PlantAmerica NewsRoom

Clint Albin, managing director of the Garden Center Management Group (gcmgroup) and former director of marketing and retail services with the American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA), has joined PlantAmerica, an expanding green industry technology firm. He will serve as president of the PlantAmerica while maintaining his affiliation with gcmgroup.

“Clint brings a wealth of industry experience and creativity to our team,” said PlantAmerica Chairman Rick Webel, ” “Having worked within multiple sectors of the industry, he understands the real-world challenges and opportunities first hand. His industry knowledge, relationships, and passion and commitment to the success of the independent garden center, will help us to realize our goal of helping green industry businesses take advantage of the Internet.”

Albin formed the gcmgroup as managing director in 1999 with industry consultants Robert Hendrickson and Kurt Fromherz to help independent garden centers improve profitability through a complete range of financial, marketing, and management resources. Prior to joining gcmgroup, he was director of marketing and retail services at ANLA from 1989 to 1999, where, in collaboration with the Garden Centers of America leadership, he built a portfolio of services for independent garden centers. These included the retail specialty tour, operating cost study, “how-to” publication series, and a robust educational program at the Management Clinic. Before joining ANLA, Albin served as a department manager at three different Shemin Nurseries facilities from 1986 to 1989.

PlantAmerica was co-founded in 1995 by Rick Webel, managing partner of Innocenti and Webel—Landscape Architects, Architects & Strategic Planners, and Dr. Michael Dirr, horticulture professor at the University of Georgia and author of over 300 publications, including the Manual of Woody Landscape Plants.

The company has become a key resource for the professional horticulturist, nurserymen, and design professionals, by providing an exclusive source of CD-based plant references based on the works of Dr. Dirr and Dr. Allan Armitage. PlantAmerica is currently expanding its management team and resource base to provide real-world Internet tools for the green industry.