Drake Lawn & Pest Control SPRING 2007 VOL 45 NO 1 PROFESSIONAL TURF PRODUCTS. Lawn Care. Inside LESCO. Golf Course Maintenance.

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1 PROFESSIONAL TURF PRODUCTS SPRING 2007 VOL 45 NO 1 Drake Lawn & Pest Control Page 6 Co-owners Jerry Tucker, Brandon Hill, Jack Kaplan (left to right) founded Drake Lawn & Pest Control three years ago. Inside LESCO page 2 McMahon Honored Truly Nolen Honored New LESCO Service Centers New to LESCO Pre-emergent Lawn Care weed control Make Weeds Get page page4 16 Out and Stay Out New Dimension 2EW As Simple as ABC RISE Golf Course Maintenance Spring restoration Hideout is a standout on Naples golf scene New golf course is ace in the hole for WinStar Casino in Oklahoma Trimming Waste

2 LESCO Great Dane LESCO Mowers Super Surfer Stand-on rider can reduce mowing time by up to 30% Float-deck performance and stability Extra-wide stance and excellent visibility for trimming Available in three models: 48 with 19-hp Kawasaki engine; 52 with 23-hp Kawasaki engine and 61 with 25-hp Kohler engine Surfer Stand-on rider is quick and lightweight Fixed deck Available with 52-inch deck and 19-hp Kawasaki engine Kawasaki is a registered trademark of Kawasaki Motors Co., USA. Kohler is a registered trademark of the Kohler Co. Great Dane and Super Surfer are registered trademarks and Surf is a trademark of Auburn Consolidated Industries. Vortex Spreader Allows use of one spreader for both turf and ornamentals Lightweight blower easily detaches from spreader so both units can be used independently Use spreader for turf applications and blower for granular delivery to ornamental areas and cleanup Includes 5-foot granular material delivery hose, plus extension tubes Adjustable-rate blower applies up to 15 lbs. of granular product per minute On/off control on spreader handle Vortex is a trademark of Vortex Granular Systems LLC. RedZone Premium Herbicide Contains four active ingredients Delivers consistently fast postemergent control of more than 80 weeds, including dandelion, spurge, clover, plantain and ground ivy Herbicide effect on weeds can often be noticed within hours of application, with total control generally taking 7 to 14 days Suitable for use on most cooland warm-season turfgrasses Superior cool weather performance Suitable for use on most turfgrass areas RedZone is a trademark of LESCO Technologies LLC. TopChoice Insecticide Plus Fertilizer Popular fire ant insecticide now available combined with quality LESCO Fertilizer Control and prevent fire ants for an entire year with a single application Active ingredient fipronil also controls other types of ants, molecrickets, fleas and ticks Labeled for use on golf courses, residential and commercial lawns, sports turf and other sites TopChoice is a trademark of Bayer Environmental Science. Dimension 2EW New water-based formulation Can now be sprayed over the top of more than 30 landscape ornamentals Active ingredient dithiopyr provides broad-spectrum, preemergent control of more than 40 grassy and broadleaf weeds Offers early post-emergent control of crabgrass Suitable for all types of applications, including landscape ornamentals, commercial and residential lawns, golf courses, sod farms, industrial sites and more Low-odor, non-staining Dimension is a registered trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC. Tournament Marking Paint Now available in 5-gallon containers in choice of colors: yellow, black, orange, red and white Ideal for marking out-of-bounds areas; lining, numbering and creating logos on sport fields; outlining volleyball and lawn bowling courts Easy to apply Dries quickly and maintains color even during inclement weather

3 Drake Lawn & Pest Control Owners: Jerry Tucker, Jack Kaplan, Brandon Hill Location: Orlando, FL Gross revenues: $2.4 million Number of employees: 32 Market area: Orange, Seminole, Osceola and Lake counties Services: Lawn care, shrub care, pest control, palm care, termite protection, mosquito control Customer mix 100% residential Service mix: 80% lawn and shrub care, 15% pest control, 3% palm care, 2% mosquito control Lawn Technician Josh Harding applies fertilizer using a LESCO spreader customized with the Drake duck. 6

