2020 Year End Review - Sit Down with CEPRA

What a year it has been! From our bread-making obsession to our sanitation routines, 2020 has given us a lot of unique moments. Yet, there's more to this year than just a lot of craziness - a good deal of great things happened, too. We wanted to showcase some of those great things that we experienced at CEPRA, and deliver a year-end round up. Thus, we asked our Branch Managers to share their best moments from this year, as well as their goals for 2021.

 

Name: Justin Norris   
Branch: Tampa

By how much did your branch grow in the last year?
We added 63 people to our team this year! We were thrilled to have been able to add all the great talent we did.

What was one of your team's best moments this year?
Winning our first big HOA. It was at that point where we felt we finally proved ourselves in this market. After that first one, several more came one right after the other. We were always careful to make sure we didn't grow too fast, and were selective about both our team members and our new clients, and our quality never suffered as a result.

What are some of your goals for 2021?
To get more involved with our local markets, and to continue our strong relationships with our clients as we continue to grow.

Any advice, wise words, or things to expect for 2021?
Do the right thing, always.

2020 BY THE NUMBERS
Total number of annuals planted:	36,260 annuals
Number of irrigation zones serviced:	5,000 zones
Total number of homes serviced:	2,000 homes

 

Name: Kevin Montalvo   
Branch: The Villages

By how much did your branch grow in the last year?
We added 54 very talented people to our branch this year.

Can you tell us about the largest or most challenging project you faced?
As our CDD is built out and expanded, we constantly face challenges of managing water usage. We have strict water usage allotments based on square footages and the type of landscape it affects that we as a company have to comply with. As new construction continues there are always issues involved with establishment of the landscape and ensuring the water source accuracy so we can accurately manage the consumption.

We also deal with a lot of last-minute enhancement opportunities. These can range from fixing landscapes due to vehicle accidents to replacing sod in a dog park the provides a limited ability to close the area off from residents. I enjoy these challenges and the ability to work in areas that CEPRA does not normally maintain. It is nice to see the confidence that the client has in us to know that we can pull together the resources to get the request work completed within the landscapes that our competitors maintain.

What are some of your goals for 2021?
To create more paths for growth within the company, and to keep the small company culture while growing into a larger company. This includes making sure our managers are trained with the latest information on technical skills, maintaining the job quality, and keeping our strong level of communication with clients and employee retention while gaining new work.

If you could describe the CEPRA Difference in 5 words or less, what would those words be?
We are the most dedicated.

2020 BY THE NUMBERS
Total number of annuals planted:	320,000 annuals
Number of irrigation zones serviced:	3,200 zones

 

Name: Danny Cravey   
Branch: Ocala

By how much did your branch grow in the last year?
We started 8 new jobs this year.

What was one of your team's best moments this year?
We have an HOA where the committee is a bit inexperienced with the ins and outs of landscaping, but still wanted to be very involved with us as we serviced their community. Over the course of the year, our team spent time with them both while on site and from our office, explaining what our crews do and what expectations to be aware of. After 8-10 months on the job, the committee and the crews have established a great relationship, and while they continue to teach them the ABC's weekly, the relationship with the community is very strong. These crews did an amazing job understanding that what we do goes beyond mowing and trimming.

What are some of your goals for 2021?
Our biggest goal is to develop more strong relationships in the Ocala, Citrus, and Gainesville markets. We got a great start in this region and would love to become even more involved in the community.

If you could describe the CEPRA Difference in 5 words or less, what would those words be?
Caring, Teamwork, Detailed, Dedicated.

2020 BY THE NUMBERS
Total number of annuals planted:	34,000 annuals

 

Name: Chris Dennison   
Branch: Orlando Maintenance

By how much did your branch grow in the last year?
Given all the craziness that was 2020, we still managed to add over 20 new jobs this year.

What was one of your team's best moments this year?
I'm so "wowed" at what we (meaning the entire CEPRA team) have accomplished in such a short time. In February 2016, there were only 4 of us in Orlando. Fast forward to now, and we have not one but two Orlando branches - one for Construction and one for Maintenance. We have such a talented team. Each location has its own success story and what's nuts is we have not even scratched the surface on what our capabilities can and will be. We do the best work in Central Florida. From installation of new landscapes to maintaining these landscapes. We have and will continue to build our resources with expectations to dominate the Central Florida market. The talent pool in the area will continue to flow in our direction. I have seen the pace pick up greatly as our name gets out there and from Property Managers to Developers, people see what we have created, and they want a piece of it. I am looking forward to seeing what the team does in 2021!

Any advice, wise words, or things to expect for 2021?
The best is yet to come!

2020 BY THE NUMBERS
Total number of annuals planted:	101,704 annuals

 

Name: Jason Haydu   
Branch: Orlando Construction

By how much did your branch grow in the last year?
Our Construction division added 15 new team members this year - ranging from Crew Members, Account Managers, to even some unique Specialist roles.

What was one of your team's best moments this year?
Right after work began back up at Disney for us after the COVID shutdown, we were given a pretty difficult task (one which exceeded what I thought was even possible). We were tasked with completely redoing the irrigation and landscape for Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom - and they gave us 1 month (not to mention, the 20 other trades that had to go in front of us), to get large portions of these jobs open for the guests when the parks opened back up. We worked 7 days a week 12-15 hour days! It was pretty cool to look at when the parks finally opened and see what we gave them in such a short time frame. Really cool.

What are some of your goals for 2021?
With the new employees we are adding, our goal is to double what we have been doing this year. This has been a great learning experience for me. When it comes to bidding new work, what's important is really understanding the amount of people, the type of people, and the best strategy to complete the work we're bidding. We have learned a lot, but I would say one of my goals is to have clarity with my team on their roles and responsibilities as we continue to grow.

Could you tell us about the largest or most challenging project you faced?
A challenge that probably first in this category is the Universal Islands of Adventure job. Similar to above type scenario, with 20-30 trades on a job the size of a postage stamp, we had to install about $1.5 million worth of work in 6 weeks - and we did it! What was really cool is how we shined over all other trades from a manpower standpoint. We threw a ton of men at the job and we were amazed at how quickly we were able to accomplish areas. It was a great challenge working in confined spaces with so many trades, and we still managed to hit our goal. I will say we learned so much about theme park landscape install on this job. I mean, some of the trees weighed 20,000 lbs, and we had to figure out how to plant them on a 20 degree slope right next to the water with a 20K lull. Multiple examples like that had to happen to hit that date. Really cool what you can accomplish when a team works as a team!

Largest plants you planted this year?
I did plant some 20,000 lbs oak trees, some 50' Washintonia Palms, and many other tree species with crazy weights and specifications. And didn't just plant them in an easy access area, it went in some of the most challenging areas imaginable. Honestly I thought some of it was impossible, until we got it done.

What's something that gets you excited to come to work in the mornings?
My team, and the fact that I can tell my kids I did some significant work at the most famous theme parks in the world.

 

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed our 2020 round up. We had a blast growing our team, working with local leaders both new and old, and making an impact in our communities. We look forward to an amazing 2021, and hope you'll join us for it. Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year, from the CEPRA Team.