Skip to content

Author: Dillon Stewart

Avatar photo

Dillon Stewart

Dillon Stewart graduated from Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, earning a Bachelor of Science in Online Journalism with specializations in business and political science. Stewart is a former associate editor of LM.

Photos: Snow Dragon

Is snowmelting an option for you?

Fewer snow farms and more regulations are expanding the market for snowmelters. Figuring out where to dump snow is getting tougher for snow and ice management professionals. Dumping snow into bodies of water has fallen out of favor and is often illegal. The number of snow farms, or snow dumps, is also in decline—particularly in […]

Photo: red valley landscape & construction

Incentive insight

Profits and employee engagement can soar when you reward your employees. The landscape industry’s employee woes typically center around recruiting and retention, but many experts say business owners should really be concerned about engagement. According to a study from Gallup, companies with highly engaged employees outperform those without by up to 147 percent in earnings […]

Web Extra: Hourly raises are rising

Kevin McHale, owner of McHale Landscape, says it took “a shift from the paradigm” to get his field employees to understand the value of an incentive program—particularly one that’s tied to company performance. In many employees’ minds, hourly pay trumps all, even a 401(k)-matching program, he says. “In our industry, everything is gauged and valued […]

Photo: TruGreen

Three takeaways from Memphis newspaper’s TruGreen report

The Commercial Appeal, a daily newspaper in Memphis, Tenn., published a profile of TruGreen, which is headquartered in Memphis. The article details the series of events that revitalized a slumping TruGreen into the thriving company that acquired Scotts LawnService last year. The newspaper interviewed TruGreen CEO David Alexander, who took over in 2012 and was previously chief […]

Photo: Garden Design

That’s ‘associate’ to you

Be careful, landscape business owners. Garden Design’s story shows how a disrespected employee may end up as a successful crosstown rival.  Andrew Haynes’ business card reads associate, not owner, CEO or founder of Garden Design in Farmers Branch, Texas, though at one point in time he’s been all those things. And don’t let him hear […]

Companies in the News: Ditch Witch, Grasshopper, Caterpillar visit White House for product showcase; Case CE donates skid-steer to garden initiative

Three green industry manufacturers participated in the Made in America Product Showcase at the White House July 17. The event was designed to celebrate American-made products and encourage other companies to manufacture their products in the U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence joined members of Congress and cabinet secretaries in attending the […]

NALP goes to Washington

About 450 members of the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) visited Washington, D.C., July 16-18 for its annual Legislative Days on the Hill. The event was a chance for industry members to learn how to become a more effective voice in the legislative and regulatory process and visit with members of Congress. But first, the […]

People on the Move: Former Stihl president dies; Primera appoints interim CEO; Kawasaki Engines names vp; and more from Fockele, Ruppert, Douglas, K-Rain, Bayer CropScience

Fred Whyte, former president of Stihl, died July 7 in Virginia Beach, Va., after a battle with cancer. He was 70. Whyte began his Stihl career in 1971, working as a regional manager for Stihl American, following in the footsteps of his father, who also worked for the company. Whyte moved up the ranks and eventually took over […]

DHS provides 15,000 additional H-2B visas

On July 18, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor submitted a final rule to the Federal Register that will allow the hiring of up to 15,000 additional temporary nonagricultural workers under the H-2B program, according to a press release from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Office of Communications. […]

Companies in the News: Heads Up landscapes children’s cancer center; Teacher wins Deere contest; U.S. Lawns, Weed Man, Mosquito Joe named top low-cost franchises; Toro partners with MLS team

Heads Up Landscape Contractors donated more than $10,000 of materials and labor to complete the landscape for Erin’s Place. The facility, a project of the Children’s Cancer Fund of New Mexico, is designed to be a “home away from home for children to receive pediatric hospice care when it is not available in their hometowns.” John […]

Florida company to pay $3M after fatal bike crash

The widow of a cyclist who died in 2011 when he collided with a parked truck owned by a landscaping company was awarded $3 million in damages late last month. E&S Landscaping, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based full service landscape company originally faced a $50 million lawsuit, a judge determined the deceased man shouldered the majority […]

Photos: Glenn Bonick

Backstory: Glenn Bonick

Glenn Bonick President Bonick Landscaping Irving, Texas Education W.T. White High School Dallas, Texas Class of 1981 Work Experience 1978-1981 Self-employed Painting/landscape maintenance “I was very much of the school of hard knocks. Everything I learned was on my own dime.” 1982-Present Bonick Landscaping President Irving, Texas 1999-2004 Texas Association of Landscape Contractors (now part […]

