In the past few years, Ruppert Nurseries has come back in a big way, which has gotten them attention in a business magazine.
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The landscaping and nursery company ranked No. 172 on Inc. magazine’s list of top 500 fastest-growing private companies. With its 2005 revenue at $31 million, Ruppert has grown 659.9 percent in the past three years and projects another 40 percent growth this year.
Laytonsville, Md.-based Ruppert sold its landscape division in 1998 and was under a competition restriction that lasted five years, explains Chris Davitt, president of Ruppert Nurseries. The company focused more on its tree-growing division in that time.
The business was poised for success when it re-entered the landscape market in 2003. Many of the former employees, already familiar with the company and its philosophy, were hired back. At the time there were 30 employees, and now there are more than 400 employees on the payroll, Davitt says.
The company has locations in Philadelphia, northern Virginia, Maryland and Atlanta, some with multiple branches. Most of them are dedicated to the landscaping division.
“While we were under restriction, tree growing was the majority of our business,” Davitt says. “Now we’re closer to what we were when we sold, which is 90 percent landscape installation and grounds management.”
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With a quick jump in such a short period, Davitt knew there was a chance the company would make it onto the entrepreneurial magazine’s list. However, this wasn’t just a list comprised of landscaping companies. It represents private companies in all industries, some of which are prone to tremendous growth.
When Davitt heard Ruppert placed among these companies that span several industries, it was just icing on the cake.
“My initial reaction was that we spend a lot of time telling our employees and ourselves our goal is not to grow and it’s not to get on the Inc. 500. The goal is to make our employees and customers happy,” Davitt says. “But the fact that we’re on there indicates that we’re reaching our goals and that is satisfying.”
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Making the list is beneficial because it recognizes the company’s good practices, Davitt says. “It’s far more important that employees stay with a company and are proud of the company and that customers want to renew contracts with us and continue to do business with us for years to come,” he says. “You can’t take something like this to the bank. Content employees and satisfied customers is what keeps a business growing.”
Davitt says growth of this magnitude won’t continue for long, but moderate growth will continue to be part of the company’s plans. “Growth helps to provide opportunities for employees and helps us retain the best personnel,” he adds.
Future growth will manifest itself in the form of opening new branches. Plans are in the works to open another location in Maryland in 2007 and the Philadelphia region should see another Ruppert location in 2008.
“It’s not as much growth as the past couple years but 25 percent growth will give us both of those,” Davitt says. “Each year we carefully analyze the right mix of growth and control.”