Maine contractor Booth Hemingway built a great company over the past 37 years—so great that a group of investors just bought it.
Booth Hemingway grew his company from a bare bones operation. Walker Talk readers have heard similar stories before. An aspiring landscape contractor pulls around a $700 trailer and an old Locke reel lawn mower with a used Datsun pickup. The first year, he grossed $26,000 with the help of three part-time employees.
That was 37 years ago, and the only reminder of those early days is the old Locke mower that sits at the rear of the shop. Last fall, Hemingway sold his company, Piscataqua Landscaping & Tree Service in Eliot, Maine, to an investment group in Portland, Maine. The company name, employees and all the equipment, including his 23 Walker Mowers, stayed on the job.
Good Investment
The new owners purchased a well-established and very successful company. Piscataqua Landscaping & Tree Service is a full-service landscape management company. In addition to providing an array of construction and maintenance services to both residential and commercial clients throughout the New Hampshire and southern Maine seacoast areas, it also has a plant health care and tree division.
In 2015 its revenue stream was divided among construction at 34.7%, maintenance at 32.1%, snow at 24.4%, and irrigation/night lighting and plant health care/tree at 8.8%. Hemingway anticipated that the final percentages for last year would reflect more construction sales and less snow.
When asked how his company grew from a small startup into an attractive purchase for investors, Hemingway cites the following:
- Slow, planned growth
- Systems, including having the right setup/equipment
- Investment in his employees.
Planned growth
Slow, planned growth over the years allowed Piscataqua Landscaping (named after the river that borders Maine and New Hampshire) to build a company with 100-plus employees and 22 maintenance crews (10 of which mow). Hemingway added components as demand for new services increased and the personnel and equipment to deliver them were in his possession.
If there ever was a big break, it came relatively early on when Hemingway developed a working relationship with a real estate company. That helped get the company into construction, which naturally grew maintenance work.
The other services followed in due course as demand for them evolved and the owner felt comfortable in providing them. All were developed organically except the plant health care and tree division, which was added with the purchase of a tree care company.
“Growing slowly was important to me,” Hemingway emphasizes. “I didn’t know everything about running a business. Over the years, I used various consultants and attended several educational events and conventions. ALCA (now the National Association of Landscape Professionals) had a tremendous impact on me. I would attend its educational programs, learn from the larger companies, and bring business-building ideas home with me.
Booth Hemingway with Walker Mower operator Aaron Soucy. After 37 years in business, Hemingway sold his company last fall to a group of investors.
The company maintenance division is home to 22 crews, including 10 dedicated to mowing.
One of the company’s 23 Walker Mowers in action.
A longtime proponent of kaizen, Hemingway says all tools, including those in this trailer, have specific homes.
“Growth came naturally by constantly improving our product and our staff’s work experience, and offering clients superior service,” Hemingway adds. “It was only the last 10 years or so that we began to more aggressively market our services.”
Systematic Approach
The creation of systems made for an efficient operation and helped increase the company’s sales 35 out of the last 37 years. “The key word has been kaizen, the constant improvement in all that we do,” says Hemingway. “I first heard the term years ago at an ALCA convention.
“We became 100% paperless using LMN Software and Mini iPads,” he continues. “All tools and equipment have specific homes so that employees always know exactly where to find them. All major equipment such as trucks, trailers, Walker Mowers and skid-steer loaders are replaced on a scheduled basis.”
Hemingway purchased his first Walker with a 42-inch deck in 1990 after seeing an article in a trade publication. “We found that one Walker Mower with the GHS bagging system could replace two walk-behind mowers, and it did a much better and faster job of collecting clippings and leaves,” he adds. “Thanks to the machines’ superior hydraulic steering design, they are also much easier to operate than other zero-turn mowers.
“Crews have tried out similarly designed mowers, but Walker has always been their unanimous choice. Our loyalty to the machine over the years has been strengthened by upgrades that continue to improve performance.”
Every lawn maintenance trailer has two 25-hp Walker Mowers with 48-inch GHS decks, in addition to one push mower, three string line trimmers, two backpack blowers, and assorted tools. The mowing division runs two-person crews.
Hemingway emphasizes that everything a crew could possibly need is located inside the trailers. “Trailer/equipment setups, as well as having the most efficient crew sizes, are part of a systems approach,” Hemingway explains. “So, too, is providing regular mechanical maintenance, such as sharpening blades every day and washing trucks.”
Investing In People
Prior to starting Piscataqua Landscaping, Hemingway earned a four-year degree in Spanish and a two-year degree in horticulture. He started his career baling hay and mowing lawns, later becoming a gardener on a private estate. He was employed there for seven years before going to work for a landscape contractor, and after that a tree service company.
“Investing in education and certification is money well spent. It not only enhances client satisfaction and company awareness, but also instills pride and confidence within employees.” –Booth Hemingway
“Thinking back, surrounding myself with talented staff was just as important to the company’s success as developing systems,” says Hemingway. “Investing in your employees is critical. Owners can do that in many different ways, anything from providing growth opportunities within the company and having great projects for them to work on, to supplying them with the right equipment for the job, along with the proper training.
“Investing in education and certification is money well spent,” Hemingway adds. “It not only enhances client satisfaction and company awareness, but also instills pride and confidence within employees. Successful companies never stop improving and learning. I believe strongly that company owners also need to invest in their communities, to give back to those who’ve supported them over the years, and to invest in themselves, by planning ahead for the day they retire.”
For Hemingway, a gradual, systematic approach to growth, implemented by a well-trained staff, provided the path to success. It worked for him and can work for other company owners who also started out with a used truck, trailer and old mower—and a dream.
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