Te Atlanta Metro area is one of the largest sod markets in the US, and our four locations surround it. We’re within 60 miles of any market within the Atlanta Metro area. We can cut a load in the morning and deliver it in the afternoon.
Dad and I get along great. We’re a big enough company that we don’t step on each other’s toes too often. Tat helps our dynamics and gives each of us a bit of autonomy. We talk frequently. Jutt focuses really well on the business side of the company. He and I talk a lot of numbers and strategy, which is great.
Almost half of out total acres are in middle Georgia, and that’s where I spend most of my time. I go to locations based on the needs of the farm—and that’s a moving target.
We try to plan for the next five or ten years, but external forces do change plans. In 2007 and 2008, we continued to grow and even acquired a farm during difficult economic times. We’re constantly growing, and the market is still good.
Te McWhorter family members pictured here include: back row, left to right, Aaron McWhorter, Merett Alexander and Mark McWhorter; front row, left to right, Claire Alexander (11), Riley Alexander (12), Addie McWhorter (17) and Josie Alexander (11).
maintenance software program. In the future, we want to be able to get signed invoices on tablets and send copies instantly to an email address, if a customer so wishes.
We strive to provide top-level customer service and quality with everything we ship. We have over 95 percent on-time delivery for a specific time, not a four hour “window.” We track shipments through GPS on all our trucks. We do a lot of small deliveries. Our minimum is one pallet. We run forklifts on all of our trucks. NG Turf does not install sod. We do install sprigs.
My sister (Merett) does an excellent job with the golf course part of our business. She’s totally involved in that aspect of the industry, attending all the meetings, and keeping up with who’s who. She’s taken what was a small division for us and built it to a large part of our total sales. My involvement with the golf course market is primarily planning to supply the sod when it’s needed.
It takes all segments of the business working well to compliment each other. We have to have the quality, service, and ongoing support to deliver on each sale. Our business breaks down to: 20 percent golf courses, 8 percent homeowners; 5 percent sports fields, and the rest landscape contractors.
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I have a passion for this business and really enjoy it. My goal is to constantly make the company better, more streamlined and the most efficient it can be. My favorite part of my position is pulling the whole puzzle together and taking all those pieces to assimilate a great team that comes together and functions smoothly. I tell my managers to perceive themselves as coaches, coaching each player up to the next level all the time. Look for their highest potential and train them up to be competent workers.
My daughter, Addie, is a senior in high school, currently looking at colleges.
Merett Alexander Growing up, I did everything on the farm: stacking, running a forklift, mowing, and driving the tractor with a pull-behind reel mower. I was managing the Sports Turf Company installation crews while I was still in high school. We hired students from our high school and would install up to four truckloads a day.
I looked at other options before graduation from Auburn. I interned in Washington, D.C., for one summer and thought I would never come back to the farm. I entered Auburn University as a pre-vet student, but changed majors the first semester. I graduated as an Ag Econ major with a minor in turf and came back to NG Turf. I started on a Sports Turf Crew and then came back to the farm overseeing harvesting and loading trucks. I eventually moved into the office, managing sales and coordinating things, serving as office manager. My oldest daughter was seventeen months old when our twin girls were born. I decided to stay home with my girls for a few years.
When I came back, I focused on golf course sales, a very small part of our business at that time. It became my
TPI Turf News September/October 2017
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