LM150: A big jump

Nearly half the companies on the LM150 list grew by 10 percent or more. Here’s what helped some of them surge.

⁽¹⁾ The Grounds Guys
This landscape maintenance franchise took the top spot on our fastest-growing companies list the past two years. It fell to No. 5 this year; still, it grew revenue 76 percent, adding 50 locations. The Grounds Guys is part of The Dwyer Group, a Waco, Texas-based parent company for eight service-based franchise companies.

⁽²⁾ Ruppert Landscape
It wasn’t a bad year for the Laytonsville, Md., full-service firm. It surpassed $100 million in revenue and focused on improving operations in many ways. These included adding directors of field quality/efficiency in both the maintenance and construction divisions; renewing its focus on employee evaluations and goal setting; and encouraging better communication among branches, divisions and new/seasoned team members by instituting weekly meetings.

⁽³⁾ Arbor-Nomics Turf
This Georgia-based lawn care company makes its debut on the LM150 list. Efforts that got it here included adding tablets for its organic lawn care division, pursuing a commission system for all employees and analyzing credit card fees, which has resulted in a boost to the bottom line.

⁽⁴⁾ James River Grounds Management
Technology—including a cloud-based training system for field staff—has been key to this Virginia-based, full-service firm’s growth. It allows the company to track training by user, implement online tests and conduct training on mobile devices.

⁽⁵⁾ Landscape Workshop
Based in Birmingham, Ala., and owned by private equity firm McKinney Capital, this 30-year-old company is looking to continue its growth with an incentive plan to share profits with general managers and account managers across its eight locations.