Original Article Published on Apr 25, 2018 at hngnews.com by By Rebecca Kanable
Beautiful weather brought a beautiful turnout for the Milton Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting at Badger State Maintenance on Friday. Dozens of people celebrated the opening of the new retail center and showroom at 1126 Gateway Drive.
Officially the MACC Small Business of the Year moved from 117 Sunnyside Drive to Gateway Drive in January.
After posing for photos and cutting a ceremonial ribbon, Badger State Maintenance owners Nate and Danielle Rogers spoke with the Milton Courier.
Keeping in mind that snow fell from the sky just Wednesday, Nate Rogers said, “Spring is finally here, and we’re excited to have the retail center open and have all the supplies that we use right here.”
Nate Rogers, a 2008 Milton High School graduate, first started the business the same year he graduated. He had equipment lined up along the edge of his parents’ driveway. A couple years later, he moved to Sunnyside Drive and leased half of a 3,000-square-foot shop to Rock Diesel before filling the entire space and parking lot.
In 2016, Nate Rogers and his father, Kevin, purchased the former Hammil Feed Center property at 1115 E. High St. to have more room and add retail space.
Badger State Maintenance is a full-service landscape design and installation company. In addition to landscape design, the company offers “hardscape” design including retaining walls, edging, walkways, patios and driveways (paver brick, block and stone). Landscape maintenance is available.
With the new retail center, customers can get as little or as much help as they would like.
“We’ve got a full line of landscape supply products here so anything from fertilizers to grass seeds to soil testing,” said Nate Rogers.
Whether a customer is starting a new lawn or needs help solving a lawn problem, bringing in a soil sample can help Badger State Maintenance analyze what nutrients a lawn might need.
Nate Rogers explains: “You can always put a bag of fertilizer down on the lawn and cross your fingers and hope that works, but when you bring the soil sample in, we can get right down to the perfect analysis on exactly everything you need to get that lawn good and growing.”
When temperatures hit 50 degrees Fahrenheit, Nate Rogers said that’s when crab grass starts to germinate. On Friday, he reported soil temperatures are around 42, 43 degrees.
“Now until the end of the month is the perfect time to start Step 1 of your fertilizer program and that’s crab grass preventer,” he said.
And, Badger State Maintenance has that in stock.
Whether you’re looking for advice, a half a yard of fresh mulch or a full design-build project with an outdoor fire pit, Rogers says Badger State Maintenance can help. (According to the company’s Facebook page, two of the hottest trends for outdoor living are Travertine, a rich and elegant looking form of rock, and barn board, which brings a rustic warmth.)
“If you have patio plans, we can help design and supply all the materials – and deliver the materials also,” Rogers said.
The business includes the husband-and-wife team and 15 employees.
“The majority are on the install crews,” he said.
According to Nate Rogers, six adjacent small business suites on the property are full and Phase II, scheduled to begin this summer, will include RV storage and larger business suites.
“We feel very supported by the community,” Danielle Rogers said. “We’re very fortunate.”
Read the full article at http://www.hngnews.com/milton_courier/article_b3573540-5d71-55f5-81a7-e6a977e57d44.html
