L&L Insider

Behind the scenes at Bartlett

Lawn & Landscape visited the company’s research laboratories to get the latest on tree care.

By Kate Spirgen

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Bartlett Tree Experts, ranked fifth on L&L’s 2015 Top 100 list, had its best year ever revenue-wise last year and expects this year to be even better.

We took a tour of the company's laboratories to find out what employees are researching right now.

Visit, bit.ly/treebart for more photos from the visit.
 

Talent in the Tar Heel state

Green industry students descended on North Carolina for the annual Student Career Days.

By Katie Tuttle

RALEIGH, N.C. – A future in the green industry was at the top of every student’s list at the annual Student Career Days event organized by NALP, the National Association of Landscape Professionals (formerly PLANET.)

This year’s event featured 757 students from 65 different schools across the country competing in 28 green industry-related events.

The event kicked off on March 12 at the N.C. State Fairgrounds where students attended workshops on the events they would be competing in.

Jeremy Thorne of ThorneCare Landscape Solutions was presented with the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Students were given a chance to design a T-shirt for the event, and Alysha N. Lawless of Virginia Tech won for her design.

The NALP Academic Excellence Foundation also awarded 77 scholarships to students, valued at a total of $93,700.

Kelsey Hatesohl, a student from Kansas State University, said she was hoping to better herself as a member of the industry.

“I’m looking forward to going to the workshops and learning about the programs I thought I knew about, and then getting to actually learn more about them,” she said.

Along with the competitions, one of the highlights of Student Career Days was the career fair that took place on Friday.

Companies had representatives at booths for students to talk with and interviews took place throughout the day. Erin White and Jessica Smith of The Fockele Garden Co., said they came to the career fair because their company isn’t very well known and they want to look for qualified workers.

“I think there’s definitely a push to find more educated employees,” Smith said. “I knew one of the best ways to find someone was to go someplace with a lot of students.”

“As a company, we’re looking for the next best thing,” White said. “We want to become a destination company and advertise to the next generation of landscape professionals.”

While a lot of students were focused on preparing for the competitions, some were focused on the networking involved with the career fair.

“I’m trying to get some internships to prepare for what it will be like after I graduate,” said Karen Schneck, a student at Kansas State University. “I really want to find a company that I can stay in after I graduate and then make a career out of it.”

“This is an incredible networking opportunity just meeting industry professionals,” said Kevin Boylan, a student from Penn State University.

“It’s always nice to compete and stuff, but definitely the networking and getting out and meeting some important people in the industry is great, and meeting some of the other students too.”

The event was sponsored by: platinum sponsor STIHL; gold sponsor John Deere; silver sponsors Caterpillar, Gravely, Husqvarna and New Holland; and bronze sponsors Anchor, Belgard Hardscapes, Brickman, ValleyCrest and Toro.
 

Cat’s new diggers and Digs

L&L got an up-close look at a handful of new loaders and a new facility, which will produce six products.

By Katie Tuttle

ATHENS, Ga. – Caterpillar’s new products feature a Tier 4 Final solution and were designed with five customer values in mind: fuel efficiency, productivity, technology, comfort and safety.

The products were introduced at a media event held in April at the company’s new facility in Athens, Ga.

In the loader market, Caterpillar has four new small-chassis models: two compact track loaders (the 239D and 249D) and two skid-steer loaders (the 226D and 232D). All are Tier 4 Final and maintenance-free. The smaller loaders have redesigned chassis and lift arms.

“We’re excited about these models because of all that D Series value that we introduced in 2013 that we're able to extend down to these smaller machines,” said Jeff Brown, product specialist.

Caterpillar has improved visibility on the D Series machines with low profile lift arms that allow for more visibility both above and below the arms on the sides of the machine. The loaders feature an optional advanced display, available with a rear-view camera, which offers more visibility behind the machine as well.

The D Series loaders feature creep control and continuous flow, which allow operators to slow the track speed of the equipment while maintaining high RPMs on attachment tools.

“This allows the operator to be very precise and productive in grading and other applications,” Brown said.

A new, optional track tread pattern on the 239 and 249 track loaders is a 15-inch track with a wide bar tread. This different pattern delivers better flotation, lower ground disturbance and better snow traction.

“(It’s) ultimately delivering a better finished product for the customer,” Brown said. “Especially for that landscape contractor that's working on a house pad or finished grading a housing development. We’re really excited about what this track can do on a small CTL.”

Caterpillar has three new track type tractors: the D3K2, D4K2 and D5K2, which are all Tier 4 Final. These new K2 models feature slope-assist, part of the Cat accugrade ready attachment, which allows controllers to automatically maintain a pre-established blade angle for a consistent grade.

Along with the new slope-assist, automatic traction-control and slope-indicate, the models also retain the hydrostatic drive, stable blade, power pitch systems and eco mode found on previous models.

Caterpillar has released four F2 Series backhoe loaders that are Tier 4 Final: the 416F2, 420F2, 430F2 and the 415F2. The F2 series is an update from Caterpillar’s previous F series.