People on the Move: Davey names new ops manager; Ruppert creates software development team; more from Arborjet, Bayer CropScience

The Davey Tree Expert Co. promoted John Tokarczyk to operations manager for Davey’s DTE Energy accounts in Michigan and NIPSCO accounts in Indiana. Tokarczyk has more than 20 years of experience in utility vegetation management. His career with Davey started as a journeyman in utility services. He held numerous positions before being promoted to general foreman in […]

SIMA wraps up in Montreal, heads to Cleveland in 2018

As half the U.S. survived a blistering heat wave last week, the Snow & Ice Association (SIMA) escaped to The Palais des congrès de Montréal June 20-23 to discuss the white stuff. The Canadians welcomed SIMA’s 20th annual Snow & Ice Symposium with open arms. It was the first time the association’s trade show and […]

Photo: Chris Lambton 

Backstory: Chris Lambton

Chris Lambton Owner/President, E. Lambton Landscaping Dennis, Mass. Education Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School Yarmouth, Mass. Class of 1995 Providence College Providence, R.I. Math and chemistry Class of 1999 “Whether I’m doing patios or stonework, there’s not a day that goes by where I don’t use the Pythagorean theorem.” Work Experience 2001 Fidelity Investments Mutual fund […]

Project EverGreen completes New Jersey, East Harlem renovations

Project EverGreen cut the ribbon on its most recent projects, Hazlet (N.J.) Youth Athletic League’s (HYAL) William B. Paterson Field and the Neighbors of Vega Baja community garden in East Harlem, New York. “With more than half of the population living in urban areas, it’s critical that neighborhood parks and community gardens are available for the […]

Companies in the News: Lawn Butler named best of Utah; more from Deere, Case, Akehurst

Best of State, a Utah organization that recognizes the top businesses and people in the state, selected Lawn Butler as the Best Business Service Provider in Utah. It was the first time a landscape contractor won the award. Lawn Butler, which is currently growing organically at a rate of 320 percent per year, also brought home three more […]

Photo: Gothic Landscape

Origin stories: Gothic Landscape | The family man

Jon Georgio CEO, Gothic Landscape No. 12 Since 1984, Jon Georgio and his brothers have taken the company their mother and father started from $500,000 to $130 million in annual revenue. Through it all, they’ve retained a mom-and-pop vibe while providing jobs to more than a thousand people and operating in four states. This is […]

Photo: Perficut

Origin stories: Perficut | The kid with a mower

Kory Ballard CEO, Perficut No. 124 This might be the most common trope in the landscape industry. A teenager with a mower cuts some lawns for extra money and ends up falling in love with the industry. What’s rare, however, is when that teenager builds a company like Perficut, a full-service, mostly commercial company pulling […]

People on the Move: Giraldo named EY Entrepreneur of the Year, AmericanHort honors Raimondi; new hires, promotions for Aspire, OPEI, DHG, Bayer

Clean Scapes CEO Ivan Giraldo received the 2017 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the service category in Central Texas. Presented by Ernst and Young, the award recognizes entrepreneurs who have built a market-leading business that has contributed to the industry, job market and community. As a winner in Central Texas, Giraldo is now eligible […]

LM150: Business book club

A great business book can serve as the philosophy by which a business owner molds his or her company. Most company executives read many business books, but only a few tomes stick with them—and that’s probably for the best. “Many owners make the mistake of zigzagging their style and direction every time they read a […]

LM150: How we got started

Origin stories from a few LM150 firms. As told to Dillon Stewart Think back to your humble beginnings. The starry-eyed days where you had nothing but a mower and a dream. There are many reasons the leaders from LM150 list companies may be different from the average landscape company—scale, scope and sometimes just pure luck. […]

Origin stories: Landscape Workshop | The industry outsider

J.T. Price CEO, Landscape Workshop No. 55 Landscape Workshop is not J.T. Price’s invention. Joey Dobbs started the mostly commercial maintenance company in 1984. By 1995, it had quickly grown into a top company in the industry. Three years after McKinney Capital acquired it in 2011, the company tapped Price, a McKinney employee who had […]

Photo: Coast Landscape Management

Origin stories: Coast Landscape Management | The girl in the boys’ club

Kelly Solomon CEO, Coast Landscape Management No. 128 Kelly Solomon got her start as a salesperson at TruGreen after it bought LandCare USA, which had acquired Lebo Newman’s company. In 2000, Solomon left to start Up Valley Landscape, which bought Coast Landscape Management in 2005 and began operation under that name. Later that year, Newman […]

To top