By the mid-1970s, with more than 25 years experience as landscape contractors in the Ontario marketplace, the portfolio of Aldershot Landscape Contractors was already considerable.

Having grown quickly in an aggressive response to the ever-increasing marketplace demand for landscape services, the company had amassed a considerable roster of clients and projects. Company founder Joe DeLuca recalls the landscaping of the Tridon Manufacturing plant in Burlington, soon followed by Hamilton's International Harvester, as two of their first large, high-profile projects. Since that time, the company has never looked back.

With a high level of confidence in the province's long term economic prospects and even higher expectations of the future demand for landscape services, the time had come, says Aldershot president Bill DeLuca, for the company to make the transition to even larger landscape projects. It was a transition that would require careful planning and implementation.

"We could see a significant evolution happening within the marketplace, and we wanted to be a part of that process," says Bill, "but at the same , we recognized that we lacked the educational background and the knowledge that comes only with experience, to be able to compete and negotiate with confidence."

A more appropriate infrastructure, accomplished primarily by hiring those qualifications the company was lacking, allowed Aldershot to at least consider bidding on larger landscape projects. "What we really needed was to boost our engineering expertise," admits Bill. Their initial endeavors were seriously hampered, however, with the soaring interest rates and subsequent economic recession of the late 1970s and early 1980s. "It was obvious that successful bidders on larger projects were not making any money on them," says Bill, "but it left little in the way of opportunity for a company looking to expand."

It was the Village Offices of Sherwoodtowne, the high profile and revolutionary new office complex concept located in the heart of Mississauga's commercial core, that provided Aldershot with their first real opportunity to move into the scale of work for which they had prepared. With an all-encompassing scope that included every aspect of site development, from electrical and paving to sodding and planting, the company finally had the opportunity to test - and prove - their new infrastructure. Still, it was their own skills, acquired through years of experience as landscape contractor, which in the end made the real difference, Bill concedes.

"Our real advantage on this project was our highly skilled European trades people who did an outstanding job on the large amount of masonry work," he continues.

Successful completion of this distinguished project provided Aldershot with the recognition they needed with developers and landscape architects. "We had proven we had the talent and the resources to complete projects of any size or scope, says Bill. "Now, we were short-listed to mega-projects. Low price is not necessarily the deciding factor, and contracts can be negotiated if the architect recommends that you work on the project."

Based on the strength of their performance at Sherwoodtowne, Aldershot was the successful bidder of the Canadian Centre for Architecture project, located in Montreal. Their initial bid was for the soft landscape work only - basically an insignificant part of a very prestigious project, says Bill. Once on site, however, the general contractor quickly recognized, by their organizational skills and professionalism, that Aldershot had the infrastructure in place to handle even larger portions of the contract. Realizing there was an opportunity here which far exceeded their original planting contract, Aldershot took hold of the challenge and was eventually awarded the contract as overall project managers.

This project was their most demanding to date, and included virtually all aspects of site development. Electrical, security, masonry, fencing, structural walls and architectural elements, huge quantities of interlocking paving stone and even storm sewers and city sidewalks, were all a part of the contract. Aldershot's responsibilities started with ensuring that the working drawings were accurate for tendering purposes and sufficiently detailed as construction drawings. With the exception of on-site supervision, all of the work was performed by local sub-contractors and required precise scheduling and quality control. Even details such as the acquisition of proper permits such as those required for road closures when necessary, were also a part of the job description.

It was while working on this project, says Bill, that Aldershot particularly fine-tuned their organizational skills as project managers in what can best be described a complex juggling act. "The Canadian Centre for Architecture was not the biggest project we've ever worked on," says Bill, "but we do consider it to be one of the most prestigious projects in our company's portfolio."

