What it looks like to build for centuries

100+
Years as a Company

We’re making disciplined decisions with long-term impact in mind

~10%
Percent of Staff

Those who joined by a family member's recommendation (highest endorsement of a healthy culture)

Century Companies

Century Companies is a fourth-generation family business, established by Henry Bryant in 1917. Unlike many companies focused on quick profits, Century prioritizes people. We believe profits are a by-product of doing right by our customers, vendors and teammates.

We have the competitive advantage of being privately held with an unlimited time horizon. This allows the compounding of small disciplined steps to take full effect. So teammates come to work inspired, feel safe all day and go home to their families fulfilled. And customers get unmatched craftsmanship and responsiveness.

About Us
Our Values
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Century Fence

Century Fence installs commercial / industrial applications of fence from high security military bases to your small dumpster enclosure. We are ready to help you with your high-profile job or the fence around your commercial property.

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Century Traffic

Century traffic is a full-service traffic control and pavement marking company with expertise in all aspects of pavement marking and traffic control. We have the largest fleet of trucks and the greatest manpower in the Midwest to handle your time-sensitive projects and reduce traffic congestion.

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Century Security

Century Security provides reliable security options for commercial efficiency and innovation. From safeguarding physical boundaries to enhancing accessibility to providing gate operators, we modernize your security ecosystem, enabling your team to secure the future.

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Century History

Through global and personal ups and downs, our rich history is a testament to what prioritizing vision and values can build for our people and communities.

1913

With the help of family and friends, Henry Bryant started Henry Bryant and Co in the scrap and salvage business, dealing in wood, coal, copper, aluminum, and steel.

1914

Seeing a war on the horizon when others did not, Henry Bryant took a huge risk in offering to buy his customers scrap metal. This move would end up making Bryant a profit of One Hundred Thousand Dollars, a colossal sum for the day.

1917

Before leaving for WWI, Henry Bryant incorporated the business to reduce his liability while overseas.

1917

Henry Bryant was commissioned as a captain in the Ordinance Division of the US Army. Subsequently, he was sent with the Expeditionary Forces, to fight for freedom in France.

1918

Henry Bryant returned from the war and was greeted by a company board of directors, ready to dissolve Henry Bryant and Company, due to sagging profits in his absence and a bleak post-war forecast for scrap metal. Fortunately, Henry Bryant scrapped the Board's resolution and forged ahead.

1921

Henry Bryant was experimenting with various products including wire mesh factory partitions and woven wire window guards. He decided to change his company name to Waukesha Steel Products.

1921

The 1920's would be a time of growth, peace, and prosperity for Henry Bryant and Co., which in 1921 would rename itself the Waukesha Steel Products Company.

1925

A final name change of Henry Bryant's vision to the company we know today - Century Fence Company.

1927

Century Fence was considered an up and coming fencing business within Southeastern Wisconsin. Century Fence continued to grow steadily by serving an increasing number of customers each year throughout this decade.

1929

The stock market crashed, and the Great Depression set in, as business activity grounded to a halt, in Wisconsin and throughout the world. Henry took out a mortgage on his house, and funneled the money back into his business all to keep the company afloat.

1930

Henry developed a relationship in the engineering department of Wisconsin Electric Power Company (now, WE Energies). Overtime, they were in need of quality fencing in order to protect people from the risks of electrocution. This connection provided most of the jobs that would keep Century Fence alive through these lean years. Soon after, war clouds would once again gather over Europe, as well as Asia this time, presenting a whole new set of challenges.

1941

Just as the U.S. economy was bouncing back, came Pearl Harbor on December 7th. Once again, America found itself engulfed in a world war.

1942

With an extreme shortage of steel products, Henry Bryant would spend much of the war years cruising industrial zones throughout Wisconsin, offering to buy old, ragged, even damaged fencing from anyone willing to sell. The fences would then be reinstalled for customers desperate for protection from theft and vandalism.

1945

Henry Bryant had served America in WWI, survived the Great Depression, and scraped by during the steel shortage of WWII. He was entering his middle sixties while Century Fence had reached a plateau in its current state.

1949

Henry Bryant made a bold decision to hire a dynamic salesman, Blase Zuelke, to further develop the company and sell its products & services. Henry's bold decision paid off, and business increased significantly.

1952

Henry Bryant offered another young talent, Edwin Lyle, a similar position in the company as it was really starting to expand.

1953

Century ventured outside Wisconsin for its first project in the Minnesota market. The company had won the contract to build the fencing at the new Wold-Chamberlain International Airport in Minneapolis, Minnesota, taking the local companies there by surprise.

