Bratt Inc.: Hindsight is 20/20

In retrospect, Perry Bratt, president, Bratt Inc., might have handled this year's expansion plans a bit differently.

"We ended up expanding those divisions faster than we should have," Bratt acknowledged. "We should have spent more time talking openly about some of the problems and difficulties associated with the expansions. We could have nipped some of the problems in the bud if we had." 

When the company, which is located in Pleasant Grove, Utah, decided to expand six divisions, including its excavation and golf divisions, it brought in experts in each of those fields and expected those experts to work well together as a team. Instead, challenges resulted and profits were lost.

In addition to that challenge, some bookkeeping errors also gave management a distorted view of company financials.

"The first reports we were printing on some of those divisions weren't as accurate as we thought," Bratt explained. "Some of the profits for those divisions should have gone to other divisions, but we should be back on track now."

Now that those kinks have been worked out, the company is setting its sights on finishing up the year strong and continuing that growth through 2002. In fact, Bratt expects a 10 to 15 percent growth throughout the company next year. And, even in a competitive market, Bratt advised that for his company and the landscape industry as a whole to remain on a successful track, veteran companies must be willing to share information with start-up companies on what it takes to be profitable.

"I think the most important thing we can do is help landscape construction and maintenance companies understand how to price projects well," Bratt declared. "We're seeing in our region a lot of start-up companies that are underbidding and wondering why they can't make a profit.

"We had one large, general contractor tell us that landscapers have the worst reputation because they bid too low and can't do quality work," Bratt continued. "That was 15 years ago, and I've seen very little change since then."

To read how other companies handled this year's slowing economy, check out Lawn & Landscape's State of the Industry Report, found in the October 2001 issue.