an effective solution to this apparent problem. The solution involved preventing pets from straying from their yards. An idea developed from the concept creating a type of "Invisible Fence". In 1973, he received a patent for the concept to go about building the first invisible fence concept. Peck worked out the technology and formed a company called Stay-Put Sales Co. to market his product mainly through direct mail and magazines. Peck in the middle of marketing his invention realized that nationwide sales and distribution was beyond his interest. So in 1976, Peck sold the marketing and patent rights to John Purtell. He took his idea and created a company named Invisible Fence Co. Over his tenure with the company, he employed over 100 people directly and another 2,500 through its independent dealerships in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe.

In the 1980s John Putrell was struggling to overcome the limitations the product had. The receiver the dog wore around its neck was around the size of a cigarette packet. It suited larger dogs like Labradors and Huskies but not smaller animals like Chihuahuas without choking them. Another problem the product had was its range which only allowed a maximum of three acres of circle wire. Putrell pulled it from the market while his product developers refined it and made the receiver significantly smaller. They also refined it to need a new battery only twice a year.

Invisible Fence Co. lost exclusive rights to Peck's invention when the patent expired in 1990. As a result, many other companies emerged and designed their own version of the product including Radio system Corp, who currently owns the company. In 1993, John Purtell sold his interest in Invisible Fence while the company was at its peak.

As of 2001, IFCO and the Invisible Fence Brand were sold to Kohlberg & Company.


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