Page Seed

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by: Melissa deCordova

When asked the next most exciting news in Greene after The Raymond Corporation’s hydrogen fuel technological breakthrough was announced last year, Chenango County Supervisor Jack T. Cook pointed to the Page Seed Company.

“They have a good business going on over there now,” he said. “We are very impressed with what’s happening there.”

And what a difference a year can make! From nearly filing for bankruptcy last summer, Greene’s century-old agricultural and horticultural-purpose seed packaging business appears to be growing strong. New ownership coupled with an Empire State Development grant enabled it to acquire new equipment, hire 33 new employees and launch a hefty advertising campaign in the fourth quarter last year – all of which are already showing signs of paying off big.

Productivity has increased substantially since Stuart Mill Capital purchased the company on Sept. 1. Page Seed Company currently has 55 employees and an annual payroll of $1,004,000.

Commerce Chenango President Maureen Carpenter said the transaction was possible via economic development assistance from the Chenango County Industrial Development Agency. She said Stuart Mill Capital “not only purchased the company, but also decided to maintain the operations at its current location in Greene. Chenango County is very fortunate to have the Page Seed Company call Chenango its home for over 100 years.”

“Last year was a transitional one,” company President Lynda (Lyn) S. Granger said. “We were in jeopardy of closing our doors, literally. These people came in and purchased the company, kept the doors open and kept people employed.”

A brief glimpse of Page Seed Company’s history goes back to the Spring of 1896 when Erford Page and his wife Cornelia began packaging sweet peas and nasturtium seeds for 100 merchants in the hamlets, towns and villages surrounding Bainbridge. Five generations of the Page family continued to grow the business – in good times and bad – filling all types of dry seeds into packages, from flowers, vegetables and grass seed, to bulk animal and wildlife feeds, to bath salts.

Orders are filled today for national and international customers via sales representatives throughout the northeast and with the help of a distributor in Puerto Rico.

Granger, who is unrelated to the family, has worked at Page Seed for 34 years, becoming chief executive officer in September 2007. She said the same, traditional values – to develop innovative, high quality products that appeal to a diverse range of customers – are maintained today.

“We believe and strive for 100 percent customer satisfaction and offer custom solutions to help businesses grow,” she said, pointing to a myriad of options for customizing individual seed packets for corporate gift basket, bridal shower and sales promotion give-aways.

A beefed up advertising budget helped earn Page Seed Company the seal of approval last month from the National Gardening Association, a nonprofit leader in plant-based education. After a trial survey of members, the NGA featured Page’s unusual “Razzmatazz” sunflower in a recent publication.

“We’ve received a lot more magazine notice and attended a lot more trade shows. The advertising we did last year is really paying off in orders for this year,” Granger said.

Page’s variety of sunflower seeds - many acquired from Israel - range in color from burnt orange to bright burgundy, to lemon eclair, jade and peach passion. They have large centers or small centers. Granger said the company recently purchased 12 new varieties of sunflowers that are not typically shown in stores’ seed racks.

Page Seed Company’s workers in Greene package between 100 to 150 types of top quality flower and vegetable seeds as well as 25 different herbs. Easy set-up Page’s Premium floor displays showcase contain 1,000 vivid, full color packets. Each packet features precise planting information in both English and Spanish.

The seeds, which are sold in garden centers, hardware stores and the like - are also retailed under the “Page Liberty Garden” or “Theme Garden” brand names. Many different grasses for the turf industry, as well as soils and fertilizers, wheat, trees, bath salts and potpourri, are also packaged and distributed. A specialty Page Seed Company line is sold through distributors, where they are printed with customized messages for weddings, showers, party favors, give-aways or corporate gifts. Granger said Mohawk Valley Fuel Oil of Saratoga Springs includes free seed packets with statement reminders to thank customers for their business, for example.

“We can do business size card packets that sales people can hand out at trade shows,” she said.

New for the coming year will be a garden adjacent to the plant that customers can walk through to see the different varieties of seeds packaged within. Additional hiring and new products are also planned.

Finding ways to educate the public about the value of gardening is another company goal set for 2008. “It’s difficult for people to take the time to garden or to understand that they have the space to do so. We are trying to educate people that home grown food is more nutritious. And seeds don’t have to be in the ground. Lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables can be grown in containers on people porches and patios,” she said.

As part of its donation to community service, Page Seed Company donates boxes of seed packets to the Greene Rotary for Christmas gift baskets that are delivered to about 125 families each year. Most of the company’s employees are from Chenango County and are involved in many different organizations, Granger said.

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