Vol. XIV No. 6
November / December 2020
Serving Soil, Mulch, Compost & Wood Pellet Producers www.SoilandMulchProducerNews.com
NEWS
Mulch Manufacturing, National Storm Recovery Merger Creates Outstanding Business Model
I
t could turn out to be one of the most notable marriages of 2020. No, not the Dennis Quaid and Laura Savoie nuptials, or the tying of the knot between Princess Beatrice and Edo Mapelli Mozzi, or even the exchanging of vows between Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost. We’re talking here about something more down to earth: the joining together of Mulch Manufacturing and National Storm Recovery into the Sustainable Green Team. Both Ralph Spencer, chief executive officer of Mulch Manufacturing, and Tony Raynor, CEO of the Sustainable Green Team, both said the combination of businesses created “an By P.J. Heller industry powerhouse.” “This looked like a good marriage for Aerial view of plant at Apopka, Fla. Photos courtesy of Mulch Manufacturing, Sustainable Green Team. several reasons,” explained John Spencer, who founded Mulch Manufacturing in 1985 in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. The company has since which could address the needs of each of more expensive. And the availability keeps grown to become one of the largest wholesale the combined customers with a new level of going down. We were paying top dollar for the and retail mulch suppliers in the nation. quality and cost effectiveness,” said Mulch wood fiber. We bought it either locally, for National Storm Recovery, based in Florida, Manufacturing. hardwoods, or were shipping cypress up here provides storm and disaster recovery services, The merger with National Storm Recovery [to Ohio] by rail.” including dangerous tree removal, debris made eminent sense for Mulch Manufacturing, As part of the merger, Mulch Manufacturing hauling and debris management. Its subsidiary, John Spencer said, noting that it gave the closed its processing facility in Ohio and moved Central Florida Arbor Care, specializes in tree company a continuing source of feedstock for the operation to Florida, which among other removal, tree care and services, stump grinding, mulch at no cost. things gave it better access to cypress. grapple hauling and storm recovery. “The most prominent reason [for the These days, National Storm Recovery The combined companies, now under merger] is access to feedstock for mulch,” he gets paid to collect logs from its governmental, the banner of the said. The merger, residential and commercial customers and then Sustainable Green he said, addressed brings them to the mulch facility. Team, reported the problem “The only cost for us is grinding it into revenues of $24.5 of feedstock mulch,” John Spencer said. million for the first availability and the T h e m e rg e r a l s o a l l ow e d M u l c h nine months of fact that “the cost Manufacturing to expand its operations in 2020. of lumber has gone Florida. National Storm Recovery will market “ T h e through the roof. Mulch Manufacturing’s Softscape mulch Sustainable Green “ We h av e products throughout central Florida as well as Team was created a sawmill so we other bulk and bagged cypress mulch products by combining the know a lot about that it produces. resources of three the price of lumber “It extends our reach, it gives us more companies which and timber,” he production capability in the area where the raw were leaders in added. “It keeps materials are, and enhances our ability to get a their specialty to getting more supply of feedstock,” John Spencer said. create a company expensive and Continued on page 3 Aerial view of plant at Callahan, Fla.