© Brian Olson
When Lawn & Landscape magazine last talked to Bland Landscaping for a cover story in 2014, the North Carolina-based business was making $14.9 million and was coming out of a tough period.
Back in 2006, brothers Kurt, far left, and Matt Bland, right, had to step up as owners of the business sooner than anticipated after their father, Tom, who was majority owner at the time, needed to take an extended leave of absence to care for their terminally ill mother. Only a few years later in 2009, the Bland brothers faced the Great Recession and had to make big organizational changes to the business in order to stay profitable.
“While 2008 was our best year on record, by 2009 we had big declines in revenue,” says Kurt, CEO. “So, we shut down a department and then hunkered down to turn it into an opportunity to restructure.”
Bland Landscaping focused on growing as a commercial maintenance provider in North Carolina, which helped the company steadily grow its revenue after the recession. In more recent years, Matt says he and Kurt have made goals to expand the business into South Carolina and potentially Georgia through both organic growth and acquisitions.
