Fred Marshall Painting is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, celebrating a legacy built on craftsmanship, dedication and community, according to its leaders. Founded by Fred Marshall in June 1974, the company has grown from a solo gig to a sought-after name in residential and commercial painting throughout Utah, employing 60 people with job crews of four.
At age 20, Fred Marshall moved to Utah in the fall of 1972 with dreams of skiing. He joined the ski patrol at Park West (now part of Park City Mountain) in 1974. After balancing skis in winter with brushes during the summer, he decided to pursue painting full time in 1985.
The first brushstrokes of Marshall’s career were laid at the home of Bernice and Betty Watts in Park City. Their home is now the location of High West Saloon. His second job was painting the house of Tillie Bosman, a local icon, after she saw him walk down the dirt streets with paint on his clothes.
“Working hard and customer loyalty, having people call you again, is what I am most grateful for,” said Marshall. “One thing led to another, and the company kept building in size. The beginnings of the business were very innocent. My intent [ski patrol] was something different at the time. As the town was growing, so was the business.”
Over the years, Fred Marshall Painting has achieved numerous milestones. Its growth was organic, driven by word-of-mouth recommendations and consistently high-quality work. The small operation that began with Marshall’s solo efforts has evolved into a business known for customer service and attention to detail.
Marshall sold the business in 2010 to brothers Todd and Andrew Laver and stayed on with the company until he retired in 2014. He still does some consulting for the company. His cousin Scott Marshall retired from the company this year after 40 years.
Today, Ethan Bennett, Todd Laver’s son-in-law, has been running the business for nearly 10 years.
“We looked at many businesses before we purchased Fred Marshall Painting in 2010. Three things that really helped FMP stand out were reputation, employees, and longevity,” said Andrew Laver. “The company was widely seen as the best painting contractor in Park City. The managers, foremen and painters were very skilled, and most of them had been with the company for years. All these things gave us confidence that Fred Marshall Painting was a quality, well-run company and that it could perform in good and bad economic cycles. Fred Marshall has truly painted the town.”
Bennett took the reins of Fred Marshall Painting in January 2015, aiming for a seamless transition in leadership while preserving the company’s core values and commitment to quality. Having moved to Utah from Indiana, where he honed his skills at a Fortune 500 company as a scheduler for a manufacturing plant, Bennett was seen as a proactive choice for the company’s future.
“There is a certain element that I have to maintain what Fred has done such a good job of establishing, being the top painter in Park City, word of mouth is everything,” Bennett said. “Because Fred has maintained such a good reputation, it is easy for us to fill up our schedule. We are booked out for several months, especially in the summertime.”
“I just tried to always treat people the way I wanted to be treated, from customers to employees,” said Fred Marshall. “It was so basic. Being able to stay in Park City and afford to live here, it has been a great run.”
