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Delaware, OHIO - A pioneering powerhouse of professional lawn care research has closed up shop.
That's right. The TruGreen Companies Technical Center - located just outside Columbus in Delaware, Ohio - is no longer in operation. The facility, run by the world's largest lawn care company, TruGreen ChemLawn, has pulled the plug on an era of industry-guiding research.
"We are doing a restructuring our business units and, at this point in time, we are phasing out the research area of business," explained Kirk Hurto, vice president of technical services for the well-known company. "Not everything has been done internally, but it is a matter of fact that [research operations] have been shut down. Right now we're reworking things to see how to move forward."
Some of the department's personnel - more than a dozen in number - have been reassigned within the TruGreen structure. Others, however, have opted to seek employment elsewhere. "Unfortunately, many of them have a forte in the research mode and are not interested in going into the operational side [of TruGreen]," Hurto added. "We have employed the help of professionals to help them find suitable positions."
While some may question TruGreen's decision to halt in-house research, Hurto calls the move sensible. And although closing the technical center will save the corporation on research expenses, the company did not ax scientific studies from its budget based on cost.
"I'm not so naïve to say there's not a financial benefit to doing this," Hurto noted. "But, beyond the cost, we decided internal research was not a necessity from a business standpoint or an industry-wide perspective."
Gone are the days when product-specific studies were a unique commodity. The industry has developed a wealth of detailed data since TruGreen first entered the research arena, Hurto observed.
Before the birth of TruGreen's technical services department, there was little lawn care-specific data in existence. Most turf- and ornamental-related information available at that time catered to the golf market or the agriculture sector.
That's when Bob Miller, former head of turfgrass programs at Ohio State University, stepped in with a suggestion from the green company. Sharing a scientific perspective, Miller convinced TruGreen's board of directors to set up an industry-focused research center.
"That part of the business grew over time," Hurto recalled, referring to the now-disbanded technical services department. "It was in tune with the industry and, in time, the industry got its own start on research. Little by little, others started developing research too."
And today, a host of specialty chemical group exists throughout the world.
Thus, the face of the green industry has changed in the years since Miller brought his scientific smarts to the TruGreen table. "Today, if you look around in the industry, it is a much more mature industry," Hurto described. "We have a lot more suppliers attuned to what the needs are of the green industry. [These specialty groups] have been very innovative with new ideas."
So, what does this mean for the company that has long been recognized for its substantial research contributions?
Although the near and distant future brings some unknowns, Hurto insists service and professionalism will remain hallmarks of the TruGreen culture.
However, the world-renowned label will "do things a little different," he noted. TruGreen will now rely on research developed by outside sources. Based on his 22 years with TruGreen, Hurto does not anticipate significant technical breakthroughs within the industry. Rather, the executive insists the industry has seen its scientific surge and research will remain flat in terms of substantial developments.
However, the company's stockpile of research will continue to serve employees and customers. "We're not throwing data out," Hurto maintained. "We're just redirecting how we get it. If we look at where we are today, we have a wealth of information that will feed our ability to serve customers."
As he remembers the years of TruGreen-initiated research, Hurto acknowledges an extensive list of accomplishments credited to the department.
"If you reflect back, one thing that stands out in our history is our emphasis on putting professionalism into the lawn care industry," he asserted.
Specifically, TruGreen's research group has contributed the conventional spray gun to the green industry at large. LESCO brought the product's rights back in the late '80s. Hurto's department did extensive testing relative to product chemistry and worker exposure as well. Particularly, TruGreen developed detailed labels to assist professionals in their applications and help them stay safe on the job.
While Hurto and others are no longer in the trenches of industry research, TruGreen will continue to keep its educated eyes on the pulse of upcoming developments. "We know what new chemistry is coming up," he mentioned. "We know what is coming down the pike in the next three to five years."
Overall, Hurto said he is confident the corporate decision to halt research operations is in the best interest of all.
The author is Assistant Editor-Internet of Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at aanderson@lawnandlandscape.com.
