A family tradition

Growing up around Fessler Nursery, the business his parents founded in 1960, gave Marvin Fessler a lifetime of greenhouse experience. He remembers constructing hundreds of flats every morning before school, and getting his hands dirty mixing soil and planting alongside his brother and sister.

After working various odd-end jobs in the nursery throughout school, Fessler discovered how much he enjoyed building projects, and decided to pursue a degree in construction engineering management. He worked for a construction company after college, but about one year into his career, he realized he was spending too much time at a desk.

“I grew up doing hands-on work outdoors, not sitting behind a computer,” he says. “Working for another family-run business helped me realize I could own, improve and grow my own family’s business instead of working for someone else.”

Fessler returned to the nursey in the mid-90s, joining his brother Dale, who already worked there full-time, just as their dad began planning for retirement. Now, as one of the owners of Fessler Nursery, Marvin Fessler oversees finished production of spring annuals and bedding plants while working alongside his brother, who runs the tropical foliage division, and his sister, Debbie Farrell, who heads up the propagation division. His wife, Katy, also orchestrates spring retail sales on-site, and Dale’s wife, Janie, works in the office. With Dale’s son, Tanner, poised to take the business into the third generation, Fessler Nursery is truly a family affair.

“Quality is definitely a priority for us, and we care about what we do,” Fessler says. With the tradition and reputation of his family name at stake, Fessler focuses on preparing the business for success in the next generation and beyond.

Move toward automation

When Fessler joined the business full-time as head grower, his dad still watered every plant by hand. But as the nursery continued to expand, basic tasks like watering became more time- and labor-intensive.

“As you grow, you don’t have the manpower or the time to do everything,” Fessler says. “So, you have to invest in automation to make it work.”

Fessler helped his father automate watering throughout the nursery, installing drip irrigation for hanging baskets along with misters and watering booms in the propagation facilities. While some manual watering still happens along the edges, most of it is now automated on a set schedule.

Over time, the nursery also introduced flat fillers, soil mixers and transplanters to automate other aspects of growing. Fessler says the nursery’s first big investment in automation came about four years ago with the addition of an AutoStix automated sticking machine.

“People wanted more and more product, and we just couldn’t keep up,” Fessler says. “We were running short on labor, especially in our cutting division, so we had to automate. The automated sticking machine has saved on labor in our propagation division, and now we rely on it heavily.”

Last year, the nursery also purchased three ISO machines to stick foliage cuttings in the houseplant division. During the winter, Fessler also uses these machines to stick cuttings of spring annuals that aren’t available in AutoStix Strips.

While automation has relieved some of the nursery’s dependence on manual labor, it’s still not easy to find all the workers they need. To mitigate this challenge, Fessler partners with firms that contract local labor as needed — providing seasonal help without the stress of hiring or laying off workers.

Hands-on example

In the finished annuals division, Fessler oversees a production manager/head grower and four section growers. The growing team spans about 80 people at peak, down to 45 core employees during the off-season. The nursery gets so busy during spring that it requires all hands on deck — including his. Fessler says his hands-on approach gives him opportunities to teach his crews by showing rather than telling, which helps to ensure quality and consistency throughout 850,000 square feet of covered production space.

“I work alongside the crew loading trucks, pulling orders, setting irrigation timers, repairing sprinklers, etc.,” Fessler says. “If you’re out there working right alongside them, they respect you and trust you more than if you’re just sitting in the office telling them what to do.”

As much as he loves the physical work and the people involved in the nursery business, Fessler looks forward to eventually handing over the stressful job of managing labor and delivery schedules day-to-day. With plans to retire within the next 10 years, Fessler is preparing to hand the reins over to his brother’s son, Tanner, who is currently the only member of the third generation involved in the family business.

“We have the next generation on board, thanks to my nephew,” Fessler says. “We plan to support him and our other long-standing employees for years to come.”