OBERLIN — For decades, Green Circle Growers, 51051 US 20, Oberlin, has produced bedding plants and seasonal plants such as Easter lilies and Christmas poinsettias for sale in Walmart, Home Depot, Heinen’s, Giant Eagle and others.
Now, Green Circle is making a $25 million bet on selling orchids to a new consumer niche.
The sprawling Lorain County greenhouse operation has about 100 acres under glass and another 30 acres in field production, Scott Giesbrecht, sales manager, said.
Its payroll grows and shrinks with the seasons, but can be from 400 to 600 workers at any given time, he said.
For the last 18 months, the company has embarked on a $25 million project to expand its 5 acres of orchid production to 12 acres and add a shipping area where robots will sort the plants before they travel to the lower 48 states.
To read the rest of this story please go to: The Morning Journal
