Cal Kearns was in the landscaping business for five years before he realized what it took to be a success. The owner of C&D Landscape Company in Dayton, Oregon, had to suffer through early growing pains and a bad economy before he “needed to turn his small company into a real business.”
“I decided that if I were to stay in landscaping, I had to be more professional, with uniforms and nice-looking vehicles,” Kearns recalls. “I also intuitively knew that I had to be more committed to the industry. I did so by joining and participating in our state’s landscaping association.” Kearns also started to take more educational courses to bolster his knowledge of the business side of landscaping. He even brought in a couple of business advisors.
The commitment paid off. C&D now does a robust business with three divisions: landscape installation, maintenance and Christmas Décor. Located in the Willamette Valley, right in the heart of Oregon’s wine country, the company has developed a loyal clientele comprised of vineyards, high-end residential properties, bed and breakfast hotels, restaurants and other commercial establishments.
“Our location has given us the opportunity to take advantage of the growing wine industry here,” Kearns relates. It wasn’t always this way, he quickly adds, noting that his first big property was a K-Mart store back in the mid-1980s. Before then it was tough sledding.
“I grew up on a turkey farm in Dayton and always dreamed of being a farmer,” Kearns tells. “In fact, my degree from Oregon State was in Agriculture Education. I taught for three years before eventually pursuing my dream by going to work for a farmer.”
Kearns says his dreams went up in smoke, literally, when an attempt to burn some brush with a gas accelerant backfired. Suffering second-degree burns on his face and hands, he took the accident as a sign that farming might not be for him.
Back to school Kearns went, teaching at an area high school. When the welding instructor asked him to help on an after school landscaping project, Kearns was bitten by the “green” bug. Soon he launched his own company.
“I built my trailer after school in the welding shop, and mimeographed flyers advertising a rototilling and lawn seeding service,” Kearns relates. “Shortly after becoming incorporated, I received a letter from the state indicating that I needed to get a landscaping license. After taking a competency test, I received my license—and I was off and running in my new career.”
Poor Timing
“The late 1970s were not the best time to start a business,” says Kearns. “We were in a recession and I wasn’t doing much maintenance to improve cash flow. I struggled for a few years, and then sold all of my equipment in 1984, only to start all over again, this time with a renewed commitment.”
Kearns says the turning point was getting the new K-Mart store, followed by winning the bid to install and maintain a 25-acre sports complex, with soccer and baseball fields, in nearby McMinnville. When more homeowners started to call for maintenance services, he knew that he needed something more commercially oriented for mowing than his John Deere garden tractor. Kearns found it at an Oregon trade show.
“I saw a Walker Mower and immediately was taken by its front deck, collecting system and quality of cut,” Kearns says. “I found out later that it could also handle the wet grass we have here. One Walker Mower led to another, and today we operate nine gas-powered models with 42-inch GHS decks.
“Each of our nine maintenance crews has a Walker Mower and a 21-inch push mower,” Kearns continues. “Because of the wet conditions, we use a more aggressive tire tread on the Walkers, which means our employees are trained to be extra careful on turns.”
Kearns has two sons who work with him in the business, Josh and Isaac. Josh is the company lead designer while Isaac heads up the maintenance division. “For handling properties with an excessive amount of clippings, we have a Clipper King trailer,” says Isaac. “Area dairy farmers gladly take the clippings off our hands. For large-area mowing, one crew uses an Exmark rider. A few mid-size walk-behind mowers come in handy for more hilly areas.
“The Walker Mowers, though, are ideal for mowing our vineyard customers and high-end estates,” Isaac continues. “In fact, during wine tasting season, crews mow our vineyard properties twice a week to keep them perfectly manicured.”
Isaac, who is 29 years old, explains that the vineyards and estates have been great for business for better than a decade. The winery business brought with it the vineyard owners who’ve built beautiful estates. The vineyards have also created a vibrant tourist trade, with accompanying restaurants and beautiful bed and breakfast hotels—the operators of which all want nicely manicured properties.
“You know, our maintenance division used to be the ‘red-headed step child’, but not anymore,” Isaac muses. “The vineyards have created a demand for our maintenance service, and we’ve also added a sizeable enhancement operation.”
Last year, C&D Landscape generated approximately $3.3 million in sales, with installation and maintenance accounting for 60 percent and 38 percent of the total, respectively. The relatively new Christmas Décor division accounted for the remainder. “Maintenance is broken down 60 percent residential and 40 percent commercial,” Kearns adds, noting that despite an anemic economy, it was up a “slight tick” in ’09.
The company moved to a 4.5-acre site in Dayton two years ago. A new 50’ x 140’ shop was completed last fall. Plans call for a pot-in-pot nursery operation at the new location, along with a retail garden center. The latter will likely fall under the auspices of Kearns’ wife, Debbie, and daughter Abby, who has a degree in interior design. Debbie is a career developer while Abby currently is on a mission in Peru. Two other siblings, Sarah and Caleb, live out of state. Even Sarah has a say in the landscaping operation; she produces the company’s quarterly newsletter.
If there’s a lesson to be learned after being in business 32 years, Kearns says it’s finding something you love to do and committing yourself to it. He goes back to that word, “commitment.”
“Commitment is more than doing quality work, having uniforms, running your business like a business and getting involved with the industry,” Kearns emphasizes. “I believe that commitment also means getting involved with your community. We maintain a home for battered wives, are active members of the chamber of commerce, and support several children’s charities. Our family has a real passion for children.
“No matter what business you’re in, one has to maintain a perspective,” Kearns adds. “For us, it’s faith and family first, and then business. We have a succession plan in place. I would like to retire by age 62, and then maybe Debbie and I can go on a few more missions. I will stay involved with the company in some capacity, but as one can tell, Josh and Isaac already have a good handle on what’s going on.”
What’s going on is that the family intends to stay committed and grow the business. One last thought from Kearns: “We’ve had steady, slow growth until the last year. If you take care of everyone, not just your biggest customers, it will come back to you. The smaller projects will get you through the tough times.”
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