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Author: Marisa Palmieri

Marisa Palmieri

Marisa Palmieri

Marisa Palmieri is an experienced Green Industry editor who's won numerous awards for her coverage of the landscape and golf course markets from the Turf & Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA), the Press Club of Cleveland and the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE). In 2007, ASBPE named her a Young Leader. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism, cum laude, from Ohio University’s Scripps School of Journalism.

Why Grunder Landscaping is closing for 2 weeks

Marty Grunder’s consulting firm The Grow Group offered helpful tips for running a landscape business amid the COVID-19 crisis during “Don’t Panic – Plan,” a free webinar on March 24. “With every challenge, ladies and gentlemen, there is an opportunity,” said Grunder. “We are all figuring this out day by day and sometimes hour by […]

Editor’s Note: Thanks to you

I love the landscape industry, which I’ve been fortunate to cover for about a decade, all told. I love my team at LM. Of course, I love my two daughters and husband more, and it is time for me to tip the scales on work/life balance in my family’s favor. So, in 2019, I’m taking […]

Grass image (illustration: iStock.com/Pavlo Stavnichuk)

Team challenge

A recent survey of lawn care and landscape professionals by Environmental Science, a business unit of Bayer Crop Science, revealed that lawn care operators (LCOs) are struggling with the same primary challenge as the larger green industry: lack of qualified team members. Here’s a look at some of the survey’s findings. 40% Percentage of respondents who said “a […]

Editor’s Note: Next gen mindset

A spot on the local news gathered a few pieces of technology from decades past—a Sony Walkman, a pager, film, a floppy disc, an old TV “clicker”—and showed them to school-aged kids of today to see if they knew what purpose each item served. Hilarity ensued. The kids ranged in age from maybe five to […]

Greenworks unveils new battery-powered UTVs, zero-turn mowers

Greenworks Commercial introduced new lithium-ion-powered zero-turn mowers and utility terrain vehicles (UTVs) at GIE+EXPO in Louisville, Ky. Expanding on its introduction of Lithium Z Zero-Turn Mowers this past summer, Greenworks Commercial is introducing several new lithium-ion powered mowers, including the 52-inch 52R ride-on mower and the 52-inch 52S stand-on model. The 52R and 52S will offer […]

Web Extra: Marty Grunder on building a board

“If I had a popcorn stand on Courthouse Square, I would have a board,” said Marty Grunder, quoting one of his mentors, Clay Mathile, former CEO and owner of The Iams Co. His point? You don’t need to be a large company or wait until “you have your act together” before you create a board. […]

Editor’s Note: Competitive spirit

The industry is being squeezed between lowballers and big national contractors,” a reader wrote to me recently. I have heard this dilemma before in several different forms. The question always comes down to, “How do I compete to win when I’m facing both larger competitors and lowballers?” We selected this question as the theme of […]

Marty Grunder (Photo: Matthew Allen)

Growth mindset

Marty Grunder is a lot like many of you. He started his landscape business as a teenager with a used mower. His company’s top challenge is hiring and retaining employees. He’s a family man above all else. And he’s made some missteps along the way. What’s unique about Grunder, though, is his self-awareness and his […]

GIE+EXPO show view (Photo: GIE+EXPO)

It’s all there: 2018 GIE+EXPO preview

“I’ll see you in Louisville,” has become a common refrain for many landscape professionals and those who sell to and support them. What’s the attraction to this northern Kentucky town, otherwise known for the Derby and the Bourbon Trail? GIE+EXPO—the industry’s only national trade show, which has been growing at a clip for the last […]

Editor’s Note: Ticking Time

Busyness is a way of life for many of us. Ask someone how they’re doing, and there’s a good chance he or she will reply, “Busy!” I’m constantly amazed by the landscape and lawn care business owners I’ve met who are running their companies, coaching kids’ sports teams, engaging with civic organizations, spending time on […]

Aftershot of house with lighting (Photo: Mckay Landscape Lighting)

Re-lamped: Halogen to LED conversions

With approximately 95 percent of all new landscape lighting installations being LED, according to Kristoff Byrd, landscape lighting category manager for SiteOne Landscape Supply, LEDs themselves are not necessarily a trend. “LED is much more efficient, lasts longer and is much easier to install and maintain for a contractor than halogen,” he says. “As LED […]

