![\"Visiting](\"https:\/\/endowment.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/imported-files\/BellNurseryPoinsettias2-1080x675.jpg\")
![\"Bell](\"https:\/\/endowment.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/BellNurseryGroupPhoto.jpg\")
<\/a>AFE Executive Director Debi Aker meets with Bell Nursery employees at their corporate headquarters in Elkridge, Md. From left to right, Bell employees are Tom Wheeler, Kevin Titherington, Cole Mangum, CEO Gary Mangum, Joe Perret and Paul Chisholm.<\/p> Bell grows more than 1 million poinsettias annually.<\/p> <\/p> Joe Perret, vice president of systems and technology, joined the Bell team nearly five years ago and developed revolutionary technologies for accurate product distribution. The tools enable Bell to know precisely what its 200 stores have on hand and what the product actually looks like. Checkers inspect everything that leaves Bell on its way to The Home Depot, ensuring stores get only the highest quality product.<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> Kevin Titherington, warehouse manager, has been with Bell since 1991 and is the longest serving employee. He has done a bit of everything in his years at Bell and enjoys seeing how many job opportunities exist in horticulture.<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> A few of the towering trees hand-decorated by Premier Landscapes, Bell\u2019s sister company.<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> Cole Mangum in Burtonsville.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"template":"","news-categories":[42,50,31,29],"class_list":["post-2414","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","news-categories-grower","news-categories-internship","news-categories-latest-news","news-categories-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
In the late 1920s, Rose and Grafton Mangum built a greenhouse at their Maryland home, an endeavor that grew into the booming enterprise that is now Bell Nursery<\/strong><\/a>. AFE recently visited Bell, the largest wholesale nursery grower in the mid-Atlantic based on production space, and got a taste for the company\u2019s commitment to high-quality plants.
AFE supporters since 2000, Bell Nursery exclusively supplies more than 100 million retail ready plants annually to The Home Depot. Bell\u2019s plants are found in 200 Home Depot stores in seven states and Washington D.C.
Cole Mangum, Bell\u2019s vice president of production, said that while it may seem risky to send all of Bell\u2019s annuals, perennials, poinsettias and more to one company, the nursery\u2019s relationship with The Home Depot is secure.
\u201cWe\u2019ve been working with The Home Depot for nearly 25 years,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cThey understand the value of \u2018partnership\u2019 and operate in a way that is positive versus adversarial. Mutual respect is real.\u201d<\/a>
At its headquarters in a distribution warehouse in Elkridge, Md., it quickly becomes clear that Bell is a company primarily focused on producing a high-quality product while also staying attuned to innovation. A few years ago, Bell decided it was time for its 600-plus full time employees and 900 seasonal employees to work smarter, not harder.Using Technology to \u201cWow\u201d Customers<\/strong><\/h2>
\u201cThese tools are the linchpin of what we\u2019re doing and drive our business every day,\u201d Perret said. \u201cWe have an inventory target on every item in every store for every week of the year.\u201d
Accuracy and consistency are invaluable. All stores have target quantities of each item, and, with the help of a daily sales report from Home Depot, Bell replenishes all orders to ensure stores consistently meet their targets.
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A massive spreadsheet displays Bell\u2019s inventory at any location on any day, so employees can clearly see if stores have the correct amount of product. Perret also implemented creative ways to measure qualitative standards, from color and freshness to blocking. In spring 2013, all of this data went mobile so employees can easily access it.
\u201cIt really gets back to determining what the customer\u2019s perception is when they\u2019re shopping,\u201d Perret said. \u201cWe want to \u2018wow\u2019 them and make them feel like they\u2019re the first person to shop at that display.\u201d
And the tools are working. Years ago, 30 percent of what Bell sent to stores got dumped, and today that number is at just 15 percent.Blossoming Internship Opportunities<\/strong><\/h2>
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Mangum is intrigued by the wealth of possible jobs that exist within horticulture, and showing those possibilities to young people is one reason Bell participated as a host employer for AFE\u2019s Vic & Margaret Ball Intern Scholarship Program<\/strong><\/a> and hopes to host many more AFE interns in the future.
A personal report from AFE intern Mark Keeley<\/strong><\/a> of the University of Florida about his experiences at Bell Nursery is also available.
Since its stores are split among Bell\u2019s distribution locations and greenhouses, there are lots of different geographic opportunities for interns.
\u201cMaybe the interns get hooked on the growing side of things \u2013 and that\u2019s great \u2013 but maybe they gravitate toward something else, like logistics or marketing,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s always room in the industry for hard workers to succeed and grow.\u201dDecking the Halls<\/strong><\/h2>
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That idea that there is always room for expansion is why Bell moved its headquarters to Elkridge in 2011 from a location in Burtonsville, Md. The move allowed Bell to expand from three loading docks to 20, making it possible for the company to receive and distribute products more easily. The Maryland facilities are replicated in Delaware, Virginia and Ohio as well to ensure fresh product ships to every retail location served.
The Burtonsville location also houses Bell\u2019s sister company Premier Plantscapes, an interior and specialty exterior landscape service provider. From mid-September through December, Premier Plantscapes turns a warehouse into a holiday paradise, fondly known as the \u201cChristmas barn,\u201d that is on track to generate $2 million this season.
Every winter, Premier decorates street trees, commercial buildings and historic sites around Washington D.C. with wreaths, garlands, trees and more.
Every tree light, bow, decorative ball, etc. is hand placed, giving employees overtime opportunities around the holiday season and allowing Bell to keep more of its employees on throughout the winter.
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of growth in this side of the business. It\u2019s really interesting,\u201d Mangum said. \u201cWe like it because it lets us keep so much of the same workforce year-round.\u201dA Green Thumb<\/strong><\/h2>
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Whether Bell is assembling holiday wreaths or upgrading plants for higher retail values, everything is done with sustainability in mind.
In 2009, Bell became one of the first commercial growers in the country to earn Veriflora certification, the gold standard in the floriculture industry that guarantees products have been produced in an environmentally responsible way.
A few years ago, Bell started a recycling program influenced by The Home Depot, recycling everything from pots and trays to sleeves, boxes, tags and signs. They were able to recycle more than 300 tons of materials this year.
Mangum said focusing on sustainability is \u201cjust the right thing to do,\u201d even if there is a slight cost associated with operating such a robust recycling program.
A four-tiered belief system along those lines runs through everything Bell does: (1) quality, (2) service, (3) innovation and (4) value.
\u201cWe never ever sacrifice quality and service for cost,\u201d Mangum said. \u201cThat\u2019s just not what we do at Bell.\u201d
And for a company that grew from one simple greenhouse to a total growing space of 220 acres, it seems their belief system is working.
For more photos, visit AFE\u2019s Facebook.<\/strong><\/a>