Editor's note: This story originally appeared in "The Big 10" in our September issue. Click here to read more grower profiles.
Three years ago Tom Dodd Nurseries began using a mechanized potting system that has doubled their production rate. While a lot of nurseries utilize a mechanized system, the portable field setup created at Tom Dodd has made the 240-acre nursery incredibly efficient.
According to John Williams, owner of the Semmes, Ala.-based nursery, Tom Dodd utilizes a potting machine that they built into a custom-designed trailer, making it all one piece of equipment. It’s powered by a generator that is run by the tractor which moves the trailer. By using this system, the crews are able to pot or run soil-filled pots directly in fields. They go on the machine and down the conveyers right into the ground where they will be grown.
Astonishingly, a nine-man crew is able to do 45,000 pots in a day. On their best day, they’ve done 55,000.
“The efficiency factor is huge,” says Williams, who bought the nursery in 2006. It was started in 1928. “We’re a lot more productive now. But it’s also really freed up our machinery. We no longer need 10 different wagons to get the plants to the field. We’ve created a system where one wagon is our complete system. That frees up our machinery for shipping or other jobs.”
This past summer, Williams rented a light tower to be able to run their mechanized system at night. Dealing with an incredibly hot climate, Williams says that the productivity of the nighttime crew went up and he actually had crew members requesting the nighttime shift.
“It’s brutal here in the summer,” Williams says. “It gets to the point where you worry if crew members are going to be passing out with the sun beating down on them. By working at night, they’re able to be a lot more productive.”
Now, Williams is looking into using the light tower for spring potting so that he can run two crews with one machine—a daytime crew and a nighttime crew. While the hot sun isn’t a big issue, running two crews should help productivity at a very busy time of year.
While a light tower costs approximately $400 a month to rent, a new unit can cost upwards of $9,000 to purchase. Williams says that renting makes sense since he’s not using the unit year round, but it may be an investment he’d consider in the future.
Either way, Williams is always looking for that unique angle to solve a problem and is constantly seeking out new ways to boost productivity. It’s how he’s been able to see so much success. Adaptability is the other key, he says.
“We’re not a nursery that is stuck in our ways,” Williams adds. “We’re incredibly customer-oriented and we’re very flexible. I think that’s had a lot to do with our success. We aim to be here for whatever the customer needs, even if it means adapting our ways.”
Because the nursery’s customer base is so diverse (their largest customer is less than 12 percent of their revenue), Williams says it’s been important that their crops have also been diverse. The nursery grows a broad mix of material—mostly woody ornamentals—but a little bit of everything ranging from annuals to hollies and trees.
Williams adds: “Being so diverse and customer-need-oriented have been the biggest keys to growing my business.”
For more: www.tomdodd.com