SPENCER — Arnie Arsenault has spent his entire professional life building up his family’s landscaping business, A. Arsenault Sons Inc.
The company was founded by his father, Arnold Arsenault, in 1979. Arnie Arsenault has been working with the company since he was 12 years old, when he started mowing lawns for the company’s customers alongside his father.
At 18, Arnie Arsenault was put in charge of lawn maintenance, which entailed meeting with customers, handling their concerns and making sure all properties were maintained weekly. He oversaw several employees at a time.
In 1987, shortly after Arnie Arsenault graduated from the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, his father passed away, at age 43. With the death of its founder, the company’s future was uncertain.
Arnie Arsenault’s mother, Donna Arsenault, who had worked with the company since Day-One, helped the company and family through the difficult transition. She continues to work for the company today.
Currently, A. Arsenault Sons services between 300 to 400 residential and commercial properties — mostly in Worcester County — with 12 crew members, many of whom are family.
Beyond its landscaping work, A. Arsenault Sons has several speciality franchises that help keep crews busy throughout the year.
Christmas Décor is an award-winning franchise that strings up Christmas lights on residential and commercial properties. Another franchise, Nite Time Décor, strings up lights year-round. The company has decorated trees in the front of The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts in Worcester, trees around the ice skating rink behind Worcester City Hall, as well as Webster First Federal Credit Union and Spencer Bank properties.
Now in its 35th year in business, A. Arsenault Sons continues to expand and has recently added a national lawn care franchise, Weed Man, which offers environmentally friendly lawn care in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the U.K.
In July, Mr. Arsenault began working for the franchise, which initially involved 10 days of rigorous training in Canada.
The company will begin offering its services in the spring, representing the Weed Man brand.
“The Weed Man program enhances our programs and takes us to the next level of high-quality service. It would take us years to try to accomplish what we wanted to do and reach a new degree of professionalism alone,” he said. “We have high expectations, high aspirations for the Weed Man brand.”
Throughout its 35 years in business, A. Arsenault Sons has encouraged employees to bring their ideas for improvement to the table.
“My father instilled in our company early on that we can always learn new and improved methods or ideas from our employees to help with the company’s success,” Mr. Arsenault said.
Employee suggestions have involved improving the way the company fuels vehicles, parks trailers and handles business processes.
“We have faced many business challenges throughout the years, from economic downturns, problems concerning employees, equipment, vendors and products,” Mr. Arsenault said. “All have had unique challenges, but we always seek out a solution, which is what has helped up become a stronger team.”
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