1954

Soon a new regional office of Century Fence would be opened in St. Paul, renting space inside a plumber's office after the project success in Minnesota.

1954

Tony Bryant, Henry's youngest son, would be invited to join the growing company.

1956

President Dwight D. Eisenhower passed through Congress the establishment of the nation's Interstate Highway Program, opening up a wide array of opportunities for Century Fence in the areas of woven wire, right-of-way fencing, steel beam guard rails, overhead signing projects and a host of other ventures.

1957

Henry Bryant, now 76, decided to promote Edwin Lyle as President of Century Fence, while he himself would stay on as Chairman. At the same meeting of the Board of Directors, Century Fence adopted its first company profit-sharing plan, authored by Tony Bryant as his M.B.A. graduation thesis at Northwestern.

1958

The company approved a purchase of 1½ acres on County Road C in Roseville for $4,000 and building an office, shop and warehouse for $21,000. Century strategically planted its roots to service the Minnesota marketplace.

1961

Tony Bryant, having spent the last four years working for the First National Bank of Chicago, was able to increase the amount of working capital Century Fence so desperately required. This capital enabled the company to meet the ever-growing amount of opportunities that presented themselves to the company, from fencing for highways to missile silos.

1964

Anthony W. Bryant was installed as the President of Century Fence.

1967

The company acquired 6 acres of land in Waukesha County, erecting a new office facility and shop near Silvernail Road.

1969

On January 31, 1969, Henry was pushing 88 years of age, and he concluded that the company was in capable hands so he could retire. At the annual meeting of the company on April 29, 1969, a resolution from the Board of Directors was passed accepting his resignation as chairman and wishing him a long and happy retirement.

1970

The employees of Century Fence traveled around the country in the early 1970's doing striping jobs. They demonstrated how durable epoxy road marking material was a vast improvement over regular paint, from sun-belt Texas to the northern frost-belt states!

1975

In Forest Lake, MN a 6-acre facility was acquired and the branch was transitioned over to Forest Lake by the middle of the following year.

1976

Tenke again reported that a company in St. Paul, the H.B. Fuller Company, had created a 2-part epoxy striping material. The company was interested in partnering with Century Fence to figure out how to apply it to road surfaces. They were aware of Century’s expertise in the highway marking business and D.O.T.’s were willing to experiment with more durable striping materials.

1977

Within the 1970’s, sales tripled for Century Fence! At the same time, Tony Bryant was concerned about the use of tobacco that many employees were engaged in. This would have an adverse cost effect on the company’s health plan. In response, he created challenges for the employees to ultimately stop them from using tobacco. Starting in 1979, restrictions were placed on smoking within company premises.

1983

The early 1980’s was a low point in the company's history. President Bryant seized this difficult time, however, as an opportunity, recognizing that the company was seriously lagging in the development of its computer systems, hampering its cost controls and inventory tracking skills. He engaged the services of a computer consultant, accomplishing an in-depth analysis of the company's needs in the areas of technology and automation.

1985

A young accountant, Larry Leppla, was brought on to maximize the company's computer potential. Over time as the economy started to improve, Century’s activity increased.

1989

Century Fence's profits had exceeded their 1979 level, and the company was once again on top.

1991

Century Fence was recognized for multiple awards including the Eagle Award from Waukesha Kiwanis club and the Small Business Person of the Year Award. In the same year, Century Fence was also preparing for the commencement of its 75th year of incorporation.

1993

While Tony Bryant became Chairman of the Board, Bill Hoye ran the company for the next three years. Frank Both, who had become general manager of the highway division tasked Keith Brahmer, the manager of the Knapp branch to start refitting and customizing Century trucks.

1996

Bill Hoye's Executive VP, Don Lucas, took over for him and ran Century Fence for the next five years.

2001

John Connell, who was Executive Vice President to Don Lucas just as Don Lucas had been Executive VP to Bill Hoye, became the company's new President. He learned the business truly from the ground up, starting as a shipping clerk in the shop to running the multi-state enterprise. In late 2001, the events of September 11th, 2001 was to have a profound impact on the fence industry. With security becoming a huge concern all over the country, the number of customers for Century Fence continued to increase with the times of growing uncertainty, and Century Fence was there to respond to the challenge.

2002

President John Connell was instrumental in Century Fence acquiring the Fortress Fence company out of Green Bay, owned by Mike Gryzbowski and Keith Kobus, which continued the growth of the company throughout the region. Fortress Fence became a division of Century Fence.

2010

Fortress Fence, as a division of Century Fence, became the authorized fence contractor for Atomic Energy Plants in NE Wisconsin in 2010, a significant feather in Century Fence’s cap as it is a tremendous sign to be entrusted to do this work.

