By his own admission, Morris Newlin, CEO and president of New Garden Landscaping and Nursery, Inc., says he is not your ordinary ALCA member. For starters, his Greensboro, North Carolina, company offers virtually the entire range of green industry services. If this is not unique enough, consider the fact that it offers these services to virtually every market segment. In addition, Newlin operates two retail garden centers and nurseries, and the owner has recently added “developer” to his credentials.
What makes this contractor’s story truly interesting, though, is his road to success. Calling it rather tortuous would be an understatement. He started his business in 1977 after the property management company for which he was working restructured and decided to outsource all its services. Newlin was asked to fire his entire maintenance crew in one day, which he did, only to hire half of them back a short time later after he started his own company. Twice, since then, he has fallen victim to eminent domain and has been forced to relocate.
Three times now, this entrepreneur has made lemonade out of lemons. Talking with him, though, gives one the impression that overcoming obstacles is simply part of doing business. His story goes like this.
After leaving the property management company, Newlin traded an old 1955 pickup truck for two lawn mowers, purchased a couple of pieces of equipment from his previous employer, who no longer had use for them, and started operating out of his backyard. Although most of his business was in maintenance at the time, he had always dabbled in design/build and offered it as a service, as well.
Newlin’s company focused on providing design/build and maintenance services for three years. During that time, the owner saw a need for a garden center, and he eventually opened one, along with a two-acre retail nursery. His mother and father and his wife ran the retail operations.
As the garden center business grew, so did his landscaping business. In fact, Newlin says the retail business had a tremendous impact on the direction of his landscaping operation. “When you operate a retail garden center, you naturally serve the entire community. Some customers will want you to plant a tree or two for them or help them decide on other plant material, whereas others will want you to design and install a complete landscaping project.”
Retail customers included doctors, lawyers, and other professionals as well as the “person next door.” Because of its exposure to a large cross section of the population, Newlin’s company found itself working on small and large commercial and residential projects — and virtually everything in between. To accommodate a broad range of customer needs, Newlin developed specialized teams. For garden center customers, he offers a “We Plan, You Plant” program, supported by a designer and a small planting team. Designed primarily for the do-it-yourself homeowner, the program instructs customers on how to landscape their properties and gives them support if they need it.
The company also has three teams for its landscape divisions — a commercial team, a design/build team, and a planting team. It also has three teams for its maintenance division — a full-service team, a horticulture team, and an estate management team. There is also an irrigation division with a service team. Together, the teams and garden centers employ 200 people year-round and 240 in season.
Not long after opening the garden center, Newlin was forced to relocate to make room for a new community project. He moved the garden center to his nursery location, but the move was only temporary. “At the time, we realized that an interchange for a new highway loop around Greensboro was to be located near our new location, but it was not supposed to affect us. When the project expanded, we were forced to relocate again.” This time, though, Newlin and company did not go far. In partnership with area developers, he purchased a parcel of land adjoining the garden center and started developing a small village of shops. Coincidentally, all the shops offer products to enhance the home and outdoor living areas. The development is only 30 percent completed, but already the tenants include a wild bird feed retailer and other companies that specialize in pools, spas, decks, and fences.
Newlin attributes his company’s success to many things. Sure, he has fortitude, which comes from his love of the business and his desire to see it grow. He says he also has had tremendous family support from his mother, father, and wife down to his brother, Larry, who left the business in 2002 but was instrumental in building the garden center portion of the operation.
Also contributing to the company’s success is a tremendous core of leaders and dedicated Hispanic employees. Most of its leaders have grown with the company, many for more than a decade. The Hispanic influence came from a single contact with a church, and the group now comprises the majority of the full-time workforce. Newlin says that Hispanic workers have been very instrumental in the company’s growth and that his staff overall has been the company’s “salvation.”
Newlin admits that at times he also acts like a “sponge,” soaking up as much information as he can from other ALCA members. In his words, “Through ALCA, we have developed a network of great friends who work for many outstanding companies. Just visiting with them over the phone or in person gives us great insight into important issues, such as safety and training, and allows us to do a better job managing our company.”
During his most recent relocation, he and several managers traveled around the country visiting ALCA members who were either in the process of building a new facility or who had a new one up and running. From them, he learned about some of the challenges associated with constructing a new facility. Not one to be shy about asking for advice, Newlin says he also routinely relies on green industry consultants to make sure his company stays on course.
Closing in now on 30 years in business, this owner is not about to slow down or change direction. In addition to an 18-acre headquarters location in Greensboro, the company operates another more upscale garden center in the city, and it has a satellite facility in nearby Winston-Salem. The three locations allow Newlin and his teams to continue to do what they do best — offer a wide variety of services to a broad range of customers.
6/04
By Rod Dickens, ALCA Contributing Writer
