Member Profile Perfect Turf® LLC
230 Gerry Drive Wood Dale, IL 60191 (888) 796-8873 www.perfectturfinc.com by Meta Levin
Ten years ago
Dave Sternberg bought a new house, installed a putting green, and started a new career. It wasn’t intended to be that way. Sternberg was a successful marketing consultant until he bought the new house and had to remove some trees. He decided that the spot where the trees once stood would be perfect for a putting green, so he asked a friend to help. The friend, in turn, liked the idea and asked Sternberg to help him install one in his yard. Both used synthetic turf. By the time they finished, friends and neighbors were interested and when they completed those installations they had a new business, Perfect Turf LLC, based in Wood Dale, IL. The friend, who still is a friend, no longer is Sternberg’s business partner, but the company is booming. As a manufacturer, Perfect Turf LLC designs, produces, and sells synthetic turf nationally and has a few specialty crews to do installation on unusual projects. Primarily, however, they refer to installation contractors and landscape contractors who they have trained and know can do the job right, says Sternberg, “We design our own product and contract with different manufacturing facilities to make it,” he says. Perfect Turf then buys large quantities, which it stores in warehouses in four locations around the United States. The company also has three landscape supply distributors in Alsip, Chicago and Mundelein. “We started in April 2006, but by the end of the year it had gone from being part time to a full time business,” says 56
Sternberg. Even the recession didn’t slow them down. “We were trying to be everything to everyone, but in our case that was good.” When the residential business slowed down, the park district, municipal, and commercial jobs picked up, and when that slowed down, the residential increased. Along the way the company grew from the original two people, to 10 employees. Matt Scavo has been Sternberg’s business partner for the last five years. Scavo functions as the company CFO, ensuring that Perfect Turf is on solid financial footing. He also takes care of one of the company’s large, national accounts. “Whatever he does, he does well,” says Sternberg. Whoever calls the office first hears the friendly voice of Bonnie Spialek, Perfect Turf’s office manager. “People love her,” says Sternberg. “She’s a genuinely nice person.” A four-year veteran of the company, she has been “a big part of our growth and success.” Initially, most customers wanted to use the product for putting greens, but that has evolved to more demand for landscape grass for hard to maintain areas, dog runs, play grounds, roof tops, and a number of other residential and commercial uses. As Perfect Turf has grown, Sternberg has found ways to give back to the community. He is regularly approached by dog shelters and non-profits. “We help where and when we can,” he says. Perfect Turf exhibited at iLandscape this year. “We were swamped,” says Sternberg. “People were three deep at the booth.” This underscores the The Landscape Contractor June 2016
increased popularity of the synthetic turf, he says. “Landscape contractors used to be negative, but now it really has a place in the industry.” Regular surveys show that a growing number of landscape contractors are familiar with the product and its uses. Perfect Turf is now an ILCA member. Sternberg hopes to share information with his fellow members and train them to use and install the artificial turf. The company already runs regular training workshops for landscape contractors, as well as providing educational lunch and learn sessions for landscape architects and engineers. Sternberg works to stay focused on the Perfect Turf mission statement. “Our mission is to be the leading synthetic turf company as measured by customer satisfaction and loyalty,” he says. He believes that the company is successful by that gauge. “We have a 99.9 percent customer satisfaction rate.” His years of consulting has taught him that “long term success is all about the satisfied customer.”