A new model to the range, the 415F2, is an entry-level machine featuring a 68 HP Cat engine.

New location. Along with the new products, Caterpillar also unveiled a new production facility. In 2011, the company made the decision to relocate its Sagami, Japan facility to Athens, Ga., the result of a large market shift from the Asia Pacific region to North America.

Todd Henry, operations manager for Caterpillar, explained that the site selection process included seven criteria: location to Eastern export/import ports, location in relation to highway and rail transportation, availability and qualification of workforce, workforce training capability, 250-acre site with infrastructure to support, location of a potential supply base and a good relationship with state and local government.

The new facility will produce nine of the Caterpillar’s building construction products: six mini hydraulic excavators and three small track-type tractors.

Currently, 1,100 people are employed at the Athens facility, with 1,400 expected as the site matures over the next few years. Most of the employees will be new to Caterpillar.
 

Turf Masters makes largest acquisition

ROSWELL, Ga. – Turf Masters, a lawn and pest control company based in Georgia, acquired Dorsey Services, a lawn care, tree and shrub, and pest service company, earlier this month.

The transaction is the largest investment made by Turf Masters and it expands the company’s quality services throughout central Georgia.

With this acquisition, as well as expansion markets completed in 2013 and 2014, the lawn care business now has nine company-owned operations in four southern states: Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Turf Masters employs 60 people and posts more than $5 million in revenue.

After looking at several companies, Turf Masters decided to acquire Dorsey Services, which employs 23 people and posted revenue of $2.1 million in 2014, because of its established customer base, its proven ability to retain customers and its growth potential, the company said in a statement. Dorsey Services was founded by Larry Dorsey in 1985.

“What Larry founded in central Georgia was built on the same philosophy and commitment to quality that I used in starting Turf Masters in the North Atlanta suburbs,” said Andrew Kadrich, Turf Masters owner.

“The company's employee culture, from service technicians to administrative support, understands that the customer always comes first.”

Turf Masters plans to continue the Dorsey name. Employees, trucks and will operate as Dorsey Services in their current local offices. Turf Masters will retain all existing Dorsey employees. Dorsey’s decision to sell to Turf Masters was based on Kadrich’s reputation of treating employees well, Dorsey said.

“Andy is committed to all the employees who have made his company strong,” he said. “Along with his reputation as the best sales and marketing guy in the industry, Andy’s commitment to the Dorsey employees was the most significant factor in my decision to sell to him.”

“Our focus will continue to be on customer satisfaction and retention by holding all of our locations to our high standards,” Kadrich says.
 

Ask the Experts

Sales benchmarks

Q: I am a designer and I want to improve my company’s closing ratios and sales. In doing so, I am trying to set new benchmarks per month to ensure we end the year either meeting or, hopefully, exceeding them.

The benchmarks we have come up with are sales target by month and closing ratio by month. Would you provide me with any information to help us set these benchmarks?

A: In our design/build process, most of our sales/closings happen upfront with the initial meeting process. During this initial talk/call, we describe our process and what they can expect with an initial meeting.

For example, we describe about how long an onsite meeting can take, what we hope to accomplish by the end of that meeting, our design process, and the fees associated with that process. We also mention we will discuss a budget for the customer.

Our initial meeting is a definite process and by the end of this meeting, they will know what the design fees will be and there will be a discussion of budgets to set the parameters.

I say all this because we understand that once we have signed up a client for our design services, that client is ours to lose. We need to set a revenue goal for design first before we look to our installation sales.

Once they are our client, we look at our closing ratio based on the client signing up for construction work and not necessarily on the total dollars we have proposed.

Most of our clients accomplish their projects in multiple phases because they understand what is financially required.

With that said, we know we need to close 50-60 percent of our initial meetings and convert them to designs. We also know that over a period of time, we need to convert 70-80 percent of these clients to work.

We set our sales goals, knowing that we have a lead time and that we need to be prospecting double to triple our budget in the next 2-3 months.

For example, if our budget for May is $300,000, we know we need to have a minimum of $600,000 that we are working on right now. We primarily focus on in-house revenue as opposed to subcontract work (e.g., pools, carpentry, etc.). Subcontractor revenue can greatly create a false echo.

Pete Wilkerson, Scapes, Trailblazer,
National Association of Landscape Professionals

Ask the Experts is brought to you in partnership with NALP, the National Association of Landscape Professionals. Questions are fielded through NALP’s Trailblazers, the industry’s leading company mentoring program. For more questions visit www.landscapeprofessionals.org.

Drug testing dilemma

We recently polled our readers about their stance on drug testing. While the research from the 346 respondents showed the majority did not drug test, one reason in particular why contractors don’t test was a bit shocking (we didn’t even give it as a multiple choice answer): They don’t want to turn away employees who can do the work, but who also use drugs. Others only test truck drivers or after accidents. We’ll continue to monitor how the changes in state drug laws will affect how you hire.

Let us know how you feel about drug testing by emailing Editor Chuck Bowen, at cbowen@gie.net. We may print your letter in a future issue.