Additionally, Heydt implemented the Worm’s
Way Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in 2001, making
eligible employees part owners of the company. The value
of ESOP shares reflects the company’s value, and share contributions
are annually allocated to participating employees.
He may not have realized it at first, but
Heydt had also planted the seeds for a much larger, wholesale
venture—BWGS
—bringing indoor gardening products to hundreds of other gardening supply retailers
across the U.S. To better meet wholesale customers’ needs,
Heydt built a 17,000-square-foot facility to house BWGS in
1995 and hired Charles Winslow to direct the operation in
1997. With additional space to expand, BWGS acquired Oxford
Products of Chicago five years ago.
“We now have a vision, and we’re very proud
to be a part of this industry,” Heydt said, “We’re ready
and willing to keep growing strong. We are constantly asking
our customers, ‘What can we do for you?’”
Strong Customer Service, Earth-friendly
Products
Heydt’s vision includes improving the gardening
supply industry by consistently offering innovative, earth-friendly
products. “Gardening is the number-one hobby in the United
States , but a large majority of people are still using chemical
pesticides,” Heydt reflected, “We always look at the environmentally
friendly way of doing things first. There’s a smarter way
to garden.”
To expand the nation’s interest in and exposure
to year-round and organic gardening, Heydt and his staff
continually test and design new products every day. “In any
business you have to bring fresh new ideas and reinvent yourself
from time to time,” he said.
As such, after years of listening to its
customers and testing new ideas, the company launched its
own diverse line of products under the Sunleaves
Garden Products label. Currently, there are more than
40 Sunleaves Garden Products available, ranging from organics
to equipment.
The flagship product is the Garden
of Ease™, an easy-to-use hydroponic system that will
demystify hydroponic gardening for beginners. Because the
system is compact, has few parts, and can be assembled
in a short time, Heydt believes the Garden of Ease™ may
make year-round gardening more accessible to new hobbyists.
More earth-friendly reflective products
such as Duraflect are
also represented in the Sunleaves Garden Products line. More
durable than traditional mylar, the tear-resistant product
is strong enough to be cleaned and used season after season.
Other Sunleaves Garden Products innovations
include some smart new choices for year-round and organic
gardening enthusiasts. Byproducts of the coconut industry, Sunleaves
CoCoCubes, Expanding CoirBrick and
CoirBlock are made from shredded, compressed coconut hulls.
When placed in water, the absorbent blocks and bricks expand
to nearly nine times their original size. The plentiful,
renewable growing medium is biodegradable, naturally retains
air and moisture, and is used as a soil amendment by itself
or in soilless mixes.
Also available through the new product line
are many different bat and seabird guanos which gardeners
like as alternatives to chemical fertilizers. A rich source
of natural nutrients, guanos improve long-term soil culture
and work well as new compost pile primers. Sunleaves now
offers guanos from different regions for their differing
levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and trace minerals. For instance, Mexican
bat guano is typically high in nitrogen while both Indonesian and Jamaican bat
guanos are high in phosphorus. Sunleaves
Peruvian seabird guano is a good choice for gardeners
interested in a more all-purpose, natural fertilizer which
is high in the nutrients needed for every stage of plant
growth.
One of the company’s hottest new items is
the Sunleaves
Wormtopia, a live, red worm composting habitat. With
the Wormtopia, households can convert fruit and vegetable
scraps and even coffee grounds into fresh worm castings and
liquid vermicompost in a relatively short time. A single
person’s kitchen scraps can produce about four gallons of
fresh worm castings in six months. The unit, comprised of
four stacking layers, is odorless, made with recycled plastic,
and can be used indoors or out.
All Sunleaves products are designed for
simplicity, efficiency, and quality with the modern gardener
in mind.
Giving Back
In addition to offering a variety of earth-friendly
products and fast and friendly customer service, Worm's Way,
Inc., is also dedicated to educating its customers and tackling
tough issues.
From supporting Little League teams to bringing
hydroponics into the classroom, Worm’s Way, Inc., is dedicated
to its communities and neighbors. The company has participated
in garden-related initiatives such as Plant-A-Row
For The Hungry as well as the Grow Organic Educators
Series (GOES).
When approached by Hilltop Garden and Nature
Center in Bloomington , Ind. , to sponsor GOES, Worm’s Way,
Inc. was very excited to support a program that not only
has “local roots,” but also extends far into surrounding
communities. The program is very similar to a Master Gardener
program; however, the focus is on organics. People are trained
in organic gardening and must then complete 40 hours of service
work where they put into practice what they have learned
for such notable projects as the community gardening program
or wildlife planting project.
“Worm’s Way always bring a lot of enthusiasm
to the table, and it has become a good friend of local gardening
initiatives. They’ve really demonstrated their support by
not only talking their talk, but walking their walk,” Leah
Garlotte, director of Hilltop Garden and Nature Center explained.
The employee-owned
company is also actively involved with the industry’s “Hydro
for Hunger” campaign. A nonprofit collaboration designed
to generate aid from specific product sales through participating
hydroponics companies, the effort will expand to offer benefits
to additional organizations working to provide food relief
in famine-stricken countries. Proceeds fund education efforts
and purchase tools for hydroponics food production in developing
countries.
Clearly, Heydt’s original
concept has expanded beyond his wildest expectations. And,
he says, his vision will continue to expand. Heydt believes
the Sunleaves Garden Product line will keep growing, and
Bloomington Wholesale Garden Supply will continue to form
important partnerships and learn from its customers. One
of the most exciting developments is the newly released Gardener’s
Digest . The comprehensive, full-color catalog of year-round
gardening products represents a more cost-effective way for
independent retailers to stock their shelves based on the
demands of their customers. The Gardener’s Digest will
print twice a year and feature the latest organic, hydroponic,
indoor, and outdoor gardening supplies.
As the company continues
to evolve, Heydt remains thankful for his success. “It’s very
gratifying to Worm’s Way to see that people get a thrill out
of gardening. I’m still excited after all these years. I feel
very fortunate to come to work every day to a job I enjoy,”
he said.
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