After planting the seeds to grow a strong relationship years ago, Martin Landscaping is proud to call Charlotte Douglas International Airport one of its biggest clients.
The company was started 42 years ago by Ken and Joan Martin, who passed down the family business to their children, Lisa Markus and David Martin in 2018.
Connecting with CLT’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program gave Martin Landscaping the opportunity to work with the Airport in 2007 and see firsthand that the grass is greener at Charlotte Douglas. “The DBE allows us to be profitable,” Markus said. “More than half of our projects come from the Airport. We have done the grassing on Taxiway Mike, Taxiway Alpha, a couple of ramps and in some other areas.”
The DBE program helps to level the playing field and eliminate barriers for disadvantaged small-, minority- and women-owned businesses on federally assisted contracts in highway transit and airport programs. That allows for job creation and opportunities for local businesses like Martin Landscaping to expand their work beyond CLT, exemplifying how Connections Don’t Just Happen at the Terminal.
“The Airport has always treated us equally compared to the other businesses and we always knew that if we worked at the Airport, we didn’t have to worry about not being paid,” Markus said.
Martin Landscaping is a Charlotte seeding and erosion control contractor that provides services for area commercial and industrial clients. With nonstop construction at Charlotte Douglas, the company has been instrumental in helping control erosion.
Serving mostly as a subcontractor, Martin Landscaping is usually brought in to provide seeding and other services on projects led by other contractors. “We’re a little fish in a big pond,” Markus said.
The company is now swimming toward bigger waters.
“In the future we hope that Martin Landscaping continues to grow so that we have more people, more crews and that we go throughout our community and work on your next sewer or water line or landfill area to grow even more,” Markus said.