Schill Grounds Management has purchased the commercial division of The Ohio Valley Group in a carve-out acquisition that expands Schill’s service area to the east side of Cleveland.
Schill will take over all of The Ohio Valley Group’s commercial customer accounts for office, retail, mixed-use and industrial properties, while the owners of the family-run business will continue to serve residential accounts and focus more of their time on other entrepreneurial endeavors. About a dozen employees of The Ohio Valley Group will join the Schill family, and Schill will gain equipment and use of a portion of their existing facilities and office space.
The transaction is an ideal fit for Schill, which last year purchased Marion, Ohio-based McCoy Landscape Services and is actively seeking additional acquisitions within the commercial landscape space in Ohio and beyond.
Schill is in advanced discussions with other privately held landscape companies of various sizes as part of a concerted effort to consolidate the highly fragmented commercial landscaping industry while preserving the family culture and servant leadership for which Schill is known.
“We are excited to welcome these new Ohio Valley Group employees and customers to the Schill family,” said Jerry Schill, president and co-founder of Schill Grounds Management. “We look forward to working with our new teammates to provide our new customers with high-quality, year-round landscaping services.”
Selling the commercial division to Schill was part of a purposeful succession plan for The Ohio Valley Group owners Andy and Kathleen Dangelo. The husband-and-wife team started their business out of their home in 1989 and spent three decades building it into one of the most respected full-service landscape businesses in eastern Cleveland.
Drawing on their love of horticulture, winemaking and travel, the Dangelos have created a winery and event space called Sapphire Creek Winery & Gardens to bring the Napa Valley experience to Chagrin Falls, Ohio. The Dangelos plan to focus on residential landscape maintenance and design/build projects through The Ohio Valley Group while expanding Sapphire Creek Winery.
“After spending more than 30 years growing our business and investing in our employees and customers, we are delighted to leave our commercial division in the hands of someone who will nurture it and care for it as much as we have,” said Andy Dangelo, President of The Ohio Valley Group. “Kathleen and I are very impressed with the Schill organization and thankful for the opportunity to spend more time growing our new business, Sapphire Creek.
