40 | Business World Magazine |
November 2013
former owner of a Pepsi Franchise. As far as
comparisons go, there is little similarity be-
tween his role with Pepsi and that of Overly
with the exception of the fact that just as
Pepsi is sold to retail businesses who supply
the product to end consumers, the products
manufactured by Overly are likewise sold
to businesses in the form of door and hard-
ware distributors, contractors, architects and
engineering design firms. And while Pepsi
may be the taste of a new generation, Re-
ese’s professional acumen certainly flavored
the formula for a new era of engineering at
Overly. That all began when Reese and his
brother sold their franchise and began look-
ing to acquire a new business, a two year pro-
cess that had them conferring with various
investment firms and business brokers, but
failing to find the right fit. “We were looking
for a company where we felt we could add
value ... we wanted it to be a company that
produced a tangible product, not something
in the service industry, but a company that
made something, that was a number one or
strong number two in its business segment...
something in an industry where there was
some barrier to entry because it required
specialty knowledge or testing, something
not anybody could just go and do,” explains
Reese. One morning, a next door neighbor
happened to mention that Overly was about
to be sold by the Wehe family and Reese ul-