Editor’s Note: Walker ways

Have you ever visited a company and instantly knew that everyone who worked there was on the same page—and wondered how they got there? That’s the feeling I got when I visited Walker Manufacturing in July for the Walker Family Reunion III. The event, which celebrated production of the company’s 150,000th mower, was held on […]

Luke Henry and Family; Photo: Luke Henry

Backstory: Luke Henry

Luke Henry Owner ProScape Lawn & Landscape Services Marion, Ohio Education Mount Gilead High School Mount Gilead, Ohio Class of 2001 Ohio Northern University Doctor of Pharmacy Ada, Ohio Class of 2007 “I put myself through pharmacy school, so I needed to make a lot of money during the summers. I continued landscaping as a […]

Landscape, snow firms make Inc. 5000 list

Members of the landscape and snow industries are among the ranks of the 2018 Inc. 5000. The magazine’s annual list honors the country’s fastest growing, privately held companies in the U.S. Here’s who made the list: Case Snow Management | Inc. 5000 rank: 1779 Attleboro Falls, Mass. 2017 Revenue: $36 million 3-Year Growth: 255 percent […]

Crew member and sprinklers. Photo: Serpico Landscaping

Making the most of a labor force

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Serpico Landscaping has struggled to hire people—due in part to the region’s economic growth that has created some of the highest wages in the country. President Peter Novak says hiring and retention have been challenging for many years, but the struggle has intensified over the last several years. […]

Walker Family Reunion celebrates milestone mower and more

Walker Manufacturing’s “family style” of doing business was on display July 13-15 at the Walker Family Reunion III. The event, which celebrated the company’s 150,000th mower earlier this year, was held on Walker’s 60-acre campus in Fort Collins, Colo. The manufacturer hosted similar events in 2000 and 2008 to mark the manufacturing of the 50,000th […]

Editor’s Note: It’s time

I can vividly recall sitting next to Bob Dolibois, retired executive vice president of the American Nursery & Landscape Association (now AmericanHort), on a bus ride at an industry event in May 2007, days after the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 was introduced in the Senate. This bill—which was viewed as a compromise between […]

BrightView CEO talks IPO, growth and how employees are benefiting

Hours after he rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to mark BrightView’s initial public offering, CEO Andrew Masterman chatted with Landscape Management about this rare occasion for a landscape company—and what it means for the industry, employees and clients. “From an industry perspective, this is a great step,” Masterman said. “Really, […]

Eric Schultz headshot

LM150 company profile: Schultz Industries

Eric Schultz, who mowed lawns in high school, naturally joined up with his brother’s residential lawn maintenance company after getting out of the Marine Corps in 1982. After five years, realizing he did not want to mow lawns for the rest of his life, Schultz broke off from his brother to found a commercial-focused company […]

Money. Photo: iStock.com/Terminator3D

Total LM150 revenue hits 11 digits for the first time

This issue marks the tenth LM150 list—it debuted in 2009—and the first year the combined revenue of all 150 companies has topped the $10 billion mark. The combined 2017 revenue was up 9 percent ($8.6 million) year over year. BrightView and TruGreen didn’t report year-over-year growth figures, but the math tells us they grew only […]

Chris Malham and Rob Spoor. (Photo: Siteworks)

LM150 company profile: SiteWorks

Talk to Chris Malham and Rob Spoor, and you hear a lot of laughs and a lot of “dudes.” Despite insisting they haven’t rehearsed the interview, they finish each other’s sentences. They appear to genuinely appreciate and get a kick out of each other. Their compatibility as business partners is evident, which hints at why […]

landscape hardscape install. Photo: NALP/Philippe Nobile Photography

Installing joy

Landscape installation projects rank among the highest in terms of outdoor projects that bring homeowners joy, according to a study by the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) and the National Association of Realtors. The two associations partnered to analyze outdoor residential and commercial projects, why property owners should invest in them and the value […]

Editor’s Note: Rock the moat

Imagine your business is a castle. Does it have a moat? According to Warren Buffett—renowned investor and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway—businesses worth investing in have significant buffers to keep their opponents at bay. In other words, a company with a moat has a competitive advantage so great, it allows for above-average profits and long-term returns […]

13 things we learned from BrightView’s SEC filing

Earlier this week, BrightView revealed its intent to go public when it filed a form S-1 with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). An S-1 is the document a company uses to file its public offering of shares. We read the document, so you don’t have to. Here are 13 things we learned. Financials […]

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