You never know where the best learning opportunities will ultimately come from.
Just ask Edward Coady, the CEO of Mainely Grass in Bedford, N.H. Coady was one of 36 attendees at the 2024 Landscape Management Growth Summit, which took place at Reunion Resort in Orlando this December.
He came into the event with high expectations for his interactions with select partners and a few of his fellow attendees.
And while he said all those expectations were more than met, it was the things he hadn’t been expecting that delivered the most notable takeaways from his time in the Sunshine State.
“I’m going to remember the kind of unpredictability of where great learning or great connection can come from,” Coady said. “I thought about this event like, ‘Hey, I’m going to go because these certain people or companies are here, and I want to talk to them or learn those specific things.’
“When you get here, you realize, wow, here’s this other person I didn’t know was going to be here who I learned something from. Or here’s this vendor that I never would’ve responded to their outreach in another format, but I learned they have something interesting. By being here, you’re more open to those conversations, those interactions. It’s a really unique format.”
“Unique” might be the best word to describe the annual LM Growth Summit. Now in its 12th year, the event connects leading suppliers in the landscaping industry with pre-qualified lawn care application professionals for networking, education and one-on-one meetings designed to improve business operations and build relationships within the industry. The lawn care operators from around the country invited to attend were joined by representatives of the event’s 15 industry partners and staff from LM and its parent company, North Coast Media.
“Reflecting on our 12th LM Growth Summit, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude,” said Bill Roddy, LM’s group publisher. “To our partners who make this event possible, thank you for your investment and commitment to making this event a true catalyst for business growth. To our attendees, thank you for connecting with each other and our partners to learn and advance your businesses together. We’re honored to call each of you Friends of LM.”
Inside information
Amidst three days of near-perfect Florida weather, the LM Growth Summit kicked off with a rooftop welcome reception at Reunion Resort. Education sessions that tackled labor challenges facing the industry and offered tips for motivating and retaining staff opened the second and third days before attendees dove into their one-on-one meetings with the event’s partners. A round of golf on Reunion’s highly-regarded Palmer Course was also on the agenda.
Among those relishing the connections made at the event and how they would benefit his business in the future was Kevin Salters, owner of Root Development in Suffield, Conn.
“The event was truly outstanding. It was an invaluable opportunity to network with lawn care company owners from across the country. And having direct and focused time with some of the top industry suppliers was incredibly beneficial in helping all of us refine and grow our businesses more effectively,” he said.
Terry Weaver, general manager at Think Green Lawn Service in Cumming, Ga., echoed those sentiments.
“It’s always nice to be around others who do the same thing that you do, trade tips and tricks, things that have worked and haven’t worked,” Weaver said. “But the biggest thing we took away from this is probably all of the innovation in the industry. There are a lot of cool tools out there that can make life easier for us and make our business more profitable, so to see those things up close and talk about them with the companies who make them was really valuable.”
Straight to the source
Here are some of the insights shared by the 15 industry partners that made the 2024 LM Growth Summit possible.
3PG Advisors
Why have landscape and lawn care companies become such attractive targets for private equity? That’s a question many business owners have been asking as they wade through merger and acquisition offers and try to determine if and when the time is right.
Jeff Harkness, CEO of 3PG Advisors — a firm that helps business owners through those processes and assists in matching entrepreneurs with the right equity partner or buyer — admitted that while the answers to questions like that can be complex, there is a path for owners looking to sell or partner with others to scale their business.
“Some of you might be ready to transition into something new or to retire. Others of you might think, ‘If I just had more money and support, we could grow, get more talented people and really blow this thing out,’” Harkness said. “We can help figure out what’s your strategy, what’s your path to successfully transition or to grow and scale.”
Albaugh Specialty Products
Albaugh is a relatively new player in the lawn care industry — it purchased the assets of Prime Source in 2021 to expand its presence in the turf and ornamental market — but according to Mike Daugherty, Midwest territory manager, it has a long history in the agricultural space. It is the sixth-largest chemical manufacturer in North America and the largest privately owned one.
While the company began its journey in specialty products as a post-patent manufacturer, Albaugh has recently started developing proprietary products and has supported those efforts with a new packaging and storage facility in St. Joseph, Mo.
“People who have been with us for a while with our post-patent products have always asked about when we’d produce our own line of products,” Daugherty says. “We’re all excited that we’ve reached that point, and things are really up and running now.”
Atticus
Michael Sorensen, west region director, and Rob Golembiewski, Ph.D., technical services director, turned a spotlight on Atticus’ post-patent products and its focus on becoming a relevant and reliable partner for landscape contractors and lawn care operators.
