Landart Solutions Growing with Cat Equipment

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Michele Horn is the proud owner of Landart Solutions, where she and her team find the joy in problem solving. Based out of Fayetteville, NC, Michele and her husband and business partner, Matt Horn, have built their company over the past 11 years from 3 employees in their home, to 25 employees and 2 office locations. The women-owned business started with governmental contracting projects, but has branched into residential and commercial projects as well throughout their years. Michele says, Landart Solutions learned to be a big company before they were one.

The Landart Solutions name was crafted from the background the couple has. Michele comes from an Art background, and Matt, Landscape. It seemed logical to integrate both when the company was incorporated. The company strives to create ascetically pleasing jobs wherever they work. They refer to their work as Landscape Construction – as they go above and beyond to make sure that everything is functional and inviting. The Landart Solutions company motto is “on a mission to bring you outside.” They are able to bring a site from soil to inviting, where you will enjoy being outside.

Landscape Solutions partners with Gregory Poole to work smarter, not harder. The relationship that the two companies have built, leads Landart Solutions to only want to work with Gregory Poole and Cat machines. Their first purchase was in 2010, but they have always been familiar with Cat equipment and preferred it. Landart Solutions currently owns a 257B2, 289D and a 257D Compact Track/Multi Terrain Loader and a 304 Mini Excavator. They use the Cat Rental Store for any of their other jobsite needs, depending on how many pieces of equipment they need at each jobsite at any given time.

Michele and her team work with their Gregory Poole Representatives often, and have built those relationships even further throughout the years. Marcus Daniels, Sales Representative, talks about how he has seen Landart Solutions grow exponentially, and do so with great success. Michele also recognized their Service Representative, Jamie Yates, for great customer service and “always having the answers.” The company appreciates those times when Jamie, or someone from his team, can walk them through the smaller issues over the phone so they don’t have a lot of downtime with a machine not in use. But it is not only the work that Landart Solutions values about Gregory Poole. A few years back Gregory Poole was holding a contest for a family getaway to the coast – Michele happened to win the contest and take a few days off to enjoy time with her family. They can all look back on that trip fondly, knowing that Gregory Poole cares about them as well.

One of Landart Solutions’ recent projects was at the McDeeds Creek Elementary School in Carthage, NC, preparing the area, that was previously a plot of land, into functional and inviting school grounds. One of the last parts of the project involved creating a 40,000 sq. ft. retention pond along one side of the school grounds.  They started at this jobsite in September/ October of 2018, and were finishing up with this pond before the 2019 school year began. They used a telebelt truck to get the material to the bottom of the area without leaving a footprint in the bio pond area itself. One of their key components for this part of the project was focusing on storm-water run-off, slow retention and filtration of water before it leaves the site.

The company has projects across the state, from Charlotte to Wilmington, going as far North in the state as Wake Forest. They have upcoming projects with a multi-family housing complex, Lakeside Crabtree in Raleigh, the Greensboro airport, and have been involved with projects on many schools in Wilmington, Sanford, Whispering Pines and more. As a woman-owned business and NC Certified HUB, Landart solutions is a big part in several state projects, including multiple projects with the NC DOT.

Although Michele and Matt no longer get to be on the jobsite as often, now that the business has grown, they have a trustworthy team to back them up. The team consists of 5 Supervisors, Field Managers and Operator Managers to ensure that every jobsite is running smoothly and up to the standards that the Horn’s created with their company. It is easy to see the pride that Michele has in her company, whether it be high-fiving her Operators on the jobsite, or the passion that shows through talking about where Landart Solutions has come from and where see can see it going. All the company’s Operators have come to the company with little or no experience, but as soon as they get in the machine and develop their skills with on the job training, they gain that same pride and passion that Michele has shown them. Michele mentioned specifically one Operator who did not come to the company with much, but has since gotten his driver’s license, passed his GED, and comes off as more confident and happy as he continues to grow with a company culture he values. Passion and excitement for the job are easily caught when your leader has those values, and Michele shows how that pays off first hand.