Bill attributes the young and talented staff they were able to attract and keep as key to the successful management of the many different projects in which they were involved, and their subsequent ability to move to the next level as project managers. Once again, however, they found their progress was impeded by forces beyond their control. The economic recession of the late 1980s and early 1990s meant the virtual disappearance of the mega-projects which were necessary to support the company's now substantial infrastructure. Competition for those few remaining projects was stiff and they were not paying the premium prices that had become necessary to support the large overheads which, at that time, were integral to Aldershot's organizational structure.

"We had become better project managers," recalls Bill. "Suddenly we were forced into becoming better business people as well."

Becoming better business people meant making and implementing the many difficult decisions that are all a part of downsizing. Cutbacks in staff and reductions in equipment and inventory were all a part of Aldershot's strategy to become more competitive to open the door to bid on those projects for which they might not have previously been considered. In spite of their many cutbacks, eliminating their reputation for being high priced was not an easy thing to do, admits Bill.

Restructuring without sacrificing the progress they had made as capable project managers was accomplished by forming strong alliances with sub-contractors. Especially in an industry as diverse as landscaping, which can call for many dissimilar specialties such as planting, sodding, interlocking paving, water features, irrigation, lighting and carpentry, it was obvious there would be a good niche for a company that could coordinate these many trades and bring their skills together on the job site for a successful and on-time completion.

Driven by a new level of consumer confidence in the province's future, the mid- to late 1990s finally saw the return of economic prosperity to the Ontario marketplace. With lavish casinos being built across the province, a buoyant auto industry and a flourishing high-tech sector, the stage has been set for Aldershot Landscape Contractors to achieve yet a new plateau.

Their recent and current construction projects provide a fascinating insight into the economic forces driving the economy as we make the transition from one century to the next. Recently completed projects include the Windsor Casino, the National Trade Centre, the Air Canada Centre, and the Nortel sites in both Brampton and Ottawa. Projects currently under construction include the Point Edward Casino, the new CallNet headquarters building, Baycrest Hospital, Frank McEachney Park and Xenon Environmental. Golf course development is the one prospering industry into which Aldershot has not yet ventured.

"We've tended to steer clear of golf courses in the past as they have had a poor reputation for paying their bills, " explains Bill. "But there are a few very good developers out there who do a great job and we'd like to add at least one high profile golf course to our portfolio." He adds that negotiations are currently underway for at least one golf course project for the year 2000.

Projects within the GTA provide Aldershot with a substantial amount of work in their own backyard, but the company and its crews move across the province on an as-needed basis. The exception is the Ottawa area, where a more permanent presence was desirable to more effectively take advantage of the high tech industry's significant contribution to the area's local economy. In 1998, Aldershot entered into a partnership with an international company specializing primarily in architectural concrete to form an alliance that brings a whole new dimension to the landscape scene in the Ottawa area.

Aldershot's first response to dealing with unions - an unavoidable part of working on larger construction projects - was to buy and operate a separate union company. With constant pressure from the unions to have both companies unionized, this 1985 acquisition ended up being a short-lived solution. As it was not sensible under those circumstances to operate two separate union companies, their second company was sold and Aldershot reluctantly entered into an agreement with the union.

As with most decisions one is forced to make in our increasingly complex business environment, Aldershot has found their status as a union company to have both its pros and cons. On the plus side, only a very few landscape contractors are unionized, effectively eliminating much of the competition for larger projects. It is however, more difficult to be competitive on smaller, non-union projects. Bill's attitude is a pragmatic one: "It forces us to be more efficient and to work smarter," he says. In tighter economies, paying union wages has its obvious disadvantages, but in the economic climate of 1999 and 2000, their hourly wages and superior benefits package has ensured them a good core of qualified, reliable labour.

While much of the hard landscape work on any project is completed by sub-contractors, Aldershot finds they can better control the practical, on-site considerations by doing much of the labouring work, especially in site preparation and site clean-up, with their own forces. And although landscape project management and estimated contracting projects account for 80 per cent of their total volume, the company continues to operate a significant design-build division. This work is limited primarily to small commercial and larger residential projects. One notable exception is local developer and long-time client Reimer Developments, which every year provides Aldershot's staff landscape architects with the opportunity to design and oversee the construction of one or two large commercial projects.

