the scotts miracle gro company type public traded as nyse smg industry manufacturing founded 1868 ; 148 years ago 1868 headquarters marysville ohio u.s. key people o.m. scott founder james hagedorn ceo and chairman of the board michael c. lukemire coo and president products products for lawn and garden care revenue 2.82 billion usd 2013 1 net income 174.4 million usd 2013 1 number of employees 8 000 2 website scottsmiraclegro.com the scotts miracle gro company is an american multinational corporation headquartered in marysville ohio where o.m. scott began selling lawn seed in 1868 . the company has grown to be an industry leader in the lawn and garden market with regional offices and research facilities across the u.s. and businesses in canada europe and asia pacific . in the u.s. the company s scotts miracle gro and ortho brands are market leading in their categories as is the consumer roundup brand which is marketed in north america and most of europe exclusively by scotts . outside of north america the company has various popular brands including miracle gro evergreen kb fertiligene celaflor and substral . contents 1 overview 2 history 2.1 sale of bird seed in 2005 2008 2.2 gm grass 2.3 peat bogs in the uk 3 mergers and acquisitions 4 brands 4.1 united states 4.2 outside the us 5 references 6 external links overview edit the scotts miracle gro company manufactures provides do it yourself lawn garden and home protection products in north america europe and asia pacific . among their offerings are consumer fertilizers plant foods soils and mulches pest controls grass seed and bird food . the company s principal consumer brands in north america are scotts miracle gro and ortho . in addition scotts is monsanto s exclusive agent for the marketing and distribution of consumer roundup . scotts lawnservice serves the do it for me consumer in the u.s. with on site lawn tree and shrub fertilization insect control and other related services through its network of 160 locations . scotts lawnservice has quickly emerged as an industry leader in this 5 billion category . in 2013 the scotts miracle gro company reported net sales of 2.82 billion highlighted by a 9 % increase in the second half of the year and an adjusted income of 174.4 million . history edit this section needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . september 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message scotts headquarters in marysville scotts was founded in 1868 by orlando scott as a premium seed company for the u.s. agricultural industry . in the early 1900s the company began a lawn grass seed business for homeowners and in 1924 became the first to ship grass seed products directly to stores . prior to that consumers could purchase scotts seed only through the mail . 3 by 1940 scotts s sales had reached an all time record high of 1 000 000 and the company boasted 66 associates . for the next 15 years the company focused on developing new products to combat weeds fertilize grass and develop automated electronic seed processing and packaging plants . it also organized its field sales staff into six sales territories a blueprint for the company s current retail sales force . the early 1960s saw some major milestones . it was then that scotts started selling a program of products for lawns ; established special training classes to help retailers better assist customers in developing their lawns ; received a u.s. patent for trionized bonding which produced fertilizers that delivered sustained feeding ; and introduced a complete line of turf builder combination products . by the end of 1971 the company had added two new divisions to its portfolio the golf course division developed to promote an exclusive line of professional products for golf courses and other large institutional accounts ; and scotts lawnservice established after scotts found a significant do it for me customer segmentation . the service offers on site lawn tree and shrub fertilization insect control and other related services through its network of 160 locations . the company also launched a direct to consumer helpline allowing lawn owners to call scotts for advice and assistance . later that year privately owned o.m. scott & sons was purchased by itt the international business conglomerate . fifteen years later scotts became an independent company through a leveraged buyout from itt . in 1992 scotts became a publicly traded company with an initial offering of 19.00 a share . three years later it merged with miracle gro a gardening company to create the scotts miracle gro company . 4 during the united states presidential election 2012 the company endorsed the election of republican party candidate mitt romney 5 sale of bird seed in 2005 2008 edit on january 27 2012 scotts miracle gro agreed to plead guilty in federal court and pay 4.5 million in fines for selling 73 million units of bird seed from november 2005 to march 2008 that was coated with pesticide known to be deadly to birds and fish . pesticides were added to protect the product from insects during storage notwithstanding that storcide ii one of the pesticides used was clearly marked as extremely toxic to birds . records show that its own experts warned of the risk in the summer and fall of 2007 and yet scotts continued to sell the deadly product until march 2008 . in 2008 scotts miracle gro also falsified pesticide registration numbers required by the u.s. environmental protection agency on its products . 6 on september 7 2012 in ohio a federal court sentenced scotts to pay a 4 million fine and perform community service for 11 criminal violations of the federal insecticide fungicide and rodenticide act fifra . in a separate agreement with the environmental protection agency scotts agreed to pay more than 6 million in penalties and spend 2 million on environmental projects . according to the justice department both the criminal and civil settlements are the largest under fifra to date . 