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Ray Byers Jr. sells the LeafGuard gutter system because “it's a great product that I truly believe in. … I can't sell it if I don't truly believe in it.”
Ray Byers Jr. has built up his Byers' LeafGuard Gutter Systems into one of the biggest franchises in the United States, covering Northern California from Carmel to Quincy.
His headquarters is a modest installation off Bennett Road, past a peaceful meadow filled with sweet peas just east of Grass Valley on Slowpoke Lane. In the lobby, Byers has a fountain running over a demo gutter presided over by an oversized squirrel, and a soundtrack fills the room with the sounds of birds chirping — but there's nothing pokey about this man.
Byers grew up in Mojave, where he learned to see beauty in the desert, and later lived in Oxnard. His father — who at 23 oversaw 1,000 people in the Richmond shipyards during World War II — instilled in him the value of hard work, and at 16 he started twisting pipe with plumbers.
“We were in China Lake, and it was 123 degrees in the shade, and I was digging 75 feet of ditch a day,” Byers said with a grin.
He was about 21 when he was working on a flat roof lifting up the gas lines so roofers could hot-mop, Byers said. The roofing boss was impressed with the young man, so asked if he would work with him. Byers agreed, and worked on roofing jobs at military bases all over Southern California.
His grandmother, the late Jessie Prudence, had retired up in Nevada County. When Byers was about 30, he came north to put a new roof on her cabin on Gold Hill in Grass Valley. It became a defining moment.
“I sat up on the ridge of the roof, looked out over all the beautiful trees, and I knew that this is where I needed to be,” said Byers, now 54. Though he didn't know a soul besides his grandmother, he settled here.
He eventually switched from roofing to installing LeafGuard gutters, which have a simple technology that keeps leaves and pine needles from accumulating in a home's rain gutters.
“What really sealed the deal for me was the 49er Fire” in 1989, Byers said. “We were putting the roof on the Caltrans building on Ridge Road, and CDF (now Calfire) made it their headquarters.
“I had dump trucks, and I told the chief I could take people (who were evacuating) and all their belongings and take them somewhere,” Byers recalled. “He said, ‘I appreciate that, but I've already got so many people and so much help.'
“It was awesome,” Byers recalled. “This is a community that really cares about others.”
Byers tries to reflect that same attitude toward his employees, products, customers and larger community.
“Everyone who works here loves it,” said Linda Turner, who works in client relations.
“It's a family operation,” added Byers, who employs two sons and a niece in the business.
His headquarters is a modest installation off Bennett Road, past a peaceful meadow filled with sweet peas just east of Grass Valley on Slowpoke Lane. In the lobby, Byers has a fountain running over a demo gutter presided over by an oversized squirrel, and a soundtrack fills the room with the sounds of birds chirping — but there's nothing pokey about this man.
Byers grew up in Mojave, where he learned to see beauty in the desert, and later lived in Oxnard. His father — who at 23 oversaw 1,000 people in the Richmond shipyards during World War II — instilled in him the value of hard work, and at 16 he started twisting pipe with plumbers.
“We were in China Lake, and it was 123 degrees in the shade, and I was digging 75 feet of ditch a day,” Byers said with a grin.
He was about 21 when he was working on a flat roof lifting up the gas lines so roofers could hot-mop, Byers said. The roofing boss was impressed with the young man, so asked if he would work with him. Byers agreed, and worked on roofing jobs at military bases all over Southern California.
His grandmother, the late Jessie Prudence, had retired up in Nevada County. When Byers was about 30, he came north to put a new roof on her cabin on Gold Hill in Grass Valley. It became a defining moment.
“I sat up on the ridge of the roof, looked out over all the beautiful trees, and I knew that this is where I needed to be,” said Byers, now 54. Though he didn't know a soul besides his grandmother, he settled here.
He eventually switched from roofing to installing LeafGuard gutters, which have a simple technology that keeps leaves and pine needles from accumulating in a home's rain gutters.
“What really sealed the deal for me was the 49er Fire” in 1989, Byers said. “We were putting the roof on the Caltrans building on Ridge Road, and CDF (now Calfire) made it their headquarters.
“I had dump trucks, and I told the chief I could take people (who were evacuating) and all their belongings and take them somewhere,” Byers recalled. “He said, ‘I appreciate that, but I've already got so many people and so much help.'
“It was awesome,” Byers recalled. “This is a community that really cares about others.”
Byers tries to reflect that same attitude toward his employees, products, customers and larger community.
“Everyone who works here loves it,” said Linda Turner, who works in client relations.
“It's a family operation,” added Byers, who employs two sons and a niece in the business.
Product, customers, employees, community
It starts with Byers being happy with the product.He chose the LeafGuard gutter system because “it's a great product that I truly believe in. … I can't sell it if I don't truly believe in it.”
Each gutter is custom-made onsite: Flat coils of copper or aluminum 18 inches wide run through a roll-forming machine and come out seamlessly shaped in a way that allows rain to flow into the gutter, but leaves debris out.
The manufacturer, Englert Inc. of New Jersey, recently has started placing kiosks showing the gutters in Costco stores.
Employees take a survey of customer satisfaction after every job, and Byers reads every survey.
Turner is one of several people who focus on customer support. After a customer gets Byers' gutters, as long as that customer is in the home, Byers' LeafGuard continues to work with that person to answer any questions or solve any problems that may come up.
He wants good word-of-mouth publicity, Byers explained.
Business is down, like everywhere else, but Byers has added three people to work in marketing. They have booths at more than 50 shows a year.
And he keeps reading to learn the latest in his trade. Most recently, Byers has expanded into water catchment systems, which drain rain water into large tanks for storage. It's an option for those whose wells perform poorly, Byers said.
With a healthy company and 29 happy employees, he can expand his vision to his community, Byers said. Early this year, Byers' LeafGuard was the main sponsor for Nevada County's Top Talent, a variety show put on to support school arts programs that had lost their funding source when fireworks sales were banned last summer. Employee John Coulter, a former producer, directed the show.
Byers also supports the Recovery Alumni Association. “If you're ready to get help, there are others who'll help you,” Byers said.
He's on the advisory council of the Nevada County Law Enforcement and Fire Protection Council, and is a board member and past president of the 700-member Nevada County Contractors Association, a group that “also gives back to people who really have nothing,” Byers said.
He's at the point where he can “give back to other people,” Byers said. “There's no better feeling.”
To contact City Editor Trina Kleist, e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call 477-4230.
To contact Byes' LeafGuard Gutter Systems
• Ray Byers Sr., president• (530) 272-8272, toll-free (800) 977-5323
• 11773 Slowpoke Lane, Grass Valley, CA 95945
• ray@byersleafguard.com
• www.LeafGuard.com
