To celebrate its 120th anniversary, Hortica is expanding its reach, launching new programs and introducing a Web site that's easier to use and "much more modern," says Robert McClellan Jr., president of the company.

"The Web site is one of the first steps we've taken toward more B2B services online," McClellan says. "We want to be viewed as the industry's financial advisor."

Graphically, the new site emphasizes the company's financial services, a shift from the older design, which played up its horticultural affiliations. The company also has modernized many of its non-Web services -- using automation to decrease medical claim processing from 30 days to less than seven days and introducing infrared imaging to help alert customers to potential fire hazards, among other services.

Hortica also is broadening its services to accommodate "the whole horticultural market," including gift shops, nurseries and, most aggressively, landscape services, McClellan says.

"We're focusing on [expanding] landscaping because, in terms of number and volume, those businesses are growing," he says. "We have an aging society, and for the most part, members of the older generation can't manage and care for their lawns as they have in the past."

So what's the secret to a 120-year run in an industry known for high turnover? "We've stayed true to our roots," McClellan says, noting that the company has customers whose affiliation with Hortica dates to 1888, as well as industry partnerships, including a "close friendship" with SAF, that have existed throughout the company's history.

"That's very unusual," he says. "But we're a small company and we really rely on [industry members'] guidance and support."

--Mary Westbrook
mwestbrook@safnow.org

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