Griffin Greenhouse Supplies

This interview details Griffin, an indoor farming company based in the United States. The interview is with Tami Van Gaal, Director of Vendor Relations at Griffin.

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What is the origin story of Griffin?

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Charlie Griffin founded his namesake company in 1947 with a simple vision: to maximize products and service for his customers. Originally headquartered in Reading, Mass., his was a one-man operation with a limited offering, delivering supplies to growers in the local community. 

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Ken Hyslip, Sr., first became an employee of Griffin Greenhouse Supplies in 1952, as a truck driver at the age of 17. At the time, Griffin operated from a single location with no more than 5 employees. He went on to buy the business from the Griffin family in 1968. Under his leadership, Griffin grew steadily across the East Coast.

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Today, Griffin thrives among horticulture’s premier distributors, serving growers and retailers nationwide. Under continued ownership of the Hyslip family, the business has earned a reputation for operational excellence, quality products and first-class customer service.

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What are some of the biggest challenges facing Griffin in the future? 

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Griffin strives to be a solution provider to our customers to support all parts of their business. With that perspective, we embrace the challenges facing our grower and retailer customers as our own. Key needs in the future center around creating efficiencies in the face of labor concerns, securing supply chain for profitable production, bringing innovative new products to engage consumers for gardens and outdoor living, and leveraging technology to help us all grow and sustain business longevity across the industry.

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What is unique about Griffin compared to competitors? 

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Three things set Griffin apart. First, we are service oriented; we bring solutions to specific customer needs. This is different from simple selling products. Second, we back our efforts with strong technical knowledge and support. From our GGSPro Technical Team’s cultural support to our knowledge on equipment and structures, our support extends far beyond the purchase. Third, we are privately held, family owned business with deeply held values and dedication to supporting our industry. We love, live, and breath horticulture. We employ great people, and the entire Griffin team is dedicated to the success of our customers.

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What are some other relevant metrics of the company (growing area size, production quantity, team size, etc.)?

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Griffin’s footprint extends across the entire US, with fifteen stocking warehouses from Maine to Georgia and west to Chicago-land, Denver, and Portland. We have over 70 sale reps that call on our customers at their places of business. Our GGSPro Technical Team fields over 18,000 points of contact with growers each year. We know more about what is happening with greenhouse crops across the country than an other single entity, whether industry or academic.

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What are some goals in 2024 and beyond for Griffin?

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Griffin will continue to grow in 2024. We are expanding our sales team in all company Divisions, including Grower Supplies (aka hard goods), Green Goods (plants and seeds), Retail (IGC-centric products), and CEA (controlled environment ag growers of food and cannabis crops). We are expanding our annual buying show, the Griffin Expo, to two events this year: Reno NV on August 28-29 and Edison NJ on Sept 25-26. We are bringing on new products and new suppliers and will be working to help our customers maintain and grow their profitability. We will continue to enhance our customer portal at www.griffins.com to make online ordering easier and expand our online ordering capabilities. 2024 is going to be a great year at Griffin!

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How can people connect with you or learn more about Griffin?

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Check out our website at www.griffins.com, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. For growers wanting to start working with Griffin, send an email to orders@griffinmail.com. For talented people that want to work for Griffin, see our website for current openings.

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