Google: Mowing with Goats

Earlier this month, Google announced they were using a herd of 200 goats to clear weeds and brush.  I really didn’t make this up. From the official Google blog:  “At our Mountain View headquarters, we have some fields that we need to mow occasionally to clear weeds and brush to reduce fire hazard. This spring we decided to take a low-carbon approach: Instead of using noisy mowers that run on gasoline and pollute the air, we’ve rented some goats from California Grazing to do the job for us (we’re not “kidding”). A herder brings about 200 goats and they spend … Read more

Lawn & Landscape: TruGreen Seeking Acquisitions

Lawn & Landscape is reporting that TruGreen is exploring opportunities to expand its lawn, tree and shrub care business in North America by acquiring companies that have built a strong customer base in their markets and share TruGreen’s commitment to excellent customer service and reliability. They quote newly-named TruGreen president Styeven Donly as saying, “Strategic acquisitions have always been a fundamental component of TruGreen’s growth strategy. We believe we can bring owners a compelling business case for growth and create a winning combination for customers looking for outstanding service from a brand they can trust.”

Employee Ownership Helps Drive Success in the Green Industry

Employee ownership within the green industry is neither new nor unusual. Green industry companies are often owner-managed and there has often been a desire to make an ownership opportunity available to key employees, either to facilitate a business transition or to retain key employees. A number of leading companies within the industry are employee-owned and, although the data is limited, employee-owned companies seem to have performed better than the industry as a whole. Several of these employee-owned companies have been aggressive acquirers of other green industry businesses over the past year. The Davey Tree Expert Company is the largest employee-owned … Read more

Koolfog Acquires Creative Mist Systems, Leading Supplier of Misting Systems and Outdoor Cooling & Heating Products

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Koolfog, Inc., the leader in outdoor cooling and humidification, today announced it has acquiredCreative Mist Systems, Inc., a privately-held provider of outdoor misting systems and heating products located in Palm Desert, California. Koolfog is acquiring Creative Mist Systems to expand its services and product offerings to residential and small business customers. The terms of the acquisition, which was completed today, were not disclosed. “Homeowners and small businesses are looking for cost-effective and sensible solutions to take advantage of outdoor living spaces making them more comfortable and functional,” said Bryan Roe, president of Koolfog, Inc. “Creative Mist … Read more

Pathway Landscape and ParadiseFSLandscaping Announce Strategic Partnership

April 17, 2009 – Pathway Landscape a leading provider of landscape architect design solutions to Arizona residents, and Paradisefslandscaping, a Scottsdale based landscape maintenance company specializing in full service landscaping maintenance and upkeep have announced a strategic partnership to deliver quality landscaping solutions across the Phoenix AZ area. Pathwaylandscape and Paradisefslandscaping are avid supporters of the Green movement and apply this philosophy to their landscaping designs in Arizona. Both companies provide extensive support for natural environmental development and impact studies of the all of the design and construction are assessed for the homeowner or business. “We welcome our new partnership … Read more