A video introducing the company put it this way: “While the chemistry isn’t unique … the Atticus culture is something that sets us apart from our competition.”
“On one of the many steps along my career path, I was a co-owner of a landscaping company in Phoenix with my brother, so I have a great appreciation for what you all do on a daily basis,” Golembiewski said. “We’re looking forward to sitting down with you, getting to know you a little better and, more importantly, giving you a chance to learn a little more about Atticus.”
Ewing Outdoor Supply
A well-known fixture in the landscape industry for its irrigation-related products, Ewing has recently expanded into various other outdoor services, including fertilizers and other specialty products. That new focus was a primary reason that the company made its first visit to the LM Growth Summit, according to Michael Maravich, category lead for Ewing’s turf and ornamental business.
“We’re here to learn more about your businesses and let you know what we’re doing as a company,” Maravich says. “As we look to the future, we’re trying to diversify a little bit beyond just irrigation because areas like fertilizers and herbicides are a big piece of our business, too. We see the turf and ornamental markets as one of our biggest growth opportunities, so learning about your perspectives on the industry and how we can better serve you is what we hope to do.”
Greene County Fertilizer Co.
Chuck Barber, executive vice president for sales and marketing and a veteran of six previous incarnations of the LM Growth Summit, had some words of advice for the first-time attendees in Orlando.
“It goes by fast, and I’m sure others have told you that,” he said. “You’re going to get a lot of information and meet a lot of new people. It’s easy to feel lost, so make a point to give us your business card and get one of ours. We won’t barrage you with information, but like everyone, we want to follow up and make sure we’re answering any questions you might have.”
Greene County Fertilizer is based in Greensboro, Ga., and specializes in liquid fertilizers, including stabilized nitrogen and custom blends. The company is one of North America’s leading producers of humic acid and has expanded into moisture management with products that target hot spots and dry areas.
Nufarm
Nufarm, which has roots in New Zealand and Australia, has been a fixture in the U.S. green industry since the 1990s. Its current portfolio features more than 45 products, including herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and plant growth regulators.
“The model guiding our business has always been to put the customer at the center of all we do,” said Jamie Heydinger, lawn care segment lead. “We strive for excellence in three areas — channel partnerships, supply excellence and portfolio solutions — to support your needs.”
Nufarm places just as much emphasis on giving back as it does on providing reliable products for lawn care operators, Heydinger explained. In addition to numerous efforts in the golf maintenance market, the company is also the lead sponsor of Project EverGreen’s GreenCare for Troops, which connects military families with complimentary lawn and landscape services.
Numerator Technologies
Using a clip from the movie “Idiocracy” to illustrate her point, Taylor Turner, CEO of Numerator, focused on the importance of properly balanced water for lawn care operators and how her company — a manufacturer of leading soil surfactants and spray tank adjuvants — can improve application success rates.
“Water is necessary for plant health and growth, and it’s necessary for your spray tanks. It’s actually 95 percent of what is in your spray tank,” Turner said. “So, we have tailored solutions to address hard-water bicarbonates and sodium concerns. Hopefully, we can help you solve problems you’re having, improve all the products that you’re using, make them work better and make your water work better for you.”
PBI-Gordon
Coming off a celebration of its 75th anniversary in 2024, PBI-Gordon brought a focus on the value of partnerships to its participation in the LM Growth Summit.
“We really look forward to events like this one because they give us the opportunity to learn from end-users how we can become better partners and help your businesses flourish,” said Andrew Scott, customer strategist. “That’s our No. 1 goal for the conversations we’ll have this week.”
That doesn’t mean they didn’t also share information about some of their newest products. “We’re excited about some of our newer innovations, including Aethon herbicide, a new southern herbicide for broad-spectrum weed control … and Arkon herbicide, an innovative solution for sedges and kyllinga control,” Scott said.
Quali-Pro
While Quali-Pro is certainly no stranger to those who work in the landscape and lawn care industries, Jeff Rampino, Florida territory manager, told LM Growth Summit attendees that 2025 will be a year where the company reintroduces itself and its products to the industry.
“This year, you will see a kind of rebranding from Quali-Pro,” he said. “You’re going to hear us say that we want you to ‘rediscover Quali-Pro,’ who we are and what we bring to the table.”
A division of Control Solutions Inc., Quali-Pro is generally known for offering post-patent products, but Rampino said the company has developed into more of a hybrid manufacturer, with new chemistries coming online to support the products already in its pipeline.
