Family-Owned Poul’s Landscaping & Nursery, Inc. in Long Grove, IL Celebrates 50 Years in Business

Long Grove, IL, March 29, 2016 --(PR.com)-- Poul Kjeldbjerg, who immigrated to the United States from Denmark in 1959, is enjoying the rare occasion of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the business he founded in 1966 – Poul’s Landscaping & Nursery, Inc. The award-winning design/build firm and tree nursery is owned and operated by the Kjeldbjerg family, prominent members of Chicago’s robust landscape industry and local Danish-American civic groups. Poul (now Paul), his sons Alan and Dan, and their spouses, have built a successful small business that has endured long past the average 25 year lifespan of the typical family-run business. Reflecting on the milestone, Dan comments “It is both challenging and extremely rewarding to run a family business - it requires a delicate balance between building the business and maintaining positive family relationships.”

After arriving in the U.S., Paul learned the nursery business from fellow Danish immigrant and industry forerunner, Otto Damgaard. Seven years later, Paul and his wife Margit started their own business in the basement of their Prospect Heights, IL, home with just one full-time employee, a pick-up truck, trailer, and a 1966 Ford tractor. Margit did much of the office work while raising their three children. In 1983, Paul astutely invested in 45 acres of land in Long Grove, complete with barn and farm house, which became the hub of the operation. A few years later, Paul’s oldest son, Dan, joined the company after graduating with a BS Degree in Marketing from Northern Illinois University. The first sapling trees were field-planted that same year and the wholesale nursery office opened its doors in 1992. In 1993, Paul’s youngest son, Alan, joined the company after earning a Horticulture Degree from Ohio State University, and soon took over the nursery operations. Continuing to grow, the business acquired 112-acres of land in Wadsworth, Illinois in 1999 where it continues to operate wholesale nursery fields.

As the company celebrates its 50th year in business, it continues to evolve – expanding its breadth of services beyond the familiar aspects of trees, shrubs and gardens to suit modern lifestyles. “A yard isn’t just a swing set and a grill anymore – it’s a fresh-air living space where the conveniences of a kitchen and family room can be enjoyed with the well-being benefits of nature,” explains Dan. The company is consistently recognized as one of the top landscape contractors in the area, earning national and regional design awards, as well as winning the Angie’s List Super Service Award five years in a row.

To mark the milestone anniversary, Poul’s is partnering with Habitat For Humanity - Lake County to provide landscaping for three local home building projects, and is sponsoring a HFH community tool drive. In addition, the company is establishing a scholarship fund to benefit the families of Poul’s employees.