Landscape Management, December 2014

49 56 75 80 25 25 19 16 26 19 6 4 Very healthy or relatively healthy 1 December 2014 LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET S5 Lynn Tootle also has seen an uptick this year Hes general manager of Gro Masters the Savannah Ga based turf and ornamental care division of Tide Water Landscape Management In my market its fnally heading in a positive direction after the diffculties following the recession he says In 2011 we saw the bottom of the market 2012 started in a good direction but not aggressively 2013 built on it and this year weve seen a lot of positive signs total revenue proftability and new jobs coming down the pike Gro Masters will end 2014 with a 10 percent increase over 2013 Mark Todd owner of Todd Quality Landscape Services in Spring City Pa agrees More people are pulling the trigger on jobs I quoted a year ago saying Were ready to go How soon can you do it he says Todd senses people are more comfortable with the economy His full service mostly residential company is on track to do 550000 in 2014 up about 30 percent over last year Before there was speculation about layoffs and now customers are taking a deep breath and theyre going to be OK Todd says Theyre happy with their home values and confdent theyre not going to change Theyre looking to invest in their homes On the commercial side property managers are ready to reinvest too contractors report Over the past four years theyve tightened their budgets and the properties have suffered for it says Craig McBryde owner of McBryde Landscape Maintenance Solutions Green Impact in Greenville S C The primarily commercial maintenance company expects to do 15 million in 2014 revenue with 20 percent growth next year They property managers are trying to put money back into curb appeal Some markets are soft though For example consumers are uncertain in Vermont says Aaron Smith general manager for S D Landscapes in Essex Vt He points to the states attempt to pass its own single payer health care law and the buyout of a major employer in his area Weve had a number of projects get through with either a lot of negotiation to get it to come to fruition or the customer saying Well wait until next year he says Everybodys got this wait and see attitude i How landscape professionals describe the state of the market 2011 2012 2013 2014 Flat Slightly down or down significantly 2015 business outlooks 41 48 10 Very optimistic Somewhat optimistic Uncertain Somewhat pessimistic Very pessimistic Less than 1 percent Still S D will end 2014 with 450000 plus in annual revenue up from 427000 in 2013 Its sights are set on 600000 for 2015 Weve had a good year but its not how I thought wed get there he says I was expecting install to be our shining star but weve done less install revenue than last year although weve done quite a bit more overall revenue than last year Some troUble Although green industry professionals are satisfed and are growing overall challenges exist At the top of the list is fnding qualifed workers Lynn Tootle AverAge Number of yeArs iN busiNess