Landscape Management, July 2011

11 JULY 2011 LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET lems Thats something weve seen throughout the entire 104 years weve been around Thats why much of Bartletts business focuses on pest management Daniels explains Despite its progress the Green Industry in general and the tree care business specifically will continue to be challenged economically and legislatively in the near future Daniels says Thanks to low enrollment and cuts in arborculture and urban forestry programs at universities nationwide none of those challenges will be greater for Bartlett than nurturing qualified employees says Daniels Theres less of a pool of people at these universities he explains That puts a greater emphasis on investing in and training your own people Fortunately for Bartlett company leaders saw it coming years ago We saw a couple things Our own needs were growing as Bartlett was expanding We needed more qualified and trained employees says Daniels who has been president of the company for 12 of the 36 years hes worked there Number two we saw the college programs Green Industry programs diminishing So in 2007 Bartletts Charlotte N C arboretum and trainingresearch facility was upgraded The 350 acre campus established in 1965 is now home to 10 training programs covering technical skills production leadership and sales Daniels says You ask how can we better care for trees while dealing with tighter regulations It all comes down to training he says We have increased regulations because we do use pesticides We drive vehicles that require special licenses to drive We employ immigrants So there are many things that have to be done today that werent as commonly done 15 or 20 years ago Its why Bartlett has staff designated for monitoring regulations and ensuring Bartlett complies with them Its also why Bartlett makes employee safety and training top priorities Bartletts foresight throughout the last century propelled its success The companys ability to anticipate whats coming and prepare accordingly enables it to thrive to this day Were very proud of the fact that the company is 104 years old Daniels says Very few family owned businesses stay in business that long He attributes Bartletts longevity to the fact that we have a clear vision weve been able to stay ahead of the research curve and weve always had dedicated employees We know where our company wants to go and weve been able to change over time So where does Bartlett want to go We want to be known as the best company to care for and preserve trees Daniels says And we dont necessarily have a goal to be the biggest tree care company Youve got to meet or exceed industry standards Nothing can stand in the way of providing a safe work environment for all our employees and the satisfaction of our customers Barnes Nursery Barnes Nursery Inc Huron OH recently joined the social media scene The family owned company realized it needed a presence on Facebook and Twitter It hired an experienced vendor to guide it because it wanted its digital presence to reflect the quality thats always been associated with its products and services Entry into social media is the most superficial and easiest step the company is making into what Sharon Barnes vice president sees as a rapidly changing business environment She says the company has seen a fundamental shift in its market since the 2008 recession Its now in the process of addressing that change and adjusting the companys direction to meet the regional economic challenge posed by the loss of high paying union jobs high employment and rising food fuel and utility costs Where are we going to be a year or more from now asks Barnes rhetorically Well be at a different place and I dont Clockwise from top Bartlett founder Francis A Bartlett a Bartlett crew member today and a team from Bartletts early days Jeanne and Harold Barnes founders of Barnes Roses with a younger Robert Barnes co owner with his wife Sharon of Barnes Nursery