Rootrainer Trees has shown major growth over the past twelve months and can now be hailed as a significant success story as it progresses from a small company which started in England, into a global force in arboreal supplies and conservation.  Initially starting with offices in America, Thailand, Australia and South Africa, during the first six months of last year new offices opened in Brazil and Japan.  The last few weeks have seen the launch of offices in Argentina, India and Indonesia.  

Expansion plans for the future include regional offices in seventeen more countries as many governments worldwide are starting to prioritise environmental issues.  The original aim of the company; ‘to help in arresting the deforestation of the United Kingdom, by providing indigenous trees at a reasonable cost’ has grown into a multi million dollar business across the globe.

The core business still remains the container grown one-year-old seedlings called Rootrainers.  Costs continue to be kept low (both financially and environmentally) by retaining the sales of bare rooted trees in the second and subsequent years.  

During the past twelve months some restructuring has taken place within the company.  Takeo Ogawa was appointed to oversee the opening of the Japanese office and had such a profound impact on Rootrainer Trees that he now heads the ‘South East Asian Division’ which includes the current offices in Japan, Thailand, Australia, India and Indonesia.  His business plan has led to diversification, and there are current developments in the following areas:

bonsai trees
landscaping
koi carp

The problems experienced in 2002 with supply and demand still exist but to a lesser degree.  Rootrainer Trees nurseries continue to run at full capacity within England, and regional nurseries are now in full swing in America, Thailand and South Africa.  America currently has two nurseries with others in the planning stages, and a 17,000-acre site has been acquired in Malaysia to try to counter the rapidly increasing demand.  Here is a summary of the site allocations:

The company still maintains its policy of not lifting plants for specific dates, if plant condition or weather conditions are such that damage is likely to be sustained during or as a result of lifting during these periods.  The company has made every effort to meet their customers' planting deadlines, but have always kept their customers fully informed if this has not been possible.  

As in 2002, this has meant that whilst demand continues to rise dramatically for the larger trees, Rootrainer Trees can not meet that demand throughout the season.  Where the size a customer has specified has not been available, the company has substituted the next size down and customers have been informed about the reduction in price.

The market for shrubs has also continued to increase and Rootrainer Trees has continued to add an even wider range of shrubs which are entirely suitable for amateur gardeners and in particular the development of wildlife habitats.  This is an example of some acid loving small trees and shrubs:

The company database has outgrown its current hardware and has been redesigned to allow on-line requests usingthe internet.  These requests will list all the products and availability within each country, as well as providing the customer with the opportunity to request data on trees which meet their specific needs.  For example, if a customer requested trees which were available for an acidic soil and which were between 40 and 89 centimetres in height, the database would suggest which trees or shrubs would be most suitable.  It will also provide valuable information about the habit of each specimen, the maximum growing height and spread, growth rates and a multitude of other information.

The advent of the web server for the database has only been a partial success this year.  The other element in last years, corporate development plan was to introduce a secure ordering facility to their customers.  This element is still under development but has been complicated by the issues of demand outstripping the available supply and how to meet the perceived increase in sales that this is likely to cause.