Garret Hergert
CEO, GRO, Vancouver, Wash.
1. What would you like people to know about GRO?
GRO is a landscape design/build company. We do everything from small projects, enhancement work, irrigation start-ups … all the way to design/build of large projects. Our average project is probably between $50,000 to $75,000, but we do $200,000, $500,000 projects, and we have a $2.5 million project right now.
2. How is your 2024 going?
Pretty good, actually. A little bit better than last year. Not crazy growth this year. The last couple years, it’s been a little harder to get the work. But we’ve got some really good projects going and we have a decent amount of pre-sold work. Next year is looking pretty good as well.
3. Do you have a most memorable day at work?
I love seeing our team members win. Whether it’s having their first child or getting married … recently we had a team member buy his first house. That’s important to me. When I see them as a family making those life goals become reality, hopefully it means I’m doing something right as the business owner, as their boss. I want them to feel like we’re a company that takes care of its people and that they are our biggest asset and that we want to take care of them has always been my goal. To see good things happen is really cool.
4. What’s your favorite tool to get the job done?
I love equipment. I’ve got four excavators, a bunch of skid-steers, mini skid-steers, a bulldozer. We use Takeuchi almost exclusively on our machines. Ditch Witch is another partner of ours. I like incorporating equipment into the jobsites because it’s better on their backs and it helps get the job done quicker. It allows you to control the jobsites a little bit differently. I think that using equipment on the jobs or specialty subcontractors … help get the projects done and give us a leg up on the other guys in our local industry.
5. How big is your family and what do you do for fun?
I’ve got five kids and a beautiful wife. I’ve got three daughters and two sons. Vivian is 7, Simon is 9, Georgia is 11, Franklin is my oldest son, 19, and Bailey is 22. I come from a big family with seven kids — not to mention being surrounded by a huge church community — so we love spending time together. My in-laws live on Flathead Lake in Montana. We go to Montana a lot … and hang out on the lake and spend time with grandma and grandpa, aunts and uncles. I’m a hunter and a fisherman. My kids play sports. We love spending time in the outdoors, making memories as a family.
