Insurance, add-on services, products and people – these top-of-mind issues dominated discussion at Lawn & Landscape magazine’s Lawn Care Roundtable in Atlanta, Ga., last Wednesday and Thursday. The 21 contractors who participated in the event, sponsored by Bayer Environmental Science, represented a regional sampling of industry professionals. But their concerns were not divided by territorial boundaries. Overall, participants expressed positive outlooks for the industry this year, citing an end to the economic slump.
The general consensus: Get ready for growth.
“If you look at the future, we’ve been tied closely to housing starts and the creation of new lawns and landscapes, and that is a promising aspect of our business,” identified Jerry Grossi, president, ArborLawn, Lansing, Mich. “We are not technology and we aren’t other types of manufacturing, and we are in the right business for the right time and that will continue. We might have little blurps of weather, but I still think this is a growing industry and we have a lot to look forward to.”
Sam Lang cited increases in equipment orders and commercial construction bids as an optimistic indication, adding that he also expects his Raleigh, N.C.-based business to peak this year. “I personally think that we weathered the course of the economy,” said Lang, president, Fairway Green. “The leading indicators are there and we are going to see the economy turn around. It’s going to be slow, but get prepared – I think we’re out of the worst of it.”
Look for more details of this discussion in upcoming issues of Lawn & Landscape magazine and Bayer’s Lawn Care Professional magazine.