Invisible Fence® Brand History
Safety has always been the primary goal of Invisible Fence Brand. The leader in electronic pet containment began due to humanitarian emotion from Richard Peck. Peck was a salesman in Pennsylvania selling his company’s metal cutting and welding services.
“I traveled the United States and everywhere I went, I literally saw hundreds of dogs that had been slaughtered by cars. They were all over the roadway,” Peck said years later. “I loved dogs and knew there had to be a way to stop this.”
In 1973, Peck partnered with an electronic engineer and patented the first Invisible Fence, which was a package about the size of a pack of cigarettes that fit on a collar with electronic prongs touching the animal’s skin. The collar was placed on a pet and received radio waves from a thin wire buried about six inches beneath the ground. The radio waves were transmitted through the wire from a transmitter protected inside the house. When the radio waves are received by the collar, it sends a brief uncomfortable sensation under the pet’s skin which deters the pet from traveling farther into a designated zone.
Always concerned for dog safety, Peck worked with the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine to conduct extensive research on the short-and long-term effects the new system would have on animals. The study proved it was extremely effective for influencing behavior of animals and keeping them contained in a specified area. Furthermore, the study proved that pets that were contained by the Invisible Fence Brand Solution had no long-term ill effects from the corrections.
The late 1970s saw the popularity of housing tracts and development forbidding traditional fencing. This made it almost impossible to have a large dog so the new electronic pet containment system was immediately popular. Peck initially sold the systems through catalogs and direct mail. The growth of the company was very slow. There were only 50 systems sold the first year and were promoted by two nationally distributed dog magazines, Dogs and Dog Fancy.
Peck retired in the early 1980s and sold his company to private entrepreneurs outside of Philadelphia who invested in product improvements and named the product “Invisible Fence.” The engineering staff began refining the technology of the existing product. The company, called Sta-Put Invisible Fence Company, began selling a compact, lighter version of the computer collar that went from 13 ounces down to 3 ounces so smaller dogs and cats could utilize the Invisible Fence solution.
The first Invisible Fence Brand dealership was established in 1982 and was awarded to Ron and Duncan Clark, who remains an Invisible Fence Brand Distributor today. Management developed an aggressive growth plan and established 13 dealerships from Washington, D.C., north along the East Coast and eventually in California and Green Bay, Wisconsin. In the late 1980s, the company achieved more than a dozen patents in refining the technology. In 1987, the organization boasted sales over almost $4.5 million as the result of selling 17,000 systems.
The network expanded drastically over the next couple of years covering the entire United States by the early 90s. Product improvements continued to be developed until the company earned almost a dozen patents. As a result of constant consultation with leading behaviorists and dog trainers, certified training was added in 1995 to ensure the quick and easy learning process for the pet.
In 1996, Invisible Fence, Inc. diversified into contract manufacturing and was named IFCO Technologies. IFCO and the Invisible Fence Brand were sold to Kohlberg & Company in 2001. Invisible Fence Brand was the first to perfect indoor avoidance systems which keeps pets away from dangerous chemicals stored in a house, off valuable furniture or from escaping through an open door.
In 2006, IFCO and the Invisible Fence Brand was purchased by Radio Systems Corporation. The company was founded in 1991 and is based in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Today, Invisible Fence Brand continues to be the leader in technology and the marketplace with innovative products and ideas. Invisible Fence Brand invented the electronic pet containment category and was the first to offer an unconditional 30-day money-back guarantee, lifetime warranties on its products, and a one year money-back containment guarantee. Invisible Fence is the only electronic pet containment company to be awarded the Consumers Digest “Best Buy” for seven years running in the premium pet containment category.
