George Moore Jr. says he never planned on growing his company to the size it is today. Yet, in 10 short years, his company, Green Acres Landscaping, in Ridgeville, South Carolina, has grown from a one-person operation into a large, full-service landscape company. And it has a reputation that gives it entrée into some of the most prestigious commercial properties in the Charleston area.
How did this former drug store manager do so much in so little time? “I don’t really know,” he says, shrugging his shoulders. “I have a strong faith, and have had lots of help from so many people over the years. When starting the business, I didn’t know anything about the industry. But I can say now that I truly love what I do. That makes all the difference in the world — having a desire to get the day going and doing the best you can do.”
Moore’s story is not unlike that of others in the industry. Wanting to try something different one day, he purchased two consumer riders with his credit card, and started mowing lawns. The riders lasted him four months.
“I realized I purchased the wrong equipment,” he admits, “so I visited an equipment dealer and bought a Walker. It had a Kohler 16-hp engine. I purchased two decks, as well.”
Yes, the Walker cut circles around his old mowers, but it did something he wasn’t expecting, too. Since he could finish his routes faster, he had more time to solicit and plan.
That one, seemingly innocent move early on, to buy the right mower for the application, gave Moore the boost he needed. He purchased another Walker in six months, and the rest is history. Today, Green Acres Landscaping operates nine Walkers, two powered by liquid-cooled engines and seven air-cooled models.
“I think I have more mowers than decks,” he laughs, “but the Walkers have been vital to my growth. Nothing compares to them for quality of cut, and there’s not a better vacuum system on the market.”
Moore continued to provide maintenance services exclusively until five years ago when he picked up a $15,000 construction project. Today, construction, including irrigation installation, accounts for 65% of Green Acres’ revenue.
Efficiency Pays Off
The maintenance side of his business has held its own, despite construction growth. According to maintenance manager Pam Sweatman, Green Acres’ mowing crews find their way to 130 high-end properties weekly. Accounts include business parks, resorts, high-profile homes, and a good share of the Hardees and Burger King restaurants in the Charleston area.
Sweatman, who has been with Green Acres from the start, remembers those early days with the Walker.
She says, “When I was mowing, I usually had an audience watching me. At the time, I think we were the only Walker operator in the area. Now, just about every other trailer has a Walker on it.”
Interestingly, Green Acres’ mowing trailers have other competitive brands, too. A Dixie Chopper, a couple of Great Danes and a Toro with an 18-foot cut operate on some of the same properties as the Walkers, albeit at a different application.
“Three years ago, our mowing crews had to become even more efficient than they already were,” tells Moore. “Fuel costs were on the rise and labor was short.To speed up our operation, we purchased a Toro wide-area mower. The move improved our efficiency to the point we went from nine mowing crews to six. Since then, we’ve added a couple mid-mount zero-turn mowers to complement our Walker lineup.
“We used to employ the Walkers for everything, including properties that required upwards of 50 acres of mowing. It just wasn’t efficient to use them there, or in other areas where we couldn’t take optimum advantage of their unique features.”
As Moore points out, one of the keys to a successful maintenance operation is efficiency. The Toro, for example, paid for itself in two years, and he expects similar returns on his new mid-mounts. As for the Walkers, his crews don’t put nearly as many hours on them as they once did, although they are still a fundamental part of the operation. In fact, this year Green Acres purchased two new Walkers.
“They are ideal for high-profile areas and for picking up debris,” relates Sweatman.“As far as I’m concerned, there will always be a place for a Walker as long as I’m here.”
Moore doesn’t disagree. He just prefers fine-tuning his operation so he’s using the right equipment for the job. He asks rhetorically, “Why burn out a Walker or two and use extra employees when a wide-area mower will get the job done faster?” There is a place for widearea mowers, mid-mounts and Walkers. The key, he says, is to know when and where to use them.
The Green Acres maintenance staff attends to properties four days a week; the fifth day is allocated for servicing equipment. Altogether, there are six maintenance crews, three mowing crews (widearea mowing) and three enhancement crews. In addition to mowing, the maintenance crews, equipped with Walkers, provide other maintenance services such as pruning, weeding and edging. Each crew has three to four crew members.
The three mowing crews operate the wide-area mower and 72-inch midmounts.These one-person crews tackle the big mowing jobs, e.g., the long medians that stretch for literally miles in some of the resort communities. Enhancement crews do the mulching and small plantings.
On the construction side, Green Acres has six crews: two irrigation crews, two planting crews and two that can do both. Three tractors, a skid-steer, a backhoe and dump truck, along with a full complement of attachments, provide the muscle in this division.
Both the maintenance and construction crews are currently working on projects on Daniel Island, just across the Cooper River from North Charleston.
“We are literally building a new city here,” tells Moore. “This is one of those exciting projects that you can follow from the ground up. Our construction and enhancement crews are very busy, and so are our mowing and maintenance crews that are mowing upwards of 45 acres on the island alone.”
Growing With People
Green Acres Landscaping grew from literally nothing to projects such as Daniel Island in a relatively short time.The company operates on a 100-acre property 30 miles northwest of Charleston. In addition to Green Acres, Moore also operates Reevesville Tree Farm, and his wife Karen operates a poultry farm.
When pressed again to divulge his secrets to success, Moore reiterates his love for what he does, and tips his hat to his people, many of whom, like Sweatman, have been with him from the beginning.
“It seems that whenever we needed someone, he or she showed up,” says Moore, who emphasizes that no matter how good you think your company is, it’s only as good as the people who do the work. From employees such as landscape maintenance manager Sweatman and landscape manager Mike Manning to supervisors like Jake Brooks, Gilbert Mack, and Mack Ross, who have been with Moore nearly from the beginning, Green Acres looks to its people to bring continued success. Moore understands the value of his most important resource — all of his employees — and works to keep them informed and working together like a team.
Of his 100 employees, approximately 25% are Hispanic. He brings them into the company culture in part by printing the company newsletter in both Spanish and English,and having a translator at all meetings, including monthly safety meetings.
“People are key, but don’t leave out the Walkers as part of my success equation,” he emphasizes. “Finding the right equipment for the application has allowed us to provide the best service possible while maintaining the high level of efficiency needed to be successful in today’s marketplace. There’s a place on our trailers for several quality brand names, but I can say categorically, we wouldn’t be where we are today without the Walkers.”
Site Search
