Leader of iconic family horticulture business in Horncastle is set to retire

Robert Crowder has been at the helm of Crowders Nurseries, the wholesale supplier of trees and plants to the landscape sector, since 1977.

At the time, the company was expanding to fulfil demand from the setting up of new towns across the country.

As chairman and chief executive, he continued to grow the business, steering it through many changes in policy, governments and recessions, until it was acquired by the RSK Group on 2023.

Founded in 1798, Crowders now operates from 330 acres of land on Lincoln Road, offering wholesale and commercial horticultural products, and employs about 60 full-time and seasonal staff.

However, Robert is to step down at the end of March when the business will continue under the leadership of Simon Hawtin and James Carter as joint managing directors. Simon is the current operations director, while James is the current commercial director.

Robert said: “It is with mixed emotions that I am retiring. I was the seventh generation of my family to manage this great nursery business, and that lineage has now come to an end.

"However, it will be a new chapter with exciting opportunities lying ahead. Simon and James will bring new energy and ideas to continue the journey.”

Reflecting on the industry over the course of his career, Robert said: “Many things have changed over the last 48 years in the way we conduct business, manage our information systems and communicate with clients and suppliers.

"But fundamentally, the way we grow plants and trees has changed very little. Productivity has increased as mechanisation and technology have enabled efficiencies, but the growing skills needed to produce quality planting stock are still handed down through the generations and will continue for the foreseeable future.

“Artificial fertilisers and chemical pesticides have replaced their organic predecessors, but there is now a trend back to the old ways as we have become more environmentally conscious.

"The future is bright because trees and plants are increasingly being used for climate-change mitigation. The UK has less tree cover than anywhere in Europe, and the government has launched a tree-planting taskforce to oversee the planting of millions of trees across the UK and meet its collective net-zero targets.”

Crowders has years of experience in supplying a wide range of industries with products for highways, railways, housing and many other infrastructure projects.

It has helped with woodland support schemes, providing the right types of products, whether for wildlife, ecological protection or timber production. And it is the sole supplier for more than eight million trees for the landscaping of phase one of the HS2 railway.

The RSK Group is a global leader in environmental and engineering solutions. It comprises more than 200 companies and employs more than 15,000 people.

In addition to running Crowders, Robert has held many posts within the horticulture and landscape industries.

These include chairman of British Hardiplants, the Agricultural Training Board's management training centre and the Joint Hardy Nursery Stock Committee, formed by the Horticultural Trades Association, of which he has been a council member.

Robert has also served as a UK representative at the European Nurserystock Association and a committee member of the National Farmers’ Union horticultural executive.