The story of Hanson Landscape is not just that of a successful, award-winning, family-owned and operated professional landscape service. It’s also a phenomenal growth story of hard work, business acumen and diversification.
The seeds for Hanson Landscape were sown by brothers and co-owners Dustin and Branson Hanson in Big Rock, Illinois, during their teen years. Both were passionate about working outdoors. They started lawn maintenance when Dustin was just 15 and Brandon was 18, self-training on the go.
The brothers went on to work at separate landscape companies for a while so they could learn more about the design, installation and business aspects of landscaping. But coming from an entrepreneurial family, they always knew in the back of their minds they would probably work together in a company of their own someday.
In 2005, Dustin decided to go for it. He quit his job and with five crewmembers, two trucks and one skid steer loader, started Hanson Landscape, focusing on landscape construction.
For the next five years, Dustin regularly encouraged Brandon to join him in the business, but Brandon wasn’t ready yet. He says, “When 2010 came around, I finally decided I was making too much money for somebody else. I should be doing this on my own, so I called my brother and said, ’Okay, let’s go.’” Shortly after Brandon came onboard as partner and vice president, the business exploded.
Around the same time, Ryan Kovarik, a commercial builder, joined the company. Ryan had become good friends with the brothers when they did landscape projects for the construction company Ryan had worked for. The three got along so well that they referred to Ryan as a “brother from another mother.” Together as partners, they launched a sister company, Global Power and Construction.
One of Hanson’s commercial landscape customers was ready to build two new, large Infiniti auto dealerships, the first of their kind in Chicagoland. This opportunity was the main impetus for establishing a construction company. While Global Power and Construction designed and was the general contractor for the buildings, Hanson Landscape completed the project with the landscape design and installation.
The partners were well on their way.
Strategies and success
Since 2005, both companies have experienced impressive revenue growth. Hanson Landscape had sales of $400,000 in its first year and is forecast to bring in $10 million in 2023 with 200 employees. Global Power and Construction started from zero in 2010 and is on track to do about $45 million this year with 35 employees.
Their achievements are not only measured in dollars, but in accolades by others in their field. Their awards attest to the quality of their work in designing, building and maintaining landscape installations that include plantings, water features and structures such as pergolas and stone walls.
The companies’ successes can be attributed to several time-honored factors combined with innovative business practices. Brandon recalls how they put in so much sweat equity in the beginning that their families sorely missed them. Even now, their determination and work ethic help them excel.
Commercial customers
Sticking almost exclusively to commercial customers is a major key to the Hansons’ success. They say such a business strategy makes the business nearly recession-proof. Their clients include commercial buildings, office parks and apartment complexes with projects ranging from full property maintenance to landscape design and installation to snow and ice management. Snow removal is big business in Chicagoland, and it’s during those harsh winters that Hanson mainly uses its ultimate tool: New Holland skid steer loaders. Hanson has a fleet of 42 skid steers and four New Holland wheel loaders. It’s the way that Hanson utilizes them that is both strategic and innovative.
The machines are leased on 5-year terms through New Holland’s finance lender, CNH Industrial Capital. Hanson only pays for them from November through April but keeps the units all year to use in landscape applications and to some degree in construction.
Brandon says, “We have pretty much every attachment you can think of: every size auger, seeders, sweepers for construction sites, rotary tillers, pusher boxes for snow removal and salt spreaders.”
At the end of the 5-year lease, Hanson Landscape buys the units outright. They then sell them to the same client each year. They find they can make some money on the transaction because they generally don’t use the skid steers more than the specified hours for the season. Then, they enter into new 5-year leases on new machines. Typically, they release four to seven units each year, keeping their fleet relatively young.
Hanson Landscape’s use of New Holland skid steers has provided them with multiple advantages. It’s well known that there is a current labor shortage, especially in fields requiring manual work. Brandon says one skid steer eliminates the need for two to three laborers. On a landscape installation, that translates to needing only four workers instead of six or seven.
Hanson has used only New Holland skid steers since its inception, so at this stage their operators know the machines inside and out. Many of the operators have been around for a while, and most new hires have experience. Twice-a-year training sessions bump up their expertise. There’s a 3-day training session in the spring, and then before winter starts they conduct a full-day training session on plowing, where to put snow, where not to put snow, how far to stay from vehicles and so forth.
With such a large fleet, a breakdown causes only slight inconveniences. A worker simply pulls another machine and delivers it to the job site. And when all the units are in use in the winter, their New Holland dealer will immediately pick up the down unit and provide a temporary replacement.
Moving forward
A company like Hanson Landscape never sits still. While the snow removal business remains localized around Chicagoland, landscape and construction projects are spread out as far away as Texas and Florida. Global Power and Construction has already opened a branch in Katy, Texas, and Hanson has enough interested clientele to follow suit.
But wherever Hanson Landscape goes, they will not be far from a New Holland dealer ready to serve their equipment needs.
See more of the award-winning work of Hanson Landscape at hansonlandscape.com.