4 Business is Just Ducky You might say that since Drake Lawn & Pest Control started in Orlando, FL, in 2004, business has been just ducky. That description would be just fine with co-owner and general manager Brandon Hill, who, along with his wife, Camila, came up with the company s distinctive and fun logo of Drake the Duck. Drake is a male duck so we thought it fit, and the name Drake is short and strong and something we think people can remember, says Hill. While Drake has had a meaningful impact on the company s success, Hill knows the cute duck would be nothing if he weren t supported by quality work and topnotch customer service. It certainly seems like he has been since the company first opened its doors a mere three years ago. After achieving $300,000 in gross revenue in 2004, the company has more than doubled revenue each year since, hitting $1.1 million in 2005 and $2.4 million in Hill projects Drake Lawn & Pest Control will hit $5.6 million in 2007 impressive numbers that prove what can happen when three guys who started out as lawn techs work hard and remain focused on what lies ahead. From the beginning Paul s been great since the day we walked in, says Jerry Tucker. He has always been willing to sit down with us and develop custom blends and really do anything he can to help us. He ll be a distinguished guest at our banquet this year. Drake s lawn care program consists of six regularly scheduled visits per year, which includes four granular fertilizer applications. Not every lawn and pest control company requests custom-blended granular fertilizers and combination products or prepares property-specific tank mixes, but Drake Lawn & Pest Control does. It s part of what makes them special. The company also uses LESCO ride-on and walk-behind spreaders exclusively and modifies them to feature Drake the Duck. LESCO spreaders are the only ones we ll use, says Tucker. They work great and are the most reliable. In fact, our enclosed trucks are custom designed to accommodate the LESCO brand power and push spreaders. Up close and personal Other critical elements in Drake s formula for success are aggressive sales, quality work and second-tonone customer service. We have sales consultants who we train to go out and knock on doors and hang door hangers, Hill said. But the salvation of our company has been the service of our lawn division. We make our lawns look great and provide great service, he went on to explain. If someone calls and wants us at their place on Tuesday morning, we re there. We don t miss appointments, we don t miss services and we give our customers the results we promise. Drake Lawn & Pest Control conducts no telemarketing. Personal interaction with the customer is more important. We prefer talking to our customers face-to-face because it s more Bottom: Drake Service Director Jack Kaplan (left) discusses product needs with LESCO Regional Manager Larry Baker (center) and Service Center Manager Paul Zwiener. Left: The Drake duck has become a popular icon around Orlando since Drake Lawn & Pest Control launched its business three years ago. Hill, 34, and his two co-owners, Jerry Tucker (business director), 34, and Jack Kaplan (service director), 35, all chummed around in high school and started as lawn techs roughly at the same time. All three worked hard in lawn care for 12 years, climbing the ladder and achieving success before deciding to go into business together. From the get-go, they used LESCO products and achieved great results. That was part of the gratification we felt, using LESCO products and seeing how well they worked, Hill says. When we started our business, we tested other products because now it was our call, but we never stopped using LESCO products because they always delivered superior performance. The relationship the company has developed with the local LESCO Service Center and Manager Paul Zwiener has proved beneficial. Based on service and results, it resembles the relationship Drake Lawn & Pest Control has with its customers. 7

5 personable, says Hill. Plus, we can see the property firsthand and see exactly what s going on, measure it, and tell them what we see and how we can fix it. It also allows us the opportunity to sell our other services, like pest control. Hill estimates that 50 percent of the company s leads each month are generated by referrals and current customers. The commission-based sales consultants each sell 10 to 15 new customers per month alone, based on those leads. The door hangers they place on residential doors are distinct in that they actually have space for handwritten notes, which includes a specific diagnosis for each person s property. Drake also uses Yellow Pages, local directories, radio and Internet advertising. Hire right, train well Hill knows stellar sales and customer service wouldn t amount to much if the quality of workmanship wasn t With about 80% of its revenue coming from lawn care, Drake now plans to expand its pest control business. New products that allow our techs to do their job better and more efficiently also help, and LESCO always seems to offer a constant stream of those. Jack Kaplan Co-owner/Service Director

6 Random property inspections ensure that we re providing the customers what we promised and that the techs are doing their jobs, Kaplan says. New products that allow our techs to do their job better and more efficiently also help, and LESCO always seems to offer a constant stream of those. Eye on growth With about 3,500 lawn care accounts on the books, Drake now plans to pump up the pest control side of the business. And because LESCO provides pest control products as well as lawn care products, they will need to look no further than their local LESCO Service Center. Now that Hill, Tucker and Kaplan have a thriving lawn and pest control company under their management, they have sound advice for those aspiring to start their own businesses. As Hill says, Make sure you provide a great service and you can t help but grow your business. Palm tree care is one of several services Drake Lawn & Pest Control offers. there. That s why his company invests heavily in the hiring and training of good employees. The techs go through a rigorous three weeks of training. When the training period ends, field supervisors ride with them once a week to offer field support. Weekly meetings in the office for each division of the company serve as training exercises as well. After all that training, the last thing Drake Lawn & Pest Control wants is to lose those valuable, well-trained employees. It falls on Jerry Tucker to make sure they receive great benefits. We make sure our people have the benefits they need and get paid on time, Tucker says. Plus, we re constantly searching for new benefits to improve our overall package. A perfect example is the customer retention bonus the company offers its technicians. Paid monthly and based on percentages, the monthly bonus can be as high as $300. Being former techs, Hill says, puts all three owners in a special position to understand exactly what will keep employees happy. Recognition is big, too. Each employee is eligible to win a Drake Award each quarter and at year-end. The reward is quite an honor, but it does not come easily. Truck inspections are conducted regularly, and only one needs improvement mark can put a technician out of the running. Plus, customer properties are randomly inspected, all of which falls under Jack Kaplan s responsibilities.