History

Mission Statement

• To be a wholesale nursery of honesty and integrity.
• Growing and marketing a wide spectrum of quality plants.
• Providing prompt efficient service to our customers.
• To have motivated knowledgeable staff innovative in both production and promotion.
• Caring about the well being and safety of the others we work with.
• Profiting fairly through our efficiency.

Overview

Growing Spectrum was established in 1988 by Peter and Carol Fraser and it has grown to a vibrant company employing 34 full-time staff. Our growing area now consists of 6 acres of Field Product and 8 acres of container product with a further 10 acres in tree production. We are currently producing over 400,000 plants per annum.

Wholesale Plant Nurseries generally supply plants of different grades. At the lower level there are plants grown for revegetation projects, slightly better quality plants are required by landscapers and on the top rung there are garden centres, who require premium quality plants to sell at retail level.

In 2001 a Growing Spectrum management-team brainstorm reinforced an earlier decision to concentrate our efforts into supplying product into the garden centre market which meant we would always focus on producing top quality plants.
Quality control is strict at every stage, beginning in the Propagation department where cuttings, seeds and seedlings are raised.

Our Production team nurtures the small plants through their life stages and finally our vigilant despatch team do not let any sub-standard plants go out with orders. We have achieved respect throughout the nursery industry for our quality plants and are recognised as a market leader.

Growing Spectrum prides itself on its employee relations. Our stable staff have pride in the company and the products they grow. An open forum is held every Friday morning when everyone has the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues.

In conjunction with our Horticultural Training Centre, staff training has been implemented in the last two years with the focus always on continuous improvement and multi-skilling as many staff as possible.

We produce in-house a monthly user-friendly catalogue of current lines available for our extensive client list. We also release an Annual Indent catalogue, enabling customers to forward order product. A large percentage of our product is grown on contract, the balance on spec. Currently 60% of all planned crops are presold or indented by our customers.

Two full-time sales reps visit clients throughout the North Island on a fortnightly cycle with emphasis on building relationships that are long term and beneficial to both parties. To back up the sales team we have very knowledgeable staff in the office, who field a huge number of questions daily on the phone. We are proud of the loyal relationships that we have developed with both customers and suppliers.

Product is delivered to clients in the North Island in the same week of ordering where ever possible. This is almost unique in our industry but we use our own delivery trucks to ensure stringent delivery schedules are maintained. The initiative of a South Island grower trucking product regularly to the South Island now means that we supply more product to South Island Garden Centres.

To add to the appeal of our product at retail outlets, we provide colour plant labels and other point of sale material to assist the Garden Centre staff. We have developed a range of easily recognisable labels for our signature crops using the spectrum brand. Our latest marketing focus is building brand recognition at retail level with the redevelopment of our label range, point of sale material and sign writing on trucks and vans.