The 10 per cent of annual sales provided by Aldershot's landscape maintenance division is misleading, as this division continues to be one of the province's larger landscape maintenance companies, providing services to a variety of commercial and condominium clients in the Toronto to Hamilton areas.

Keeping this multitude of projects operating efficiently is the responsibility of Aldershot's 40 full-time administrative, estimating and supervisory staff. Once a project has been successfully bid or negotiated, it is turned over to the construction manager. In cooperation with the general manager, their responsibilities include selecting a site superintendent with the selection process based on the project's scope and level of difficulty and depends, of course, on who is available. They are also responsible for the scheduling of the sub-contractors, the purchasing of materials and organizing on-time delivery to the job site. Crews must also be selected and scheduled according to the areas of expertise required by that particular site. Equipment must also be allocated; again, this is usually a fine balancing act between what is required and when and what is available.

Each superintendent will handle the day-to-day coordination on the job site, taking the project from blue print stage to reality. A superintendent will have only one project to oversee in the case of a large project, or up to six or eight smaller projects within a confined geographic region. The verification of surveys, grades, elevations and intricate patterns and layouts is the responsibility of staff engineers.

All aspects of estimating and project coordination are, as expected, enhanced by sophisticated computer systems. "Staying current with the latest computer technologies can be expensive," Bill says ruefully, "but the alternative is to lose the confidence of your client base." On more than one occasion, he adds, simply asking the architect or general contractor for the computer version of the landscape plan has instilled a sense of confidence in the client from the very outset that we have the infrastructure in place to handle their project.

Although a large portion of Aldershot's work is sub-contracted, there continues to be a large commitment to labour and equipment. During the season, Aldershot employs an additional 200 full-time seasonal and seasonal labourers. And, as is the case with most landscape contractors, they are equipment poor, complains Bill. "Landscaping is a very diverse industry and requires a very diverse selection of equipment. The cost vs. convenience factor means we're always making decisions about what to buy, what to rent and what to lease."

In good economic times and bad, the key to remaining successful, regardless of company size and marketplace niche, is to never, never be complacent about who you are or what you do, explains Bill. Advertising, marketing and public relations are handled internally, and are ongoing functions of all staff. Aware of the value to the company and therefore their own futures, all staff are charged with the task of reporting all potential leads to the estimating staff or Bill, and all are followed up until the project is awarded.

The same holds true for Aldershot's commitment to quality and service. "We follow the philosophy established by my father many years ago - 'always fulfill what you promised the customer, " says Bill. "There really is no difference whether you're a small or a large company. We depend on referrals. We want the architect to recommend us to his next client and that will happen only if we make the architect look good by producing a good quality project, on-time and with a minimum of aggravation."

Years of industry experience have provided Bill with a keen sense of what to expect of the Ontario economy over the next few years and his expectations are high for the landscape industry. "There are a number of major projects still on the horizon, including some major park developments and the newly announced Toronto Waterfront. Casinos are still being built, the high-tech industry is stronger than ever and as long as interest rates stay low the housing market will also remain strong. There's also the potential Olympics as well. In the GTA area, there are many good opportunities for growth for the next eight to 10 years at least."

While his outlook is very optimistic, there are always downsides to a good economy, Bill admits, and their immediate focus will be to deal with current shortages of both qualified labour and nursery stock. He predicts the latter will prove to be their biggest challenge of the year 2000.

Joe DeLuca can certainly be forgiven his apparent lack of foresight when he openly admits that he had no concept of what the company he started in 1952 would become by the year 2000. The landscape industry of today has made great strides since that time, not just in scope and technology, but especially in public acceptance. And, with the combined efforts of companies large and small to increase the level of professionalism in the industry, we can only guess at where the next 50 years will take the industry.

Aldershot Landscape Contractors Limited, Toronto, 905-825-1802

ALC/UCC Site Constructors Inc, Ottawa, 613-727-4341