Lovegreen Industrial Services

The owners of Lovegreen Industrial Services find new avenues for innovative manufacturing-related services, just as their dad might have.

By Nicole Garrison-Sprenger ngarrisonsprenger@ pioneerpress.com

Article Last Updated: 05/31/2008 03:14:18 AM CDT

Vern and Kevin Lovegreen always knew they'd inherit the family business. The brothers grew up pushing brooms and tinkering in the shop at Eagan-based Lovegreen Industrial Services. They knew the business inside and out. Still, they thought that when they took the reins of Lovegreen, their father would be there to show them the way. But in 1991, Vern J. Lovegreen died of cancer.

Kevin, who was 22, hadn't graduated from college, and Vern, then 24, had just finished his schooling. They had help from Jerry Johnson, whom their father had hand-picked to serve as vice president upon his death; but the brothers were nonetheless thrust into leadership much sooner than they and others at the company expected. And it wasn't the smooth takeover they would have liked.

"We had to get rid of a few people who couldn't understand that there were younger kids coming in," Kevin Lovegreen said. "People we had to let go said when they left, 'You guys are going to be done in two years or five years.' Of course, we were pretty confident and never believed that. Here we are, 17 years later, still plugging along and growing."

Lovegreen designs, builds and installs equipment used in manufacturing plants of companies like 3M Co. and General Electric Co. Though its customers have been squeezed of late, revenue at Lovegreen has held steady at about $18 million. Through April, sales were up 20 percent over last year. In 17 years, the brothers have certainly put their own stamp on the company.

A few years ago, they launched a consulting arm that now has the potential to be a significant profit driver for Lovegreen. Still, the executives are quick to credit their predecessors for their success. "That foundation built by our father and grandparents gave us some [momentum] to get through those early years when we didn't know as much," Kevin Lovegreen said. "Then we had good people to keep us rolling."

A veteran of the nation's wartime production plants, Vern O. Lovegreen founded Lovegreen Industrial Services in 1948. He began working out of his home in St. Paul's Highland Park then moved to Bloomington in the 1950s. When a friend came to Lovegreen and asked if he could build something for use washing hard-to reach windows, Lovegreen made him a boom truck. If someone wanted an easier way to get a boat into the lake, Lovegreen crafted a custom trailer. "He decided it was time to get paid for helping people out with different projects," Kevin Lovegreen said.

Today, Lovegreen builds conveyer systems for companies like Waste Management and material handling carts for Kmart and Andersen Windows. It's also the company guys like Mark Rist of film and silicone coating manufacturer Loparex in Hammond, Wis., call when they need to move a big piece of equipment, whether from one end of a the plant floor to another or halfway across the country. "I'm meeting crew down in Illinois (soon) to remove a piece of equipment and move it here," Rist said, adding he hired Lovegreen for the job. "They are the most responsive contractor I've worked with, and I work with a lot."

But given sagging sales in the manufacturing world, the Lovegreens decided they'd better figure out a way to diversify. In 2000, Lovegreen launched a risk-management division, designing and building safety guards for
shop classes in local schools. Today, Lovegreen Risk Management conducts safety audits for General Electric, NASA and General Dynamics and makes building guards and other safety equipment for various machines in the plants. "The sky is the limit with how far we want to push the thing," Kevin Lovegreen said. "These bigger companies really see the value in safety."

Lovegreen also is eyeing wind energy with great interest and recently landed a contract with wind energy giant Gamesa to make shipping pieces for different parts of the wind turbines Gamesa makes. The recycling industry also holds great promise. The conveyer systems Lovegreen makes are used by waste-management companies to sort trash and recyclables. As the recycling movement gains steam, the Lovegreens expect more business from the likes
of Waste Management and Allied Waste Co. "We're really trying to develop the next niche," said Vern Lovegreen. "Niches are easier to sell into. Our business is so diverse, we get lost trying to sell into (non)specific areas."

Though Vern and Kevin Lovegreen are still young - 41 and 39, respectively - and expect to be at the helm for many more years, the brothers occasionally wonder who will take over in their absence. Vern, Kevin and Jerry, who is married to the Lovegreens' sister, Linda, all have kids, but "at this point, no one has really shown much interest, and our kids are still young enough that there is no one biting at the bit wanting to take over," Kevin said. In the meantime, the brothers have many working years ahead of them, Vern said.

Nicole Garrison-Sprenger can be reached at 651-228-5580.