What began as a venture to organically expand into a new market turned into an acquisition that was too good to pass up for Valley Landscaping, says Brandon Walters, director of landscape maintenance at Valley Landscaping in Richmond, Va.
Valley Landscaping, No. 132 on the 2023 LM150 list of the top landscaping companies in the country, experienced a 52 percent change in revenue from 2021 to 2022.
Based in Christiansburg, Va., the company provides design/build, landscape lighting, landscape maintenance and commercial snow removal services. Its Richmond location offers irrigation maintenance and installation.
When Valley Landscaping opened branches in Roanoke and Waynesboro, they grew organically, soon acquiring year-round landscape maintenance contracts.
“We tend to follow the landscape maintenance work and build our landscape construction divisions around those existing clients,” Walters says.
Continuing that strategy, the company grew into the Richmond market organically, ending its first year with two landscape maintenance crews and one enhancement crew.
“Our leadership team knew that we wanted to continue to grow and the Richmond market made the most sense to us to move into next, being that we were already in the Charlottesville and Shenandoah Valley markets,” says Walters.
However, those plans changed, thanks to an opportunity for Valley Landscaping to acquire Tuckahoe Landscaping & Lawn Care. According to Walters, Tuckahoe had a similar business mix, values and culture.
With the previous owner looking to exit, Walters says Valley Landscaping’s leadership team felt it couldn’t pass on this opportunity to acquire the company.
“The company had a very similar business model as us with an unparalleled focus on their production staff employees, which we appreciated,” Walters says. “We could relate to their leadership well and many of their values translated easily. Their focus on quality work, customer service and employee retention certainly resonated with us.”
With the addition of Tuckahoe’s clients, Valley Landscaping’s growth in Richmond accelerated. Now, the Richmond branch operates as its own separate company, still under the Valley Landscaping name.
“This acquisition helped us scale into new services lines and take market share in a new location quicker than the traditional growth we have used in the past to open new branches,” he says. “Through the acquisition, we learned a lot about who we are and what we’re capable of. It has helped the company scale and helped each branch become more consistent.”
This expansion also forced the leadership team to focus on professionalizing the business. Walters says Valley Landscaping accomplished this by taking a deep dive into its systems and procedures and helping staff visualize the company’s goals and direction.
“As we continue to grow, we need to make sure that we are nimble enough to still be able to move quickly when needed,” Walters says. “Getting each division moving in the same direction and working toward the same common goal has played a big role in the company’s success since 2021.”
According to Walters, Valley Landscaping currently does not have plans to acquire any other companies. However, he says his team will continue to network with other professionals.
“We are always open to connecting with great leaders in the industry to bounce ideas off of and help each other out,” he says.
Applications are open for the 2024 LM150 list. Fill out the form here to submit your information, or email Special Projects Editor Marisa Palmieri mpalmieri@northcoastmedia.net for more information.
