New owners, same 89-year-old values for Neville’s

Matthew Day

Staff

March 23, 2026

GREEN BAY – Founded in 1937, Neville’s Inc. is entering its next chapter under new owners Kristie Van Pay and Chad Watermolen. 

But despite the change of ownership, Van Pay said customers can expect the same level of service for siding, soffit, doors, windows, awnings, shutters, gutters and three-season rooms. 

With the company’s 12-person team all staying on board, she said little will look different from the outside, except for one small change.

To ink the contract, Van Pay said she and Watermolen needed to drop the “Inc.” from the Neville’s Inc. name for their LLC to do business as Neville’s. 

For her and Watermolen to become stewards of the Neville’s name, Van Pay said, “is truly an honor.” 

“We’re carrying on a legacy,” she said. 

From home runs to home improvement 

Greg Pangrazzi, now-former co-owner of Neville’s, said the company – originally called Neville’s Home Improvement, specializing in insulation – was established in Green Bay by Harold Neville Sr. in 1937. 

Pangrazzi said Harold Sr. passed away in 1957, as Harold Neville Jr. “took over and built up the family business by offering more home improvement products,” changing the name to Neville’s Inc. in the process. 

Harold Jr., Watermolen said, was an avid baseball proponent, leading him to dot the “i” in the Neville’s Inc. logo with a baseball. 

So lauded was his local coaching career, Watermolen said, that Notre Dame de la Baie Academy in Green Bay – the high school where he coached for nearly 20 years – honored “Coach Nev” by naming their baseball facility Harold Neville Park. 

Pangrazzi said he and Bill Larscheid purchased Neville’s from Harold Jr. in 1996 and ran it until Van Pay and Watermolen purchased it last month. 

Van Pay said her connection to Neville’s began when she temporarily worked there about a decade ago, filling in for an office employee out on maternity leave. 

The experience, she said, brief as it was, made an impression on her. 

“Even at that time, I had told [Pangrazzi and Larscheid], ‘Hey, if you guys ever think about selling, I might be interested,” she said. 

Watermolen – Van Pay’s partner and Pangrazzi’s nephew – said he had also worked for Neville’s in the past, describing it as having a “small group of employees, and a fun little business to come and help out at the time.” 

He said the connection he felt to the company was further based in baseball. 

“My uncle, Greg Pangrazzi – he was a baseball coach at Preble (High School) for 25 years, and I’m a baseball guy…,” he said. “Harold (Jr.) and my uncle were really close because of baseball.” 

Constructing a new chapter 

Van Pay said with her background in accounting, combined with Watermolen’s extensive experience in building maintenance and repair, the two were well equipped to take on the business they’d so admired. 

“We heard the business was for sale, and we were just sitting on the couch one day, and I said to Chad – ‘Hey, what do you think about us buying Neville’s?’” she said. “I figured he would just say ‘yeah, right,’ but he actually agreed, and never chickened out after that.” 

With Pangrazzi and Larscheid accepting their offer – and Pangrazzi agreeing to temporarily stay on to lend support during the transition – Van Pay said she and Watermolen have felt “welcome and at home” at Neville’s. 

“It is definitely a family atmosphere,” she said. “I know that sounds cliche, but truly, the first day we walked in here as new owners, just to have a meeting with the staff…, I kind of knew the guys, but I haven’t seen them in many years, and they just came up, hugged me and showed me pictures of their grandkids. Everyone here is very accepting.” 

The welcoming nature of Neville’s, Van Pay said, extends into the service and quality and craftsmanship of the work it provides.

“Many of the guys have been here for 20-some years, so they really take pride in their work…,” she said. “We definitely go for high quality.”  

Van Pay said she thinks it’s the consistently “personable” staff at Neville’s who have led the company to succeed for so long. 

“I think that’s what has kept [Neville’s] going, because customers always have a really good experience with it, so time and time again, they refer their friends and neighbors,” she said. 

Van Pay said she and Watermolen will, like Pangrazzi and Larscheid before them, “bend over backwards to make sure the customer is happy.” 

“In all of those areas – customer service, taking care of your employees and taking care of your vendors – our goal is to have a win-win-win for everyone involved,” she said. 

‘To the next level’ 

In purchasing a company with so much history, Van Pay said she’s eager to implement her forward-thinking, “technology-savvy” mindset to Neville’s. 

“With technology and all the changes that have come about in the last 10 years [since I worked at Neville’s], it wasn’t really about owning a home-repair business – it was about taking on another new challenge, to take a business to the next level,” she said. 

This approach, Van Pay said, melds well with what Watermolen said he seeks: to “bring a good product to the community at a reasonable price.” 

With the housing market currently low on available, affordable options, Van Pay said it’s all the more important for a company like Neville’s to keep its costs low for homeowners choosing to improve their homes rather than move. 

“I think a lot of people are turning to [home improvement] right now…,” she said. “People are just opting to stay put for right now and do some updating.” 

Van Pay said Neville’s process starts when customers reach out with a project in mind. 

“[From there, a] customer success manager will reach out to them to schedule a time to come out and take a look, maybe take some measurements and some notes,” she said. “Then they’ll get a proposal, which we email to them within anywhere from a couple of days to a week, depending on how quickly we can get quotes from our vendors.” 

Van Pay said customers can then simply accept a project estimate via email and schedule a time for the work to be completed once Neville’s receives all the necessary materials the company has ordered for the project.  

“That’s really all there is to it,” she said. “We try to make it as easy as possible for the customer.” 

Van Pay said she especially takes pride in offering assurance to female homeowners. 

“As a woman who has her own place – and my mom also [does] – I’ve personally felt intimidated a little bit when I have to call for any type of repair or home improvement-type stuff,” she said. “I’m afraid I’m going to get taken advantage of because I don’t necessarily know a lot about construction, and I know my mom can get a little panicked, [too].” 

Though Neville’s has always treated all customers fairly, Van Pay said she hopes her ownership will help more women to trust in the service and estimates they receive. 

Her vision for the company, she said, is that “our customers should never have to call more than once,” as staff stays proactive with communication and project updates. 

“That would really set us apart from a lot of the builders out there today, because all I keep hearing from people is, ‘I called three different people – nobody ever called me back,’” she said. 

With considerate customer service, a skilled crew, quality vendors, technological advancements and a deep reputation to build upon, Van Pay said she and Watermolen are ready to swing for the fences as the new owners of Neville’s. 

“I’m really looking forward to seeing how we can take this business to the next level, and see it last for another 80[-plus] years,” she said. “I’m not going to be here for that, but I’m hoping when we’re done with it, we can pass it on to someone else, and the legacy will continue.”