The company says that breakout sessions were used during the conference to clarify goals, foster an environment of accountability and create branch-specific plans.Photo: LandCare
For the third straight year, San Diego, California, hosted LandCare’s Leadership Conference. Over 90 team members were in attendance as LandCare’s leaders gathered for three days to learn about thought leadership exercises and networking.
The company says that the focus for the conference was on the state of business, recognizing the many improvements across the organization and solidifying the company’s action plan for 2017 and the years beyond.
“Branches have a lot of autonomy which is great because they know their region and their customers — one size doesn’t fit all,” said Mike Bogan, CEO of LandCare. “But it’s important to keep everyone focused on the same overall goal. Building strong teams and delivering unparalleled quality and service will help us establish the LandCare brand we are striving for.”
A yard party at the San Diego branch was hosted as the kick off for the event and highlighted local cuisine, friendly competition through recreational games and atmospheric flare accented by outdoor fire pits.
“Having other managers come to San Diego meant I could meet and catch up with people I normally don’t speak to while also sharing my branch,” said Ramon Ulloa, branch manager in San Diego.
Don Jones, EVP at Cadence Travel Management, served as the conference’s keynote speaker. Jones’ speech reflected one of LandCare’s core values, “Delight our customers. Every time,” by focusing on the importance and power of customer service and the impact it can have on a business. A vendor showcase was also featured at the conference.
“Bringing all of management together allows us to not only connect at the regional levels so that our teams are all on the same page, but also as a company,” said Karen Wilkinson, regional vice president of the Northwest.
The company says that breakout sessions were used during the conference to clarify goals, foster an environment of accountability and create branch-specific plans.
“You get caught up in the day-to-day running of your branch and your branch’s goals,” said JonMarc McDougan, branch manager in Raleigh, North Carolina. “It’s easy to only see your world and forget that we have a deep bench.”
Rotonnelli earns Advanced Snow Manager designation
Jay RotonnelliIt was recently announced by the Snow & Ice Management Association (SIMA) that Jay Rotonnelli, account manager at Belknap Landscape Company, earned the designation of Advanced Snow Manager (ASM).
The company says that the ASM training program provides quality, accessible safety and operational training for snow operations professionals, and it is designed around serious training, stronger people and safer operations.
Four certificate courses are offered in this self-paced, interactive training program: Ice Management, Core Principles, Sidewalk Operations and Plowing Operations. After individuals complete the courses they take quizzes to assess their knowledge. If all four certificates are earned, the individual will then receive the ASM designation, which is an official training credential from SIMA.
TenCate acquires Synthetic Grass Warehouse
TenCate Grass recently announced the acquisition of Synthetic Grass Warehouse (SGW), a leading supplier of synthetic turf for USA landscaping applications.
“We are very excited to have SGW join TenCate Grass,” said Michael Vogel, group director of TenCate Grass. “Landscaping is the fastest growing part of the synthetic turf industry showing double-digit growth. We believe that SGW has a unique approach to the market driven by e-commerce, its finely tuned product portfolio and its incredibly high service level. We were impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit that Victor and Joe have instilled in the company and are pleased that they will stay on to manage the company going forward.”
Established in 2004 by current owners Victor Lanfranco and Joe Ayoub, SGW is a longstanding partner of TenCate Grass and has a presence across the Southwestern part of the country. TenCate Grass says that with this acquisition they are taking a major step forward within the fast-growing landscaping segment as a synthetic turf supplier.
“We are very pleased join the TenCate family,” Lanfranco said. “Over the years our partnership has grown in strength, so it was very logical to cement our relationship in this way. This is a unique opportunity to combine SGW’s commercial power and TenCate’s industrial resources.”