2010

Having outgrown its existing plant near Crites Field in Pewaukee, a search for a larger piece of property was begun, the result being the acquisition of the perfect new site for Century Fence in the Village of Pewaukee that same year. For the next five years, this new property was to be fully developed in 2010.

2014

Fortress Fence became the preferred fence contractor for the Green Bay Packers organization for their subsequent work at Lambeau Field.

2015

In 2015, Century Fence's logo became trademarked.

2016

Century Fence was nominated by Waukesha Business Alliance as one of the top 10 businesses of the year in Waukesha, WI. Additionally, Century Fence successfully implemented a state of the art ERP system to prepare for the next decade of growth.

2017

Century Fence celebrates its 100-Year Anniversary in business! Today, Henry Bryant's American dream became a reality through hard work and tremendous teamwork between employees and subcontractors. This story is possible because of our customers trust in us on their projects throughout the midwest. We look forward to serving you in the next 100 years!

2018

Century Fence acquired Guide Lines Pavement Marking, LLC.

2021

New La Crosse, WI branch opens in Spring of 2021.

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Hire a Century Company

With flexibility for your custom needs and capacity through our multiple locations—Century Fence, Century Traffic, and Century Security stand ready to meet your project needs on time and with excellence.

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Join the Century Team

As a family business, we put family first, business second. We want you to arrive inspired, feel safe and return to your family fulfilled.

We have over 100 years of experience caring for our team. Explore Century careers today!

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We are firm believers in family business. For those owners who do not have a next generation, we invite you to explore a partnership with us to steward your legacy and honor your team.

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Century Locations

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Century Companies (Headquarters)

1300 Hickory Street (P.O. Box 727) Pewaukee, WI 53072

43.075105
-88.233251

Century Fence Pewaukee, WI

1300 Hickory Street Pewaukee, WI 53072

Century Fence
43.075105
-88.233251

Century Traffic (Headquarters)

1265 Hickory Street Pewaukee, WI 53072

Century Traffic
43.07756591366543
-88.23808347235638
Century Traffic (Headquarters)
1265 Hickory Street Pewaukee, WI 53072

Century Fence Forest Lake, MN

14839 Lake Drive (P.O. Box 277) Forest Lake, MN 55025

Century Fence
45.239020
-93.076345

Century Security Forest Lake, MN

14839 Lake Drive (P.O. Box 277) Forest Lake, MN 55025

Century Security
45.23920499057291
-93.07734791712768

Century Fence Green Bay, WI

1225 Lakeview Drive Green Bay, WI 54313

Century Fence
44.574637
-88.063793
Century Fence Green Bay, WI
1225 Lakeview Drive Green Bay, WI 54313

Century Fence La Crosse, WI

N4663 Bangor Industrial Parkway West Salem, WI 54669

Century Fence
43.8900214827465
-91.01410471650041

Century Fence Wilton, IA

715 Ayres Progress Drive Wilton, IA 52778

Century Fence
41.59408302467937
-91.04145983360658

Century Traffic Rio (Office)

315 Union St. Rio, WI 53960

Century Traffic
43.4470159777562
-89.2384110588481
Century Traffic Rio (Office)
315 Union St. Rio, WI 53960

Century Traffic Rio (Shop)

325 Viking Circle Rio, WI 53960

Century Traffic
43.45099503480034
-89.24730161651978
Century Traffic Rio (Shop)
325 Viking Circle Rio, WI 53960

Century Traffic Knapp, WI

503 HWY 12 Knapp, WI 54749

Century Traffic
44.954943067371254
-92.08577749023468
Century Traffic Knapp, WI
503 HWY 12 Knapp, WI 54749

Century Traffic Manawa

175 Quality Drive Manawa, WI 54949

Century Traffic
44.45038265403712
-88.92202257229579
Resources

Century Insights

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Insights
Matthew's Weekly Note

Bill Walsh’s Darkest Professional Moment Shaped Him

If we didn’t have setbacks and challenges we would not know what we are capable of.

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Bill Walsh’s Darkest Professional Moment Shaped Him
Bill Walsh’s Darkest Professional Moment Shaped Him
Insights
Matthew's Weekly Note

What’s It Like Around Here?

Work is the opportunity to serve while being seen, heard, and accepted. I believe that is what we all want at the end of our life, I know I do.

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What’s It Like Around Here?
What’s It Like Around Here?
Daughter wearing her cape
Insights
Matthew's Weekly Note

Do Not Dim Your Light

Wear your cape this week even if that is as simple as a smile in a room of strangers. Be bold enough to be you.

Read blog post
Do Not Dim Your Light
Do Not Dim Your Light

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