Commercial Grounds Care and Schiller-Pfeiffer Merge

Commerical Grounds Care of Johnson Creek, Wis., and Schiller-Pfeiffer of Southampton, Pa., have merged to create Schiller Grounds Care. Commercial Grounds Care is a manufacturer of BOB-CAT, Bunton, Ryan and Steiner brand grounds care equipment. Schiller-Pfeiffer manufactures Classen, Little Wonder and Mantis brand gardening, landscaping and turf care equipment.

The two companies have been affiliates since August 2006. The merging was completed on Jan. 1 and became effective on Jan. 5. The successful merger is the culmination of two years of preparation - merging payroll systems, instituting a universal ERP system and the launch of a new corporate Web site, as well as many marketing aspects of the new company name.

The new entity will continue to manufacture and distribute all seven brands of commercial and residential power equipment through three manufacturing facilities located in Johnson Creek, Wis., Norfolk, Neb., and Southampton, Pa., which also will serve as the corporate office.
 
As one entity, Schiller Grounds Care will focus on the growth and strengthening of their independent brands rather than maintaining two corporate entities. For the customer, the transition is relatively seamless with regard to order processing, billing, customer service, facility contact, sales and marketing. Value-added services such as a single Web site portal offers corporate news and links to dedicated brand sites that allow dealers access to brand- and product-specific marketing material, sales and service training schools.