Barnes Nursery Inc. is a third generation family owned and operated nursery and landscape business. Established in 1950, and located in Huron Ohio, they started out as a small rose production business. Over the years, they have been very successful in the horticulture field, and have grown to be a well-known nursery and landscape contractor.
Barnes Nursery provides many different services to both commercial and residential customers. The majority of their business takes place in northeastern and central Ohio, but they also cater to other parts of the state and neighboring states when needed. Due to their quality and reputation, they no longer depend or feel the need to advertise strongly for business. Many of their job sites and projects have been highly recognized by local, national and international organizations.
When the company was started there were only two employees, but now they employ close to two hundred people during their busy seasons. Many of these employees are so dedicated that they have continued to work with Barnes for many years, providing loyal and dependable work. Before a person is appointed a high rank position, such as a foreman or designer, they must work their way up to a certain level. "Work in the trenches" so to speak. This helps to assure quality management skills and knowledge of the companies values and goals.
There are five divisions of labor at Barnes Nursery Inc. They consist of landscape design and installation, landscape maintenance, lawn and tree care, production nursery, and organic recovery (compost facility). Most of these divisions are located out of one shop, with the exception of a few field grown nursery plants and the compost facility.
Two full time employees, who spend countless hours to achieve the clients' desires and expectations, take care of the landscape designs. They claim that it is almost impossible to be completely caught up on their demands for designs. After the desired design is chosen, a well skilled installation crew steps in to put everything together. They are skilled to do just about any type of project, and have often been requested to travel hundreds of miles to design and install a loyal customers landscape.
The landscape maintenance and lawn and tree care crews are also well equipped and trained to take on even the biggest jobs. These two divisions employ the majority of the 200 workers needed in the peak seasons. Many of the design and installation accounts bring more work for these maintenance divisions, since many customers like to stay with one company and have everything taken care of.
The nursery production division also continues to grow to meet their wholesale orders and their design/installation crews. They produce their plant material in green houses, containers, and field plantings. They also keep a small nursery stock next to the office along with other nursery and garden supplies for their customers.
The last division of the company is what impressed me the most. The organic recovery or composting facility is a very large and productive operation. Over 20,000 tons of plant materials are recycled to produce compost, mulch and soil. These finished products are then used largely in Barnes' own use for job sites and production, and they are also sold to homeowners and other nurseries. The cost of this machinery is very high and it requires skilled employees to operate and manage it effectively. Plastic in the recycled material is the number one problem and enemy in this process. Not only does the plastic cause damage to the machines; it contaminates the finished product as well.
I was very impressed with the Barnes Nursery operation. They provide a good example of what commitment, knowledge and hard work can do for a company in this field.