Retaining employees during a time of uncertainty set up American Landscape Systems (ALS) for success, giving them a 39-percent increase in revenue from 2022 to 2023. That landed them at No. 96 on the 2024 LM150 list with a growth ranking of No. 18.
The company, located in Lewisville, Texas, provides landscape installation, irrigation, hardscape, playground/site furniture and full-service grounds maintenance to commercial properties in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.
Joseph Angelone, American Landscape Systems’ vice president and CFO, says the company’s growth was a product of its work in the previous years. The company did everything it could to keep its employees during COVID-19 when many companies laid off or offered work-from-home options.
“In 2022, we had plenty of employees and work, and we were able to focus on maximizing profits in all different areas of the company, including expanding our hardscape department,” he says.
Angelone says that allowed the company to take on larger scopes of work and do the projects itself, which improved the company’s top and bottom lines. It was able to offer a turnkey solution for the exterior of any commercial project, no matter the size.
“We have always offered to cover these scopes of work, but when you can self-perform them instead of hiring subs, it takes growth to another level,” Angelone says.
ALS invested additional profits in equipment, training, staff and supervision to perform all hardscape services in-house. Clients immediately began adding this type of work to their contracts, which led to the company’s largest growth year to date, he says.
While the company experienced significant growth, it also faced obstacles during that time, most notably regarding employee retention, Angelone says. Finding talent became even more difficult after the pandemic, especially because other companies offered well above market price for managers, he says. To overcome this hurdle, Angelone says ALS decided to reward loyalty with profit bonuses based on the growth the leadership team knew was coming.
“It made it hectic for a little while, but in the long run, our managers bought into the process,” Angelone says. “When this happens, you can hire and promote with the confidence that your managers will treat the company as their own because decisions they are making daily have a direct impact on their compensation.”
Angelone encourages other professionals not to be afraid of keeping employees aware and making them part of the process, which is what ALS strives to do with its 350 employees.
“We are running a for-profit business, and I believe if the employees don’t know what leads to that profit, they may never put in the effort to get there,” Angelone says.
In the future, he says having the capacity and space to cover the whole Dallas metro area will play an important role in the company’s growth.
“We will need satellite storage and yard space to cover the work that is continuing to push farther south and north of Dallas/Fort Worth,” Angelone says.
Going above and beyond to bring their clients’ visions to life will also continue to be a part of ALS’ goal.
“Managing a client’s expectations of a finished product is one of the most important parts of our success,” Angelone says. “When we leave the job, we want the client to always believe that we gave them everything they were supposed to get or that they envisioned for their project.”
