By Larry Limpf
Press News Editor
news@presspublications.com
Article published January 24, 2006
Greenhouse owners in Northwest Ohio have decided it’s best to band together to meet challenges facing the industry, including competition from Canada and nearby states.
The recently unveiled Maumee Valley Growers is organized around the concept of an industrial cluster – loosely defined as a geographic concentration of businesses in a particular industry as well as partners such as research departments at universities and economic development agencies.
And MVG is looking for more members from the 80 or so greenhouses in Erie, Fulton, Lucas, Ottawa, and Wood counties, says Michael Carroll, director of the Bowling Green State University Center for Regional Development.
"Northwest Ohio is in the top 5 percent of the country’s greenhouse producing regions," he said. "By pooling the expertise in the area, greenhouses will be better equipped to deal with competition from Canada and surrounding states and improve their operations, all while providing better plants for customers."
MVG organizers say the priorities for the cluster include developing a "buy local" promotional campaign, addressing energy cost and supply problems, improving the management structure at greenhouses, and improving purchasing power among greenhouses.
"Maumee Valley Growers includes retail and wholesale greenhouse growers throughout Northwest Ohio. As the cluster develops, membership may expand to include greenhouse vegetable and landscape plant growers," said Dean Krauskopf, who will be visiting area greenhouses with an eye on identifying opportunities for collaboration and organizing networking events.
Avis Dearing, whose husband, Bill, owns Dearing Greenhouse on Nebraska Avenue in Toledo, said even after being in the business for 50 years they hope to gain useful information by joining the cluster.
"There is a lot of competition," she said. The operation primarily sells spring bedding plants.
The cluster is headed by a 13-member advisory board that includes representatives from eight greenhouses, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur’s office, the Regional Growth Partnership, and the cooperative extension offices in Lucas and Wood Counties.
Financial support comes from a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant which is managed by Carroll and Neil Reid, associate professor of Geography and Planning and interim director of the Urban Affairs Center at the University of Toledo.
Joe Perlaky, project manager for MVG, said the idea for a cluster stems from a "white paper" published several years ago by Carroll and Reid that identified strengths and weaknesses of the Northwest Ohio economy.
"The key is to join forces and work as a collaborative venture," Perlaky said. "Traditionally, the greenhouse business is family oriented. As things get more complex, we’re trying to set up a format where growers can share practical information and experiences with those in the research community."
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, greenhouse/floral-nursery crop production in the country represents a $16 billion a year industry. The Ohio Department of Agriculture estimated the annual wholesale value of flower and plant sales in the state at $203 million in 2004.
The cluster’s advisory board decided to move quickly on a branding strategy, Krauskopf said.
"With an identity and branding program, we can better attract members to grow the organization," he said.
The board retained Thread Information Design, Maumee, to develop the cluster name and initial marketing plan and to create a logo.
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