Business Link

by Claire Warneke

“To succeed you need to keep the following in mind: be tenacious, emphasize
quality, know what you are doing, back up your service and enjoy what you do,”
says managing member of Vusumzi Picket Lane, Julia Hoggins.

Fifteen years ago, the award winning landscaping and irrigation company was started by pig farmer, Bryn Mukheibir. The modest nursery thrived on the by-product manure from his farm and Mukheibir and his partners, Julia Hoggins and Siviko Moyo began taking on small residential landscaping projects for nursery customers.

L-R: Bryn, Julia and Siviko

The threesome makes a great team, each with their own expertise. Hoggins holds a BSc Hons degree in Botany and Zoology and has completed various design courses. Mukheibir has a B Com degree which aids in the business side of the company and Moyo is a skilled irrigation technician and manages the company’s irrigation projects from inception to completion.

“Vusumzi means ‘wake up home’ and refers to a sense of upliftment which we think applies to both the business and our country as a whole,” says Hoggins. With no experience in the landscaping and irrigation industry, the owners began building up their knowledge and experience by joining various associations (Landscape Irrigation Association, South African Landscapers Institute and East Cape Green Forum) and made sure they kept up with the trends in the industry.

“We also regularly attend national trade shows, conferences and meetings to bring new and creative ideas back to the Eastern Cape to ensure we keep in touch with this ever-changing industry,” says Hoggins.

“We steadily built up our client base through commitment to service and quality, and gradually took on larger, more challenging projects.”

As their reputation grew, so did the size of their projects. “We gradually moved from doing small residential landscaping projects to big landscape and irrigation contracts for municipalities, universities, government institutions and many large corporations,” says Hoggins. It was this transition that was one of the most difficult challenges for the company. “Building up resources and the capacity to complete multi-million Rand commercial projects with limited cash flow has often been challenging,” says Hoggins.

The owners of Vusumzi Picket Lane attribute their success to their ability to interpret and implement the unique requirements of each client. “We have always maintained a high level of service during and after a project. We often get repeat customers and ‘word of mouth’ customers because of this,” says Hoggins.

“We also believe that our ability to adapt to change has attributed to our success – not only do clients regularly change their minds, but we also adapt quickly to change in the industry.”

The recent water crisis and water restrictions have had a major effect on the business, but the Vusumzi owners are persevering and encouraging their clients to become more aware of climate change issues. “We are currently encouraging our clients to continue gardening but advising them to change their gardening habits,” explains Hoggins. “They need to implement water conservation techniques such as changing to indigenous and water-wise plants, increasing pebbled or mulched areas, collecting rainwater and installing grey water systems.”

The company has been very involved in the establishment of an Eastern Cape branch of the Landscape Irrigation Association to promote the use of correctly installed irrigation systems using accredited installers. It has also won a number of awards for its ‘green’ efforts. “We have won a South African Landscapers Institute (SALI) silver award of excellence in 2009 for our work at the Coega Office Complex and a SALI merit award for the Nelson Mandela Bay Logistics Park,” says Hoggins. “Both sites are 100% indigenous gardens.” Vusumzi Picket Lane is an excellent example of identifying business potential.

It has blossomed from an initiative to use excess pig manure into an award-winning landscaping and irrigation business through the hard work, commitment and passion of three Eastern Cape business people.