Pacific Landscape Management celebrates 25 years of operational excellence whilst preparing for its next chapter
Founded from humble roots in 2001, Pacific Landscape Management (Pacific Landscape) has transformed from a regional startup into one of the Pacific Northwest’s most trusted providers of full-service landscape solutions. With a clear mission to be the industry leader in service and professionalism, the company has steadily expanded its footprint across Oregon and Washington and now serves thousands of properties with a team of 500 skilled professionals. Through a commitment to client partnerships, operational excellence, and forward-thinking sustainability practices, Pacific Landscape redefines what it means to manage and enhance outdoor spaces, all delivered with the highest quality of service every time.
When Construction Today last sat down with Bob Grover, President and Co-Founder of Pacific Landscape, in 2021, we took a deep dive into the company’s history and its approach to providing exceptional service. This year, as the business celebrates its 25th anniversary, we reunite with Bob to reflect on this incredible milestone and learn more about what the company’s next chapter might hold.
“2021 was a transformational year,” Bob says, recounting our previous conversation. “The company was turning 20 and I was turning 60. I was at a crossroads trying to determine what the long-term strategy was for Pacific, how I wanted to retire, and how to transition the legacy of the business. At that point, there was a lot of interest surrounding equity partners investing in organizations to help them grow and that’s what we decided to do, because we wanted to keep our brand and our culture. We needed to move into new markets, and a big step like that needed capital, so we took on an equity partner to help us on our growth journey.
“With their help, we moved into the Seattle market and had great success, later expanding into a West Coast-Southwest organization,” he continues. “We’ve now partnered with a company in Texas and are excited to do so with another company in California very soon. Now, as I prepare to retire at some point, I feel very comfortable that we’ve created opportunity for our team and will be able to maintain our brand and culture for the long term. It’s been a great five years.”
Expansion strategy
Through a strategic blend of organic and acquisitive growth, Pacific Landscape continues to expand into new markets. The decision to bring on an equity partner has laid the foundations for a more intentional, regionally focused long-term strategy, suitably balancing expansion with a commitment to preserving strong local brands amongst the company’s existing legacy.
“Our growth strategy is centered around the Pacific Northwest, specifically within the Portland and Seattle markets,” Bob elaborates. “We’d operated in Portland for 20 years, but we had several customers that also had properties in Seattle and were frequently asking when we were going to expand into the region, so it was a natural move for us. When we expanded to Seattle, we acquired a couple of companies and rebranded them to Pacscape, as there was already a brand with our name in the Seattle market. At that point, our acquisition strategy beyond the Northwest was to partner with great brands that had great reputations, so we created the parent company Osprey Landscaping Group. For instance, when we moved into the Texas market, we partnered with a company called Earthworks Landscape and were able to retain their brand.”
This disciplined approach to expansion and brand integration has laid a solid foundation for the company’s long-term success – one that allows it to continue to build on its existing legacy. By building a strong executive team and empowering experienced leaders to take on operational responsibilities, Bob is confident that the business is well-positioned to continue to grow and succeed long into the future.
“Though I’m committed to being here for another five to ten years, I’ve looked into a long-term retirement plan for myself,” Bob reveals. “When we expanded beyond Seattle, I wasn’t necessarily at a point in my career where I’d want to travel and get involved in learning new markets, so we hired somebody to be the CEO of Osprey Landscape Group. We brought in an industry veteran who’s spent his whole career in landscaping, predominantly in California: Josh Dake. I delegated responsibility to him.
“Around a year later, I then decided to move away from the day-to-day operations management, so promoted one of our branch managers in Portland to be our Vice President of Operations, Portland: Adam Flint – along with our Vice President of Operations in Seattle, Tom DiMeco. Now, I act as more of an ambassador and advisor to the organization.”
Prioritizing people
As Pacific Landscape celebrates its 25th anniversary, Bob is optimistic for the company’s future. Reflecting on the journey thus far, he credits two core factors for driving the business’ longevity and enduring success.
“It all comes down to attracting great people,” Bob reveals. “While our primary focus is taking care of landscapes, we’re also very people focused, and we’ve done a great job of attracting, developing, and providing opportunities for people. We have a very low turnover, especially at a leadership level, which has helped to provide a great service for our customers. When you have an account manager who’s managed your property for a decade, you get a really special kind of service.
“The second big thing is that we’re phenomenally diligent at communicating; we even call it ‘over-communicating’,” he adds. “Our philosophy is that if a customer calls us and asks us a question about a property that we don’t already have the answer to, then we don’t know enough about the property. We want to be one step ahead of our customers and able to correct a problem before it arises. We’re not just going to tell you stupid stuff to generate revenue; we’re going to be advocates for your landscape and help you to get the best value for the money that you invest into your property.”
Pacific Landscape is well-positioned to carry its legacy forward into the next generation. Guided by the same values that shaped its first 25 years – exceptional service, strong relationships, and a passion for doing things the right way – the business is set to continue thriving as a trusted landscape leader across the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
“Across all of our service areas, it’s important that we continue to do what it takes to retain our customers,” Bob affirms. “We don’t want to focus on growth and forget who got us there. We’re going to be diligent in continuing to perfect our services and make sure that we stay ahead of the curve on any issues that might arise for our customers – that comes first and foremost.
“Additionally, we want to continue to grow in each of our markets,” he says, concluding our conversation. “Organic growth is really important to us, and we want to provide more opportunities for people in Portland, Seattle, Dallas, and Houston. In terms of expansion, we’d like to grow into California and Arizona. We intend to remain a West Coast and Southwest organization.”