 Ed
Sinnott's company knows what its clients want. His high-end residential
clients want extraordinary features such as heated paver driveways, imported
stonework, and plantings with the look of mature grace, enough to bring
in $5 million worth of business this year. The company is also dedicated to environmental stewardship, working to
conserve water and plant only appropriate plantings. This is a challenge
in a Zone 3 region with five-foot snows, which means that Clearwater has
to know how to find and select materials. This led not only to starting its own nursery but also into distribution.
The company empowers its staff of great workers who love the industry
by providing the resources and tools they need.
Gardeners' Guild, San Rafael, CA Gardeners' Guild was founded in 1972 but the original two partners were
bought out by current president and CEO Linda Novy in 1976. Today, though,
the company is owned 60% by her and 40% by the employees, a key component
in the firm's family-like culture. The $7.5 million a year company is best known for its environmental stance:
It was recognized as one of the first five to be certified by the Marin
County Green Business Program and offers programs for sustainable landscape
management. Gardeners' Guild works to reduce the use of synthetic fertilizers
and pesticides, has a water resource management program and recycles yard
waste and grass clippings. The company is partnering with government agencies and others to work
toward riparian and wetlands restoration and is getting involved with
the Society for Ecological Restoration, Natural Strategies and the Wildlife
Habitat Council. One of Novy's goals is to move the landscape industry
in the direction of better environmental management.
Landscape Images LTD, Jefferson, LA | | | Alan and Marianne Mumford |
|
Landscape architect Alan Mumford started design/build firm Landscape
Images in 1984 and was joined two years later by his wife, Marianne, who
studied landscape architecture with him at Louisiana State University.
The firm does installation, irrigation and maintenance work and subcontracts
hardscaping work out. The firm is known for its prize-winning designs. One major concern, vital
in the Louisiana climate, is to make sure maintenance is done well and
done often, or design suffers. Landscape Images is one of the many firms
run in an open-book style, where employees have ownership and act that
way. It's all part of Alan's cutting-edge management style, which also makes
heavy use of consultants and relies on what it can gain from ALCA membership
to help it prosper. And it shall, to the tune of projected $1.5 million
earnings this year.
McFall and Berry Landscape Management, McLean, VA Mark McFall and Bob Berry have a combined 50-plus years of experience
in the Washington-area landscape industry. Their company, which was formed
in 1989, services more than 300 of the area's most prestigious communities
and luxury office parks. This quality full-service firm, one of the largest in the area, has locations
in the northern Virginia and Maryland markets so that it can better serve
its customers. It will gross $14.7 million.
 James
River began when the head of the landscape management department of a
financially troubled major company was told that the department's services
would have to be outsourced. He and a design/build firm decided to start
their own maintenance business, with the large firm as its first client,
says operations manager Maria Threadgill, CLP. That was 13 years ago, and James River now expects to make $7 million
this year. Relationships with customers are paramount, and honesty is
a critical component, so the firm's open book management ensures customers'
trust, while employees feel ownership in the enterprise. The firm also tries new service lines that will strengthen customer relationships.
Lambert Landscape Company, Dallas, TX This firm was founded in 1919 as a Los Angeles nursery, but it moved
to Dallas in the mid-30s and has focused on landscape architecture and
design/build business ever since. It succeeds in this market niche, which
serves high-end residential homeowners, because of its highly proficient
and tenured staff — one foreman has been there 47 years, and another
33 years in the design/build business. Between them, they impart the skills
needed by the workforce on the job, and this emphasis on staff training
pays off. The firm is now headed by Jess Wetzel, CEO, and Walter Dahlbert, president,
and expects to do between $6 million and $8 million this year.
 Robb
Lied, owner and president of Lieds, says the firm has been in business
for 57 years, with a mix of design/build/install, maintenance and a healthy
retail operation. His success is due to the company attitude toward customers, which is
to make the entire experience an enjoyable one for them. Lieds' people
are great listeners, and they try to understand their customers' needs
and wants. To this end, new employees go through a rigorous hiring and training
process, which Lieds is not willing to disclose. It is so vital to his
success, he says, he regards it as a trade secret. Even in a soft economy,
Lieds made $13.2 million last year.
R.A.R. Landscaping Co., Baltimore, MD The company, founded in 1980, handles a wide range of commercial maintenance
and design/install work. Owner Richard Rothstein attributes the success
of the company, which is projected to bring in about $5.5 million this
year, to two things. One is the firm's dependability and responsiveness
to its clientele. It has built a strong relationship with its customers
and promises that it can handle the job — no matter what need arises. And R.A.R. is able to fulfill this promise thanks to its team of quality
employees. They love their work, says Rothstein, and work well together,
thanks to R.A.R.'s training and development program. The firm is known
around Baltimore for the crisp uniforms, clean trucks and exceptional
behavior of its professional field staff.
Gibbs Landscape Co., Smyrna, GA Gibbs targets the high-end residential and commercial market, the latter
comprising about two-thirds of its $12 million a year business, by attending
to the details, as demanded by its fussy clientele. It's the professionalism of the staff that allows this, says owner David
Gibbs. His 36-year-old firm is able to give high quality service, he says,
because of the time and money it has put into its in-house training program.
Members of the 150-person staff have to pass paper and field tests while
working their way up from level to level, demonstrating their skills in
actual measured performance. Employees include horticulturalists, landscape architects and perennial
and wildflower experts. The company has won more than 165 local and national
awards.
Central Coast Landscaping and Maintenance, Capitola, CA  Founded
in the early '80s by father and son partners, Jack and Scott Long, Central
Coast Landscaping and Maintenance has grown to become one of the largest
landscape companies in Santa Cruz County, CA.
Much of Central Coast's business stems from commercial maintenance. It
has developed strong relationships with real estate developers that have
helped it land maintenance contracts at larger multi-unit condominium
subdivisions.
The company's client list also includes townhouses, duplexes, banks,
shopping centers and residential estates. The company has established
a training program for its 30 employees that includes field training and
business-related issues.
| 
