Since 1933 · Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Spies Painting Inc. is still run by the family that started it. Ron Spies is CEO and owner, Erik Spies is President, and Landon Spies is the fourth generation to pick up the work. Their standard has not changed since the first job: We're a family owned business where quality counts.
The story, coat by coat
The details below come from the family's own account to NBC26 in May 2026 and from the company's own pages.
First coat · 1933
Spies Painting began in 1933 with Ron Spies' father. Ron has said as much himself: “I wish my dad was still alive, so that he could see where we have come with what he started.” What he started now runs out of a campus of office and steel shop buildings on US Highway 151 in Fond du Lac.
Second coat · about '68
“I've been with the company since I was a little kid, but started full-time in about '68.”
Ron Spies, CEO and owner, to NBC26
Ron grew up around the shop and has worked full-time at Spies Painting since about 1968. Today he leads the company as CEO.
Third coat · Erik Spies
Erik Spies, the company's President, told NBC26 how the way the family reaches a tall structure has changed: they started with pulley systems, moved to scaffolding around the perimeter, and now use boom lifts.
Fourth coat · Landon Spies
Landon Spies is the latest to join, and he hopes to lead the company “to the century mark and beyond.” On the lighthouse repaint, he told NBC26:
“It seems more like an honor than anything... Just seeing how happy people are when they turn and see the result.”
Landon Spies, fourth-generation painter, to NBC26 (May 29, 2026)
The shop and the lighthouse
The Fond du Lac Lighthouse at Lakeside Park was built in the early 1930s. The Spies family has been painting at Lakeside Park for over 70 years, and the crew recently wrapped up repainting the lighthouse again. NBC26 reporter Jack Porter covered the job on May 29, 2026.
Source: NBC26, “Fond du Lac family business continues lighthouse painting legacy”, by Jack Porter.
At the shop
In-house preparation and painting, with pick-up and delivery.
N8003 US Highway 151, Fond du Lac, WI 54937
Spec sheet
Since 1933 the shop has painted for Wisconsin businesses and institutions. Spies Painting is a member of two industry bodies and works with two named coating brands.
Estimates are FREE. Call the shop, or ask for a call back and a Spies Painting representative will contact you within the next business day.