Jeff Sebert’s early days in the landscaping business were spent working out of a small, rented detached garage, where any flat surface he could find often served as his office desk.
Now, Sebert Landscape — No. 60 on the 2024 LM150 — boasts more than 600 employees spread out over eight branches (a ninth just opened in Madison, Wis.) and a gleaming, environmentally friendly headquarters in the Chicago suburb of Bartlett, Ill. When he considers all that, Sebert admits those modest beginnings often seem like another lifetime ago.
What has remained unchanged since those early days, he says, is his passion for the work and his unwavering commitment to operating in a way that benefits both the community and the environment.
“I have always believed that we have an obligation within the green industry to live up to that name,” Sebert said during the opening presentation at last week’s National Association of Landscape Professional’s (NALP) Field Trip at Sebert Landscape, hosted by Marty Grunder.
“That’s why we’ve taken the approaches that we have as a company, whether that’s with the green roof and the solar power at our headquarters building, our use of battery-powered equipment or the creation of our sister company, Bluestem (Ecological Services).”
Sebert’s 30,000-square-foot corporate headquarters and the predominantly electric fleet that operates out of there were the main attractions for the more than 200 attendees who traveled to the Windy City for the event. The tour of the LEED-certified building included stops that highlighted the building’s planning and design, the unique green roof that features 6,500 square feet of landscape plantings, native grasses and a large reclaimed wood deck, its use of solar to power all operations and the battery-powered tools that 18 crews use as their primary equipment each and every day.
They also received an in-depth examination of Sebert’s operations, which shared best practices the company had developed over the years in areas such as sales, marketing and human resources.
Among the attendees checking it all out and taking copious notes was Kirsten Mains, the vice president of Brilliant Borders Landscaping in Des Moines, Iowa. Even before learning about the NALP Field Trip, she had planned to be in Chicago for SiteOne Landscape Supply’s Women in the Green Industry event. A glimpse at the agenda for the NALP Field Trip quickly convinced her to extend her stay.
“We’re trying to scale our business and are preparing to move into a new building, so I wanted to see how a large operation like Sebert runs its operation,” Mains says. “There was a lot that I learned from the experience, but also a lot where I learned that we might be further ahead than we sometimes think we are. It was all very valuable.”
