Weed, Disease Pressures Up
Being in the lawn care industry is a double-edged sword at times. If there are few weed, disease or insect problems in the landscape, the job is easy but the revenues are low. If there are a lot of weed, disease and insect problems, then the work is more stressful but sales can go sky high.
In a survey of Lawn & Landscape readers, 1998 had its share of stress as 54.2 percent of respondents said turf weed, disease and insect problems were more severe in 1998 than in 1997, and 37.7 percent said likewise for ornamentals. About 18 percent and 22.5 percent said the problems were less severe in turf and ornamentals, respectively.
It’s no surprise then that more than 56 percent of respondents indicated that their expenditures for pesticide control products increased over the last 12 months.
Ferris Prepares For Growth
MUNNSVILLE, N.Y. – As it enjoys positive early returns from the market for its new IS line of mowers, Ferris Industries got more good news when it finalized a deal to take on a new partner in Cygnus Management Group.
The investment group has become an equal partner in the company and will provide immediate additional capital to support Ferris’ continued growth plans. The deal represents the first foray into the green industry for the Cygnus group. James Poole from Cygnus will serve as president of Ferris, running the organization with Dave Ferris.
“This arrangement brings in the necessary capital for us to move the company ahead,” noted Dave Ferris, who will serve as chairman of the organization and stay involved in the organization by focusing his energies on new product development. “We’ve invested heavily with our new 100,000-square-foot factory that opened in 1998, and there needs to be continued investment there. We’ll also be anxious to improve our product offerings, so we’ll be working heavily in research and development.
“In addition, one of the majority stockholders’ stock went into a bankruptcy court trust, so this returns us to a normal financial environment, which is what we wanted,” Ferris added.
John Deere Opens New Facility
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – John Deere’s Worldwide Commercial & Consumer Equipment Division announced the opening of a $38 million business operation near Knoxville, Tenn. Incorporating engineering and assembly, the 300,000-square-foot Commercial Worksite Products facility encompasses the production of a skid steer line.
The facility will produce skid steers and attachments (designated Worksite Pro®) for a wide variety of commercial and agriculture operation, including landscape contractors, construction contractors, rental operations, golf courses, nurseries, seed and sod producers and a wide array of specialty applications.
“With our long experience in the skid steer business and our engineering and manufacturing expertise, we felt it was time for us to design and build the product ourselves,” Chuck Mogged said, general manager of the Commercial Worksite Products Business Unit. “As we place more emphasis on commercial and golf and turf products to increase sales overall, skid steers represent a natural outgrowth of our division.”
The CWP group located its facility in the Knoxville area to take advantage of the location’s proximity of key markets to reduce transportation time and expense.
The group is one of five business units that comprise the John Deere Worldwide Commercial & Consumer Equipment Division (net sales of $1.8 billion is 1997). As part of a global growth strategy, the division has invested more than $185 million in the last 18 months for development of new products and new facilities.
Yazoo/Kees to Acquire Dig-It
JACKSON, Miss. – Yazoo/Kees Power Equipment announced that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire HCC’s Dig-It tractor and towable backhoe products, the Huskie utility vehicle product line, and the Power King garden and estate tractor product line.
“We are very excited about the opportunity this acquisition will provide Yazoo/Kees,” said Tom Lutes, CEO of Yazoo/Kees. “The product lines fit very well with our strategic direction of complementing our current commercial mowing equipment business with entries into the rental equipment, light construction, estate tractor and utility vehicle markets where we currently do not play a major role.”
The manufacturing of the three product lines will be moved to the 166,000-square-foot Yazoo/Kees manufacturing facility and corporate office location in Jackson, Miss.
Ruppert Earns Presidential Award
ASHTON, Md. – Ruppert Landscape was one of 18 recipients of a 1998 President’s Service Award. Ruppert was nominated for the award by the District of Columbia Parks and Recreation Department in recognition of its donated efforts to renovate area parks and recreation areas over the last five years.
Two Are Now One in Texas
AUSTIN, Texas – In what may or may not be a precursor of things to come on a greater scale, the Texas Association of Landscape Contractors and the Texas Association of Nurserymen announced a merger agreement to form one association.
The new organization will hold its first meeting in March 1999.
A new name for the association is expected to be announced in February, which is about the same time that a new dues structure will be finalized. Later, in April, region officers and directors should be installed and functioning.
Discussions between the organizations began nearly two years ago to create a unified Green Industry Association for the two groups. After a task force generated a proposal, the work was handed over to a transition team, which spent the last year developing the details of the merger process.
“We had a lot of crossover membership,” explained Marilyn Good, communications director, Texas Association of Nurserymen. “The members felt they would be more efficient if they could pool their resources. It was the members’ desire to focus their energy in one really strong organization instead of two that are competing for resources.”
Where Did The Grass Go?
CLEVELAND – The more grass the better, as far as industry contractors are concerned. But they may, in fact, have reason to be concerned that the future will feature less greenspace, according to National Association of Home Builders.
The NAHB’s “Housing Economics” report identified a trend toward larger houses on smaller property lots. Although, as the Turfgrass Producers International observed, smaller areas for landscaping could encourage more homeowners to purchase these professional services because the prices would be less.
Top Franchises Grow Green
NEW YORK – Three landscape franchisors were included in Success Magazine’s November 1998 Top 100 Franchise Businesses of America list.
NaturaLawn of America, Frederick, Md.; Lawn Doctor, Holmdel, N.J. and U.S. Lawns, Orlando, Fla., a subsidiary of Environmental Industries, were chosen based on financial performance; corporate growth, management and stability; the relationship between the franchisor and the franchisees and opportunities to expand. Their rankings were No. 34, No. 55 and No. 76, respectively.
Out of the over 4,000 U.S. franchisors, 240 companies submitted eligible applications to Success.
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