Bay State contractor Ground Care Landscaping achieves steady growth with a team-first philosophy, focusing on hiring quality staff and investing in JCB equipment through Alta Equipment. Their success lies in creating a positive work environment, offering growth opportunities, and prioritizing customer satisfaction.
Photo courtesy of Ground Care Landscaping and Snow Professionals
Over the years experiencing a steady growth curve, the company has achieved many milestones, but according to Greg Cunningham, owner of Ground Care Landscaping and Snow Professionals, the most significant milestone is the hiring of each new team member.
After working in the landscape industry for a number of years, Greg Cunningham decided it was time to hang his own shingle; he started Ground Care Landscaping, located in North Andover, Mass., in 2002.
Over time, as the company became more diverse, the name was changed to Ground Care Landscaping and Snow Professionals. Today, the company has grown to a significant size, has a large fleet of lawn care, excavating and snow removal equipment and an ever-growing staff of trained professionals.
Over the years, experiencing a steady growth curve, the company has achieved many milestones, but according to Cunningham the most significant milestone in his view is the hiring of each new team member.
Photo courtesy of Alta Equipment
"It means that we have grown, we have succeeded and now we have the opportunity to add another quality team member," he said. "We pride ourselves on having a great working environment and that working for our company is a pleasure as well as a job. Our philosophy is to put as much emphasis on the company performing well for our team members as we do our team performing well for us."
Acquiring the right tools for the right job is a critical aspect of Ground Care's growth.
"Matching up the right tools for the right job is critical and expensive," he said. "To evaluate the investment, we like to analyze what it would cost us not to have the exact tool needed to accomplish a project. What is it going to cost us if we don't have the right tool? It's much like trying to shovel a parking lot with a hand shovel. It's just not going to work. You have to analyze what machine will produce the most effective and efficient approach to clearing that parking lot and then make that investment."
Cunningham does not necessarily take the traditional approach when purchasing equipment. He had some experience working with Alta Equipment (previously known as Northland JCB) and his first purchase was a JCB skid steer.
"I was very impressed with the side door entry to the cab. It was big, spacious and easy to access, far different than trying to climb over a bucket and work your way into the cab. In my opinion that was a great way to break a leg. The JCB also featured the single arm power boom.
"It was a tough decision to make," he added. "Other people in the industry who I listen to insisted that I was going to be sorry for purchasing a single-arm machine. They insisted that it would never hold up. I'm pleased to announce that after several years of rigorous use, we have never had a failure on a JCB skid steer related to the single-arm design. I'm sure that's why JCB offers a lifetime warranty on the arm."
Cunningham was so impressed with his experience with his first JCB purchase that he has stayed loyal to the brand and to Alta Equipment. Today, Ground Care Landscaping and Snow Professionals has a substantial fleet of equipment, including skid steers, excavators and loaders, all of which carry the JCB name.
"Our sales representative with Alta Equipment is Ryan Sears and he has taken great care of us. He has encouraged us to attend a number of JCB/Alta events, and it is always a great experience for us, as well as educational. If we ask him a question and he's not confident of the answer, he does his research and gets back to us promptly.
"Even though service is not a part of his job description, he always gets involved in the process, making sure any issues that we have are quickly resolved. Our experience has been that Alta Equipment has put the right people in place to achieve a level of excellence in their service department.
Cunningham said having the right people in place makes all the difference in the world.
"If you deal with a company that does not have the right staff, the equipment that you have invested in can become a deterrent rather than an asset. I really admire that with Alta Equipment because I know from experience that hiring quality people is challenging and expensive. We are confident when an Alta Equipment technician walks into our yard that he knows his job and we can walk away and let him complete his task."
Alta Equipment is great at communicating with him, Cunningham added.
"When I need their support, they keep me updated all along the way. If a part is needed, they let me know the part's availability and communicate with me, letting me know what timeframe I am looking at to get a machine up and running."
A few years ago, Ground Care Landscaping and Snow Professionals moved into commercial snow removal.
"This was somewhat a scary period for us," Cunningham said. "We knew that the demands and expectations from our customers would be very high. We needed to invest in the right equipment to handle the job.
"We purchased a JCB 437 wheel loader. It was a major investment for us, so we initially did a lease program. We were so pleased with its performance that we purchased the machine once the lease terms were fulfilled. As our snow removal business grew, we have continued populating our fleet with JCB equipment."
Another machine in the fleet that Cunningham has been very happy with is the JCB 409 articulated wheel loader.
"What has really worked for us is the variety of machines that JCB offers with each category of machine being available in a wide variety of sizes. We can literally pick out the exact machine that is ideally fitted for the project we are facing. It's been very satisfying being able to report back to by friends in the industry that insisted I was making a mistake with JCB and reporting what a great experience it has been. As a result, several of them are now putting JCB machines in their fleet.
"Transitioning our company into snow removal was a stressful period for us. We relied heavily on JCB and Alta Equipment and they did not let us down."
Photo courtesy of Alta Equipment
This year Ground Care Landscape and Snow Professionals set an aggressive goal of 48 percent growth, and it is on track to achieve that goal.
"Historically, we have achieved 20-25 percent annual growth. This year we felt we had the right people and equipment in place to make very aggressive projections. To achieve those goals the biggest challenge for us in this climate is getting the right people hired to get our staff where it needs to be. We have worked hard to create a culture that's attractive to new hires.
"Typically, when someone goes to work for a landscape company, they expect that they will be some sort of laborer or equipment operator for the duration of their employment. We have grown to the size where our new hires have an opportunity to grow with the company. We have management positions, and we fill them from within as individuals grow into the position.
"Another part of our working environment is expressing gratitude. Gratitude to the customer who has entrusted us with his home and his money as well as gratitude to our team members that make it possible to keep our customers satisfied."
Greg Carlson is the operations manager, and he is a prime example of the growth opportunity that Ground Care Landscape and Snow Professionals offers, Cunningham said.
Carlson started working as an equipment operator and has progressively, in a relatively short period of time, worked himself into a management position.
"It is extremely unusual to have growth potential in this business," Carlson said. "At our company, even if your initial position is cutting or trimming grass, you have the opportunity to grow into landscaping, equipment operation and even managing a crew.
"We are a very professional organization, and we make every effort to deliver to our customer exactly what he is looking for and to do it on time. It gives me a great sense of pride to work for a company that is truly focused on customer satisfaction. It took almost a decade for Greg Cunningham to convince me to join his team. Since I made that decision there has been no looking back."
The COVID period was a particularly challenging time the company.
"We had plenty of projects and it felt like no one wanted to work," Carlson said. "When we did get someone hired, calling out or not showing up seemed to be a continuous problem and that's when we really focused on our work culture to put ourselves in a position to be able to hire and retain professionals. That's another reason that we appreciate working with the professionals at Alta Equipment. We know how challenging it can be to put the right people in place to keep the customer happy. Alta Equipment has certainly demonstrated their ability to do just that."
For more information, visit www.altg.com and www.groundcarelandscaping.com. CEG
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