Masters Green Inc.

Business is growing for Masters Green Inc.

Business is growing for Masters Green Inc., a Sterling Heights-based lawn-care company that plans to open 20 branches in the next 10 years. Three of those are expected to open this fall in northern Oakland County; Columbus, Ohio; and northwest Chicago. The company is encouraged by the success of its newest branches in West Chicago and Mount Prospect, Ill., which combined have boosted revenue by about 15 percent in the past year. Masters Green, which currently has five offices, expects revenue of $8.2 million this year, up from $7 million in 2004. President Paul Wagner, 44, said the new offices probably would open in Detroit, Chicago and cities in Ohio and Indiana.

"We have a lot of gaps to fill in here before we venture outside of the Midwest," said Wagner, whose company has about 100 employees. Masters Green had its best sales week ever during the last week of March - a total of $300,000 in new business. With additional clients coming into the new offices, as well as the addition of new services such as mosquito spraying, the company expects revenue will continue to increase by 20 to 25 percent in each of the next 10 years.

"We're finding that as our experience grows in opening new offices, it becomes easier for us," said Wagner, who spends up to $400,000 to open each office.

Wagner started Masters Green in 1987 with only $3,000 in savings and an office in his garage. He had previously worked as a sales manager for The Trugreen Cos. in Tennessee and Atlanta-based Orkin Inc. Wagner conducted sales over the telephone to secure 700 clients in the first year. That number has climbed to more than 20,000 residential and commercial customers in Southeast Michigan and Illinois. Residential customers account for about 92 percent of Masters Greens' business, Wagner said.

Much of Masters Greens' growth has come from the company's emphasis on customer service, Wagner said. For example, employees respond to customers' calls within 24 hours - sometimes within the same day. Customers also can pay bills and submit service requests through the company Web site.

One of Masters Green's clients is Farmington Hills-based D&H Income Property Management Inc., which maintains and rents out houses for people who are sent overseas for months on work assignments. Masters Green has done lawn care for many of those homes in the past five years. "If they go to more areas, we can throw more business their way," office manager Randy Curn said.

But it can be tough to gain new business in metro Detroit, said Keith Houle, president of Sterling Heights-based Keith's Lawn Care. He said startup companies and national companies often both offer low prices that can sometimes force medium-sized businesses to drive their pricing down too far.

" There's more than enough work, but it's a tough market when you have allthese other obstacles to go around," said Houle, whose company has been in business for 13 years.

Sheena Harrison: (313) 446-0325, sharrison@crain.com To read the full story go to http://www.crainsdetroit.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?articleId=26814 For news headlines throughout the business day, go to: http://www.crainsdetroit.com