COVER STORY: At the Forefront of Innovation
Established in 1985 in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Dallas Johnson Greenhouses is a relatively young operation. Founders Dallas and Kay Johnson started out with 40,000 square feet of greenhouses supplying annuals to the markets in Iowa and Nebraska.
With the help of their son, Todd, the family business continues and has evolved into one of the largest growing operations in the Midwest with 2.6 million square feet! They are currently delivering to Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. According to Todd, who is now CEO and president, Dallas Johnson Greenhouses has gone from $300,000 in sales in 1985 to $22 million in 2014.
The company’s steady growth has not come without its challenges, but Johnson’s focus on quality and innovation has resulted in a successful and ever-growing business. “Our main focus is to improve the quality of the products,” shares Todd. “We constantly look for better ways to manage our crops so that our quality does not take a back seat to anyone.”
And every team member is dedicated to the same philosophy. “Our management team is top notch,” says Todd. “When our team is faced with a challenge, they embrace the challenge and go out of their way to meet that challenge.”
Through that dedication and teamwork, Dallas Johnson’s customers have become accustomed to top quality and top service. With constant innovation and investment, the company continues to grow and deliver that quality and service to its customers.
Quality Over Quantity
According to Todd, the biggest challenge facing growers right now is making sure they can provide the best quality product in the appropriate amount of space.
“The challenge for us is trying to change that mentality of growing per square foot,” he shares.
“As a bigger grower, you start out with the mentality of squeezing dollars per square foot and you just can’t do that anymore. We’ve had to reinvent ourselves.”
Very few growers are still growing this way. There is definitely a restriction on the number of vendors that are supplying the big chains today, says Todd, and that number is ultimately based on performance. That leaves a grower’s margin for error very small.
To confront this challenge, Todd says they have to make sure they have enough square feet to grow their products the right way and they can’t overextend themselves or their product lines. Their products and services must be contained.
“Whether that means bringing in $1 million less in sales, it doesn’t matter,” he shares. “It’s about making sure you’ve got consistent quality. That’s what the customer looks for.”
Spacing Matters
To ensure the best quality, Dallas Johnson Greenhouses has recently invested in spacing technology. “Instead of looking to pump out more volume per square foot, we are looking at better ways to pump out more quality per square foot,” says Todd. “We are actually looking at producing less per square foot to make sure that product is spaced on time.”
So last fall, they brought in robots — manufactured by Harvest Automation — for a trial run. A common challenge with growers is not having enough available bodies to space items at the most critical times of the season. “That is where the robots are worth their weight in gold,” claims Todd. “They can work 24 hours a day, they don’t take breaks, they don’t get injured, and they are very precise.”
The trial was successful, and they decided to move forward with the project. The robots were purchased in December 2013 and were put to use in February 2014, so they have actively been in use for one season.
“We’ve definitely utilized them,” says Todd. “We were working them 16 hours a day, so we were running split shifts with just one crew member on each team, and they were able to get a lot of things spaced that we normally wouldn’t have otherwise.”
And even when they are harvesting from certain areas, Todd says they use the robots to respace them and consolidate everything back together. This makes it easier for the growers, instead of having pots spread out through the growing area. “Normally we’d have to come back and do that manually by hand,” says Todd.
The robots also spaced out all the mums this season, from 8 inch to 12 inch in size, which is about 180,000 units. “And we did it with just two people!” shares Todd.
Because Dallas Johnson Greenhouses has seen so much success with the robots, it’s generated a lot of buzz. Local news media have visited their operation and published pieces on the project. You can watch KETV’s piece on Dallas Johnson Greenhouses online at www.ketv.com/news/innovative-greenhouse-utilizes-robotics/26254538.
Constant Innovation and Investment
The robots are certainly not the first innovative project Dallas Johnson Greenhouses has implemented into their operation. “We’re always the guinea pig,” claims Todd.
Dallas Johnson had one of the first transplanters in the country, Todd shares. Part of their focus on quality is to remain advanced as far as technology is concerned.
“When something new comes on the market, we’re one of the first to jump on board,” Todd says.
“We go through all these different innovations, and we trial them. Sometimes they work for us, sometimes they don’t.”
Aside from technological advancements, the team at Dallas Johnson maintains regular investments in its structures. “We’re constantly reinvesting in structures and equipment,” Todd says. “In the last seven years, we’ve put up about 16 acres of greenhouses. That’s how we got to the size we are now.”
Johnson is presently making a large investment in the operation’s distribution center. “We are looking for the most efficient way to get the product from the greenhouse floor to the retail bench with the least amount of damage possible,” he says.
The project is in its early stages now, but ultimately the goal is to automate the way they pull orders. While the main focus has been on product quality, the quality needs to be maintained from the greenhouse to retail.
To help maintain that quality all the way to retail, the company is also investing in new trailers this year and installing lift gates on all of the trailers that do not currently have them.
“There are a lot of different challenges that come with getting the product to our customers,” shares Justin Woods, vice president of sales.
He says it has become a struggle as they have taken steps internally to be more efficient in pulling product, and it’s all for nothing if they are unable to deliver the product just as efficiently.
Customer Satisfaction
While Dallas Johnson Greenhouses is on the forefront of innovation, the family-run operation practices a more traditional form of communication with its customers. The balance between new technology and traditional customer service has been a successful business model for them.
Because of their depth of customers — from big box stores to landscapers to IGCs — each customer provides their own set of needs. “It’s our job to recognize those no matter how big or small,” Justin states, “and provide them with the best possible mix to suit their customers’ needs.”
He says the easiest way to build the relationship with a current customer or potentially new customer is to “pick up the phone.”
“I still firmly believe that conversation over the phone rather than an email gives you a better chance to form a personal relationship,” Justin says. Once the relationship is formed, he says the best way to maintain that relationship is to make good on promises “whether it’s delivering product on time or calling when you said you would.”
He adds, “Once you gain their trust, the day-to-day interaction and order processing goes much more smoothly.”
Aside from communication, another big service the company provides to some of its customers is portable greenhouses. They set up these portable structures in the retailers’ parking lots and take them down at the end of the season.
“There aren’t a lot of wholesalers out there in our area that still do this, so it’s kind of a nice service to offer,” says Justin.
“We’ve been doing it for 30 years,” Todd adds. “Because the weather can change so drastically, especially during our season, they use it for protection for some of the softer material. Plus, it’s kind of a recognition thing. [Customers] see a greenhouse and it’s a draw.”
Above all the services that Dallas Johnson Greenhouses offers, “the main reason customers keep coming back is the combination of our product quality and the timeliness of our deliveries,” Justin says. “One without the other just won’t cut it in our industry.”
SIDEBAR
Dallas Johnson Greenhouses at a glance:
Established: 1985
Location: Council Bluffs, Iowa
Management team: Todd Johnson, president & CEO; Mark Philby, general manager; Saul Quintana, assistant general manager; Justin Woods, vice president-sales; Pete Hult, CFO; Adriana Martinez, young plants manager.
Number of employees: 100 full-time employees
(300 during peak season)
Customers: Big box stores, grocery chains, landscapers, independent garden centers
Product offering: Spring annuals, perennials, mums, poinsettias, edibles, Christmas cactus, Easter lilies
Website: www.djgreenhouses.com
SIDEBAR
Did You Know?
Justin Woods, vice president of sales, is a member of GPN’s 40 Under 40 for 2013? You can learn more about his accomplishments and what earned him his spot on the list at www.gpnmag.com/40-under-40.
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