Western Australia’s LD Total has just ticked over 25 years in the Australian landscaping industry. General Manager Paul Fiore went from labourer to today overseeing a company enjoying stellar growth.
From commercial projects to home gardens, LD Total strives to listen and connect with clients’ visions, develop longlasting partnerships, and create inspirational outdoor spaces.
The business was purchased in November 2000 and, at the time, employed 38 staff and operated from a single depot in Anketell, just south of Perth. Today LD Total employs team members across bases in Perth, Bunbury, Melbourne, Adelaide, the Sunshine and Gold Coasts, and holds various building licences across all Australian states.
Having started as a labourer several decades ago, Paul Fiore is now General Manager, and was happy to chat with Landscape Contractor about the highlights and challenges the company and industry have seen over the years.
Give it a go
“I sort of fell into landscaping when my parents purchased LD Total 25 years ago,” recalled Fiore. “I thought, ‘Okay. I’ll give this landscaping thing a go’.”
Paul started like any other newbie, working and learning on the job. That led to a year at TAFE studying horticulture, and
“I worked my way up,” said Fiore. “I went from labourer to team leader, supervisor, area manager, department manager, and then ultimately ended up running the whole show as General Manager.
“That’s it in a nutshell. That’s a brief history of my time in landscaping with LD Total.”
Best laid plans
Paul doesn’t spend a lot of time on the tools these days. He’s responsible for a large company, and that takes serious commitment. We asked about the journey from labourer to executive.
“My role has changed drastically over 25 years, along with the business,” he said. “We’ve purchased another five businesses and gone through organic growth. We have 12 depots and offices in four states, and we now have 580 staff. My days of swinging a shovel are long gone, but I appreciate the experience of those days. I don’t ask anyone to do something I wouldn’t do myself, or that I wouldn’t know how to do, and I know how long things should take.
“My days aren’t routine. Typically, I come to the office with the best-laid plans, but sometimes I get none of it done because something else pops up and needs to be dealt with. I work closely with our 12 department managers, and I support them however I can – staff management, tendering, looking at the profit-and-loss statements.”
Core business
Paul’s grasp of LD Total’s operations is understandably thorough.
“There are three core areas to our business,” he said. “Landscape construction, landscape maintenance, and front-yard lot packages. We focus on those across Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland.
“We have a dozen landscape architects in Western Australia, and we try and offer clients the whole package, from design all the way through to maintenance, and it keeps us busy.”
Although the company offers a spectrum of services, playgrounds figure prominently in daily operations. We asked why LD Total had moved into that sphere of operation.
“It just happened,” said Fiore.
“We grew with the industry, and developers started to put more focus on parks to attract people to buy in their estates. A big, beautiful, awesome playground helped them sell.
“The councils ended up with those assets. The old grass areas and swing sets are now being upgraded to nature or sensory parks, or the councils are trying to match the developers’ offerings. As backyards get smaller and smaller, big, open spaces are needed for kids to get out and play.
“I think the biggest shift in the industry in my time has been the quality of playgrounds the industry is now producing. Some of the playgrounds our teams, and the industry in general, are offering are just phenomenal. I wish they were around when I was a kid – million-dollar play towers, water play parks, and nature playgrounds. They’re integrating all sorts of technology into play areas.”
Ups and downs
Over two-and-a-half decades Paul has seen lows along with the good times. There was one particularly tough time he recalls with sadness.
“COVID was a challenge, but we were lucky, he said. “We in the construction industry were still able to work in a lot of instances. Others weren’t. It hurt us, but it didn’t really compare to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC).
“In the GFC we had to make redundancies to survive, and that, for me, was probably the toughest thing we’ve ever had to do – telling people they didn’t have a job through no fault of their own. That was difficult, but it was something we had to do to survive.”
Paul highlighted the landscaping industry’s proactive moves to tree retention as a development he’d been glad to see, but he felt one aspect of employment left room for improvement.
“The pay of apprentices,” he said.
“I really don’t agree with it as it is. We’re not plumbers or electricians. When we send out a team, say a crew of five, the apprentices are capable of doing much of the same work as the guy sitting in the ute next to them. We have someone who’s committing to us for four years, going to TAFE to learn the theoretical side, and we penalise them up to $11 per hour.
“That just seems backwards thinking.
“LD Total doesn’t pay apprentice rates. We pay what the person is worth. The rates of pay for apprentices in the landscape industry aren’t where they should be. I understand for plumbers and electricians, because a tradesman in those areas can do specialised work, but landscaping is different. Apprentices can do a lot of the work others can do, so why are we penalising them?
Keep on keeping on
Asked about the future for himself and LD Total, Fiore broke into a smile.
“Hopefully my son will take over from me,” he said, “and I guess we’re just going to continue on this journey.
“We have a good business established in WA and Victoria, and I’d like to continue our journey in Queensland and in SA. We’re still the new kids on the block in those states.
“Trying to continue our growth on the east coast is a big focus for us, and it’s a big challenge, and there’s no way we could do it if we didn’t have a strong foundation here in WA. My two brothers are involved and are as integral to the business as every other member of the team. One moved to Victoria and helped us get established over there. The other moved to Queensland, and he’s getting us settled in The Sunshine State.
“We’re nothing without our people. There’s no way we can be the size we are, and achieve the things we’re achieving, without our great, loyal staff. I want to continue that journey for their sake, as well as ours.
Let it happen
As for the long-term outlook? Paul stopped for a moment before answering.
“I haven’t really given that a lot of thought,” he said.
“I think the industry groups in each state, like LIAWA here in WA, who I’m fairly close to, are doing good work, and hopefully that will continue.
“I think the landscaping industry’s in reasonably good shape. If I was trying to pick a trade, there’s enough landscaping work around for everyone, and there are good opportunities for team members coming through. “It’s an exciting industry to be involved with.”