LAYTONSVILLE, Md. – Ruppert Landscape has acquired New River Landscape, a Raleigh, N.C.-based company, which provides commercial grounds management services. The transaction includes the purchase of commercial landscape management contracts, trucks, equipment and the hiring of employees. The commercial clients are primarily based in the counties of Wake, Orange, Durham Counties, Robeson and Guilford.
This is the second acquisition Ruppert has made in the Raleigh area this year. Earlier this year, Ruppert announced the acquisition of the operations of Eco Scapes, another commercial grounds management company in Raleigh.
New River Landscape has strong relationships with a prestigious list of customers in the Raleigh area. “Any time we can align ourselves with a team who has successfully exceeded customers’ expectations it makes us a stronger organization,” said President Chris Davitt. “We now have even more resources to serve our customers in the Raleigh Durham market and our regional customers in the neighboring Charlotte and Atlanta markets we serve.
“Ruppert’s growth has historically been organic in the East Coast markets it serves,” Davitt continued. “Yet, we always have an eye out to join forces with people or companies that can make us a stronger team and complements our customer first, family-oriented philosophy.”
David Blakeley, the founder of New River Landscape and industry veteran with nearly 30 years of experience, has been developing relationships in the Raleigh market for more than 15 years. Blakeley will continue to run a related business he owns that services Charlotte and other markets. “When we began talks with Ruppert about this deal, we were interested in finding an organization that would provide the level of service and responsiveness that our customers had grown to expect and I am confident we found that with Ruppert,” said Blakeley. Blakeley’s business partner, Jeff Sosa, who has been largely responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Raleigh operation, is joining the Ruppert team and will play an integral management role. He brings with him over 20 years of industry experience and will be an invaluable asset in the transition and restructuring that will occur.
“I am looking forward to the new opportunities that working with Ruppert will bring,” said Sosa. “I hope that my involvement, along with the other 22 employees who will now be employed by Ruppert, will help make this transition seamless for our customers and provide greater opportunities for employees.”