Fairwood Brands acquires Bear Creek Landscaping; names new CEO

Bear Creek Landscaping and Construction has joined Fairwood Brands.

 

Bear Creek prides itself on bringing clients’ outdoor visions into reality on time and within budget. The Bear Creek team has designed and landscaped thousands of residential spaces from the Seattle suburbs to the islands around Puget Sound, architecting everything from cozy firepits to putting greens to waterside decks and more. They offer a host of services, including construction, landscape renovation, lawn maintenance, deck build and repair, irrigation services, water feature creation and outdoor lighting.

 

Bear Creek is now part of Fairwood Brands, a nationwide family of companies creating and maintaining premium outdoor spaces with gold-standard customer service. It was created in early 2023 by Columbus- based investment company Crane Group, in conjunction with Appalachian Capital Holdings, when they acquired companies around the country and created this new — and growing — parent company.

 

“Bear Creek is an exciting addition to Fairwood Brands — one that broadens our geographic footprint and adds new product and service capabilities to our group,” says Crane Group Senior Vice President Dan Crane. “They’ve built an excellent team of pros known for their quality work and customer service, and we are excited to welcome them to the Fairwood Brands family.”

 

The Bear Creek team said their company’s values align with those of Fairwood Brands.

 

“For me, the decision to join Fairwood Brands and Crane Group was about aligned values,” says Bear Creek CEO Mike Clifford. “Both organizations represent consistency and quality, which is what Bear Creek has focused on since our inception.”

 

“The support from the Fairwood team has been amazing,” adds Bear Creek Operations Manager Don Sawyer. “I believe we will build upon our past success and be even better in the future by joining this impressive group of industry professionals.”

 

The Fairwood Brands companies offer a full suite of design, build, installation, maintenance and comprehensive estate management services for homeowners seeking great outdoor living: landscapes, hardscapes, water features, outdoor kitchens, lighting and irrigation. 

 

Current Fairwood Brands companies include:

 

• Bear Creek Landscaping and Construction, Seattle

• Bruss Landscaping, Chicago

• Enchanted Garden Landscapes, Phoenix

• Fine Landscapes Limited, Washington, D.C.

• Kuppe’s Landscape Services, Detroit

• L.M.L. Estate Management, Ft. Wayne, Indianapolis

• Signature Landscape Contractors, Orlando

 

Fairwood Brands is actively looking to expand by partnering with similar companies in other locations and opening additional locations. For more information, visit fairwoodbrands.com.

 

Additionally, Fairwood Brands has named Mike McRae its chief executive officer.

 

McRae is an experienced leader with a strong track record of results and a passion for talent development in the construction, engineering, and services industries. Prior to joining Fairwood Brands, he served in leadership roles from CFO to CEO for multiple companies across several industries.

 

“Mike’s values align with ours — as does his vision for building Fairwood Brands into the nation’s premier company for creating and maintaining luxury outdoor spaces,” Crane says. “He has valuable experience growing companies in the service industries. And we appreciate his focus on developing and supporting incredible talent and incredible teams.”

 

McRae said he was drawn to working for a values-driven company and looks forward to growing it.

 

“I love the exclusive collection of companies and people assembled on this platform,” McRae says. “We have the opportunity to do something unique in this industry by growing together as a group while maintaining our individual market identities and capabilities.”