Industry Veteran Takes Leadership Role at TreeTown USA
March 4, 2020 
Bud Summers
Bud Summers, a greenhouse and nursery industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience in several executive positions, has been named Chief Operating Officer of TreeTown USA. Summers’ primary focus in the new role will be to continue the alignment of TreeTown’s 15 growing facilities. “With bringing all of our operations under one leader, we will align all of our operations into one cohesive unit,” says Jonathan Saperstein, CEO of TreeTown USA. “As a company brought together through acquisitions, this next step capitalizes on all of the knowledge base of our combined company.”
Summers was previously Senior Vice President of Southwest operations for TreeTown. Before joining TreeTown USA, he spent more than 30 years with Hines Growers, Inc. and Color Spot Nurseries in California, Texas, Arizona, and Oregon, where he provided the day-to-day leadership and management required to effectively grow the organization and ensure financial strength and operating efficiency. He holds a Masters and Ph.D. in Horticulture from the University of Maryland.
Greenhouse Grower recently reached out to Summers and asked him about his new role.
Greenhouse Grower (GG): How did your previous experience prepare you for this new role?
Bud Summers: I am blessed to have worked with some incredibly talented people and leaders in the nursery industry who have taught me many lessons. This experience has provided me the opportunities to grow and sell a diverse mix of product in various growing environments across the U.S. Additionally, I have completed several acquisitions during my career. I understand the challenges and opportunities that exist in bringing companies together in a manner that maximizes the strength of each individual organization, while ensuring a sustainable and profitable future. These experiences have prepared me for the challenge of communicating a shared direction and set of core values to multiple nursery sites across the country. It has led to an intense appreciation of high–quality product, excellent service, and the people who make their living within our nursery family. I see these same values reflected in those of TreeTown USA and the business we are building.
The integration of TreeTown USA, Village Nurseries, and Hines Growers is not only creating an incredible combination of experience and skill, but also challenging traditional ways of operating a nursery business. We are building upon the strengths of three great companies to develop a quality and customer-focused company. It is a very exciting time for our new business.
GG: What are the some of the biggest issues or concerns you’ve heard from the growers you work with, and how do you plan to help them deal with these issues?
Summers: Our most pervasive issues are labor availability and cost. We are exploring multiple mechanized and automated systems to reduce the amount of labor required to produce and grow our product. Our goal is to make the work safer, easier, and more productive and rewarding for the many great workers we have at each of our sites in a way that is cost effective for our business. This, along with the effort to continuously improve all of our processes, is imperative for the sustainability of any business in this industry. Our company is fortunate to have many highly skilled, long–term employees who care deeply about our products, customers, and our collective success. All of us at TreeTown USA are working hard to build a long term, sustainable business.
Additionally, we face challenges working with regulatory agencies to develop environmentally friendly production systems. We strive to be a good steward of our environment. We have been consistently employing new procedures to improve our use of water and other resources. We work closely with myriad agencies to meet the regulations, and we strive to exceed the requirements as best we can while continuing to grow products that meet the expectation of our direct customers and consumers.
GG: What are the biggest challenges this industry is currently facing?
Summers: As an industry, we are challenged with remaining profitable with the increasing cost of labor and raw materials while adhering to strict phytosanitary regulations. The shortage of skilled labor availability, the costs associated with the labor, and finding skilled talent to lead complex processes are a few of the key challenges that the nursery industry will face in the foreseeable future. These shortages in all aspects of our industry are critical.
GG: Conversely, what are some of the biggest opportunities on the horizon?
Summers: We have significant opportunities to build sustainable businesses and eliminate waste through the adoption of the philosophy of continuous improvement. Waste comes in a variety of forms: material, labor, and workflow. As a company, we are utilizing lean strategies in all of our operations. In 2019, we implemented key initiatives to improve our workflow. These initiatives included the alignment of work processes, organization development and design, and opening up the culture for people to collaborate and communicate. A lean operation is a way of life for our company. It includes training about how continuous improvement leads to better quality, reduction of waste, and greater job satisfaction. We are quickly seeing positive results in operations and sales.
Another opportunity is to strive for safety. We have more than 2,000 dedicated employees working with us every day. We care deeply about safety and have made workplace safety the top priority for all employees. Having zero accidents is the goal.
GG: Looking ahead, what role can you play in moving this industry forward?
Summers: By focusing on the development of efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly processes and systems, we can help build a new reality of what is possible for the future of this industry. We intend to set an example of what can happen when good people join together with a common goal. Collaboration, sharing of ideas, and building a stronger industry is a noble and important objective.
GG: If you weren’t in this profession, what would you be doing?
Summers: I have been doing this for so long that it is difficult to think of another profession that I would rather have done. Any other possibility would have to have been associated with nature and wildlife and the building of highly motivated, skilled, and competitive teams. One of my hobbies is fishing. I enjoy being outdoors, in a stream, being a part of nature. Catching a fish would be great. Another interest is in hiking/back packing. The real value is being outdoors.
Subscribe to eNewsletter