7 gm grass edit scotts has developed several genetically modified grasses including herbicide tolerant kentucky bluegrass and creeping bentgrass . in 2007 the u.s. department of agriculture fined scotts miracle gro 500 000 when modified dna from gm creeping bentgrass was found within relatives of the same genus agrostis 8 as well as in native grasses up to 21 km 13 mi from the test sites . 9 peat bogs in the uk edit in 2001 scotts was involved in a major dispute with nature conservation bodies and the uk government about the future of several peat bogs in the north of england . under pressure from the european union the uk government moved to declare a number of peat bogs covering an area of 4097 acres in yorkshire and cumbria as special areas of conservation thus ending scotts ability to harvest peat for their garden products . during the course of the dispute nick kirkbride the then managing director of scotts in britain described the peat bogs as having no more conservation interest than a ploughed field . 10 the peat bogs were eventually saved from further destruction by the payment by the uk government of compensation of 17 million to scotts for loss of the right to extract peat . 11 mergers and acquisitions edit 1914 making it official after a few very successful years of advertising and promoting scotts lawn seed for better lawns the operation was incorporated as the o.m. scott & sons company . 1977 products to canada scotts introduced its retail product line into canada through a distributorship arrangement with home hardware . 1988 hyponex scotts acquired the lawn and garden business of hyponex corporation the largest producer and marketer of organic growing media products in the u.s. 1992 republic scotts acquired republic tool & manufacturing company providing total quality control over the manufacture of scotts spreaders . 1993 sierra scotts acquired the grace sierra horticultural products company adding important controlled release fertilizer technologies such as osmocote along with other brands including metro mix banrot and peters . in addition sierra also brought on board a well established international organization for manufacturing sales and distribution . this organization began in 1964 when archer daniels midland company produced the first ever resin coated controlled release fertilizer . 1995 miraclegro horace hagedorn and his partner otto stern founded the miracle gro organization in 1951 dedicated to proposition you don t have to be an expert to create a beautiful garden . scotts merged with stern s miracle gro products inc. in 1995 joining america s leading brand name in gardening with the leading name in lawn care . 1997 miracle care garden ltd. approximately a third of the growing u.k. lawn and garden products company was owned by miracle gro at the time of the 1995 merger and in january 1997 scotts purchased the remaining interest in the company . 1997 emerald green lawn service acquiring a majority interest of emerald green lawn service in 1997 provided scotts with a base for establishing the new scotts lawn service in 1998 . 1997 levington purchasing privately held levington horticulture ltd. added significant exposure to the compost lawn fertilizer and professional horticultural product areas in the u.k. 1998 earthgro acquiring the organics company earthgro inc. strengthened scotts service to mass merchant retailers and home centers in the important northeast region as well as enhanced scotts ability to service independents . 1998 ssi acquiring 80 % ownership of sanford scientific inc. in 1998 augmented scotts genetic improvement program by allowing researchers to create desirable varieties of plants with value added traits far beyond the capabilities of conventional plant breeding techniques . 1998 rh ne poulenc jardin scotts acquired rh ne poulenc jardin continental europe s largest consumer lawn and garden products company . rh ne poulenc jardin manufactures and sells a full line of consumer lawn and garden pesticides fertilizers and growing media products in france germany the benelux countries austria italy and spain . 1998 shamrock scotts acquired the shamrock brand of u.k. and irish peat products form bord na mona ireland giving scotts preferential access to bord na mona s extensive peat reserves and an option to supply the shamrock brand in the leading continental european markets . 1998 monsanto scotts entered into a collaboration with the monsanto company to apply products of biotechnology to the multi billion dollar turfgrass and ornamental plants business . under the agreement scotts and monsanto agree to share technologies including monsanto s extensive genetic library of plant traits and scotts proprietary gene gun technology to produce transgenic turfgrasses and ornamental plants . 1998 asef scotts completed an acquisition with asef a privately held benelux based lawn and garden products company . asef is a leading consumer lawn and garden products company with operations in the netherlands and belgium selling fertilizers growing media and pesticides . 1999 ortho roundup entering into the pesticide industry scotts completed agreements with monsanto company for exclusive u.s. canada u.k. france germany and australia agency and marketing rights to monsanto s consumer roundup herbicide products and for the purchase of the ortho and related lawn and garden businesses . 2000 substral scotts acquired substral the leading consumer fertilizer brand in many european countries including germany austria belgium france and nordics . 2000 smith & hawkin scotts purchases smith & hawken a leading brand of garden inspired products that includes pottery watering equipment gardening tools outdoor furniture and live goods . 2005 for the birds entry into the u.s. wild bird food market through the acquisition of the morning song brand . 2014 scottsmiracle gro sells wild bird food line to global harvest foods ltd. 2015 scotts miracle gro buys general hydroponics and vermicrop organics to move into the marijuana market . 2015 dec 9 scotts lawn