“Our legacy is in post-patent manufacturing. That’s where we started, and we don’t back off from that,” Rampino said. “But we are building new, proprietary solutions that attack problem pests and weeds, and we’re very proud of how far we’ve come in that area.”
RealGreen by WorkWave
Updates are part and parcel of the software world, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that RealGreen by WorkWave — which the company said was the first software by and for green industry businesses — is looking forward to plenty of improvements to its product in 2025, according to Jason King, senior manager of sales for the company’s pest control software.
The changes started last year in the C-suite with a new CEO (Kevin Kemmerer) and CFO (Greg Doran) joining the team. King also pointed out ongoing improvements to the platform, affecting everything from credit card processing to routing.
“Field service is what we do. It’s what we know,” King said. “There are a lot of transformations taking place within the company … that I think only will help us get better. We are focusing on what your needs are and where we can help better serve those needs.”
Sipcam Agro
Sipcam Agro’s history is an international one dating back to the end of World War II. However, despite the family-owned business’ global reach, their focus during the LM Growth Summit was decidedly domestic and directed toward the lawn care applicators in attendance.
“We have plants and facilities in the Pacific Rim, Europe and South America, but Sipcam is really local by nature,” said Michael Prudhomme, herbicide development consultant. “There is a new facility just established in the last year … in Waynesboro, Miss., where we’re currently producing pre- and post-emergent herbicides.”
A key product that will come out of that new facility is Linchpin, a sedge and kyllinga/crabgrass herbicide. “That’s a patented formulation that will be coming out in the first quarter of 2025,” Prudhomme said.
Steel Green Manufacturing
Versatility is the name of the game at Steel Green and was the primary focus of the message delivered to LM Growth Summit attendees by Caleb Myers, sales representative.
“If you’re dealing with different gate sizes at the properties you manage — and who isn’t dealing with that? — we can offer up different machines that will accommodate all those different sizes,” Myers said.
Myers said the company’s SG line of spreaders/sprayers offers 36-, 42-, 46-, 52- and 54-inch models, which come with a variety of corresponding capacities for the tanks and hoppers. And in keeping with the theme of versatility, he called the SG46 the most popular model because “you’re able to do those smaller properties but also pick up some bigger properties and use the same machine. It covers a lot of ground for most companies.”
Stinger Equipment
Stinger Equipment’s full line of turf renovation products features design specs that set them apart and make them more productive and easier to use and maintain, according to chief marketing officer Dustin McGehee.
“I think we have a line of products that can help you grow your business,” he said. “We want you to really examine these products, ask us questions and let us know how we can help you achieve that goal.”
McGehee said Stinger’s Quad-Aer 3600 riding aerator was one of its most popular models. However, the company also offers a line of walk-behind aerators (the Dual-Aer 2475 and the Ez-Aer), a walk-behind power seeder (the Superseeder 2400) and the Gateway seeder/sprayer, which now features an app for iPhone and Android that allows users to track applications.
The Andersons
While the fertilizer market may have stabilized some in 2024 with price drops for materials in key areas, The Andersons territory manager Alan Hollen told LM Growth Summit attendees that he expected overall product prices to remain flat throughout most of 2025.
“Prices for urea have come down, actually. But it will be hard to see too many results from that because of other issues and pressures like freight costs, challenges with phosphorous sources and things like that,” Hollen said. “The bottom line is that things will likely stay flat for the next year.”
The Andersons is well known in the industry as a supplier of granular fertilizers, said Ken Klopp, Southeast territory manager. But he added that the company also has a line of liquid options for lawn care applicators. “Wherever you’re at and whatever your preferences are — whether that’s granular first, liquid first or you’re interested in soil amendments — we think we have something that can help you,” Klopp said.
Turfco
A partner in all 11 previous editions of the LM Growth Summit, Turfco made it an even dozen in 2024. It’s a fourth-generation, family-owned company that celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019. But those celebrations of where Turfco has been haven’t obstructed its focus on where the company is going.
“We really focus on innovation; we have over 45 patents in the turf renovation space,” said George Kinkead, Turfco president. “I believe that’s the largest library of patents of anyone in the turf renovation space, specifically to what we’re showcasing here in terms of aeration, applications, topdressing and seeding.”
In highlighting several new products, including the T3200 spreader/sprayer, Kinkead didn’t just focus on the mechanical breakthroughs and latest features found on these machines. He also shared how they can help lawn care operators with ongoing labor challenges.
“These new machines are designed to be easy to operate, which can reduce training time and save money,” Kinkead said. “Because of that, we think you’ll be able to hire people without previous mechanical capabilities and have them up and running much sooner.”
