LONDON, ONTARIO (CANADA) — JULY 20, 2022 — Schill Grounds Management is expanding into Canada through the acquisition of TLC Landscaping in London, Ontario as the company offers best-in-class commercial landscaping and snow and ice removal services to clients of all sizes in the region.
TLC will continue operating with that name as it joins the Schill family, and will expand into the Toronto area in the coming months. The combination of Schill and TLC brings better technology and operational support for commercial and multifamily customers in the Ontario market, which has many similarities to Schill’s home market of Ohio.
Separately, Schill is also enhancing service in Cincinnati, Ohio with the purchase of Grounds Elite, LLC, which has been providing complete grounds management service in that region for 20 years and deepens Schill’s service offerings and footprint throughout southwest Ohio and into the Dayton market as the company expands.
TLC is Schill’s first international acquisition and it gives the growing company a new service area across Lake Erie and to the north of its hometown footprint in and around Cleveland. TLC has repeatedly been voted a top landscaping company by The London Free Press and it holds an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau. Schill is actively seeking additional acquisitions in the southern Ontario province as it strengthens operations in and around the Greater Toronto Area.
“We are very excited to add TLC’s visionary leadership team and employees to the Schill family as we come together to provide the very best service to customers in south Ontario and enter the Toronto market with strength and momentum,” said Jerry Schill, CEO of Schill Grounds Management and founder of the company nearly 30 years ago. “In Cincinnati, Grounds Elite gives us a greater service footprint and operational efficiency across southwest Ohio and Dayton.”
The acquisitions are the sixth and seventh purchases in less than two years as Schill drives thoughtful and intentional consolidation in a highly fragmented industry by acquiring well-run businesses with strong leadership, positive culture and shared values. With the TLC and Grounds Elite combination, Schill will have a team of about 775 employees, making it one of the largest family-owned landscaping companies in North America.
TLC CEO Jay Murray will become President of Canada for Schill, and TLC VP of Operations David Leff will become Director of Operations for Canada.
“TLC and Schill share the same values of superior service, innovation and investing to grow the business as well as enhancing a strong company culture. We are thrilled to become part of the Schill ecosystem as we meet the needs of customers in southern Ontario and beyond,” said Murray, who has run TLC for more than 35 years.
Schill is methodically acquiring privately held landscaping and snow and ice removal businesses throughout the Midwest and the southern part of the Ontario province in Canada as it spearheads consolidation at a time when many family-owned companies are looking for an exit or retirement strategy.
Schill is committed to preserving family values and a positive culture while providing customers with seamless, high-quality services across the entire state of Ohio and parts of Illinois, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and West Virginia — and now in and around the Greater Toronto Area.
Schill’s other recent acquisitions include:
- Enviroscapes in Ohio and parts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia
- Ward + Thornton Landscapes in Cincinnati
- Fredericks Landscaping in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky
- Ohio Valley Group in Cleveland
- McCoy Landscape Services in Marion, Ohio
ABOUT SCHILL GROUNDS MANAGEMENT
Schill Grounds Management is a leading provider of year-round landscaping and snow and ice removal services for multi-family, retail, office, mixed-use, healthcare and industrial properties of all sizes located in the Upper Midwest. The Company, which is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, was founded in 1993 by Jerry Schill, who still serves as the Company’s President and CEO. Over the last three decades Schill has grown from a single branch operator in Northeast Ohio to a 13 branch operator serving thousands of properties across Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. In 2020, Argonne Capital Group, LLC made a majority investment in Schill as part of a strategic plan to consolidate the fragmented commercial landscaping industry.
Media Contact: 440-827-2481
LOOKING TO GROW OR EXIT YOUR COMMERCIAL LANDSCAPING BUSINESS?
We are actively seeking acquisitions within the commercial landscape space in Ohio and beyond. Our team is looking to buy companies of various sizes as part of a concerted effort to consolidate the highly fragmented commercial landscaping industry while preserving the family culture and servant leadership for which Schill Grounds Management is known. Our strategy is not to do several acquisitions, flip them, and leave a trail in our wake. Our goal is to partner with like-minded companies that:
- Have great cultures
- Are aligned with our values and goals
- Put people at the forefront
- Love process, order, and continuous improvement
