Espoma in the 1930's
THE ORIGINAL ORGANIC FERTILIZER
Founder Herbert Sanders starts Espoma in 1929 with one all-purpose organic fertilizer (today called Plant-tone). It was made manually in a small wooden building with a blend of nearby natural materials in his hometown of Millville, NJ.
Espoma in the 1940's
1946: PLANT FIRE
During the busy Spring season, Espoma’s entire Plant burned to the ground. While Herbert pondered his next move, the community rallied to save the company & began erecting a new building while moving salvageable equipment outdoors to stay in production.
1949: HOLLY-TONE
Herbert realized there wasn’t any plant food specifically designed for hollies & other acid-loving plants. He began testing formulas with the American Holly Orchard in Millville. One night he woke up in the middle of the night & wrote down its name – Holly-tone. It would become & still remains Espoma’s #1 product.
Espoma in the 1950's
1953: DEAN SANDERS
After graduating from Lafayette College and serving in the Army, Herbert’s son, Dean Sanders, joins Espoma in 1953. He eventually takes control of the company by 1960.
1957: BUILDING 2
Built in 1957, it marked the first large expansion for the Espoma Company since the fire in 1946. Herbert Sanders swore they would never build a wooden structure again after that incident. Building 2 was constructed out of masonry blocks and was one of the first warehouses to feature a roof made from precast Double-T concrete beams. These new beams allowed for a clear, wide-open interior space. The building's width was determined by the maximum span of a Double-T concrete beam, which at the time was 50 feet. The total size of the building is 2,925 square feet.
1958: BULB-TONE
After seeing the rising success of Holly-tone, Dean creates the next member of the Tone family – Bulb-tone. Formulated for tulips, daffodils, & other bulbs, it was a great add on sale for Fall seasons.
Espoma in the 1960's
1960: PLANT-TONE
The original all-purpose Espoma Organic fertilizer is updated & renamed Plant-tone. It is Espoma’s oldest product & the second-best seller behind Holly-tone.
1961: TURF-TONE
Espoma adds it’s first Tone lawn fertilizer with a popular NPK of 10-6-4. What made it unique was that it was 50% organic by weight. It was available in 25 lb and 50 lb bags.
1961: FIRST OFFICE
In 1946 following the fire at the plant, the Boy Scouts assisted in constructing the first stand-alone temporary office. This office was later renovated into a more permanent structure which included a horse stable in the back for Herbert Sanders’ horses. The original office was eventually replaced in 1961 with a new brick building – Espoma’s first dedicated and planned office building. Notably this new building was the first all-electric building in South Jersey. Atlantic City Electric featured an article on its progressive features.
1962: GARDEN-TONE
Espoma adds its fourth Tone fertilizer with the update of Espoma Garden Fertilizer. This 4-6-6 blend is recommended for deciduous plants (those that shed leaves in winter), trees, shrubs, and vegetables.
1968: TWO NEW TONES
Espoma launches Rose-tone, successor to Espoma Rose Food, & Tree-tone, a new fertilizer designed for shade, fruit & ornamental trees. The 25 lb sizes retailed for $3.25 and $3.50.
3 NEW BUILDINGS
Espoma began constructing its third building in 1962. This building, measuring 4,050 sq ft, currently has a storage capacity of 204 pallets. The fourth building, erected in 1965, spans 10,500 sq ft and currently holds 1,125 tons of raw materials. To keep up with rising demand, Espoma's fifth building was built in 1969. With a size of 5,850 sq ft, it can store 1,232 pallets of finished goods.
Espoma in the 1970's
1973: SEMI-AUTOMATED LINE
Espoma installs its first semi-automated blending & packaging line capable of going up to 8 bags per minute with 6 people working the line.
1977: SERGE BRUNNER
After graduating from Brown University and getting his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, Dean’s nephew Serge Brunner joins Espoma. He eventually became President in 2003 and still serves as CEO and Chairman of the Board.
1978: BUILDING 6
Espoma expands their footprint with their 6th building. It significantly expanded raw material storage with 18 new bins holding nearly 1,000 tons of bulk fertilizer.
Espoma in the 1980's
1981: OFFICE EXPANSION
The Espoma Company initiated its first office expansion to accommodate its increasing staff and operations.
1982: COMPUTER SYSTEM
Espoma goes digital with their new state-of-the-art computing system. The NCR 8200 Series was versatile, designed for interactive tasks like order entry and accounts receivable. One stand-out feature of the new system was the IQL interactive query language. This data retrieval language/tool permitted users to direct inquiries to nearly any data file at any time. A radical new concept for the time.
1984: TOMATO-TONE
Espoma introduces its new organic fertilizer catering to tomato growers. Available in a small convenient 2 pound size, and formulated to produce plump, juicy tomatoes. It would eventually become Tomato-tone in 1997.
1985: SINGLE INGREDIENTS
Espoma adds a new line of single ingredient organic fertilizers to go along with its Tone family. This line has been expanded over time to include about 12 products with multiple sizes.
1987: BUILDING 7
Espoma marks another milestone with the construction of its 7th building. It added 10,500 sq ft of finished good warehouse space and can hold nearly 1,000 pallets.
1989: AUTOMATED LINE
Espoma installs its first fully automated blending and packaging line for 18 – 50 lb. bags. This line, while updated several times, can run up to 25 bags per minute with one operator.
Espoma in the 1990's
1992: BUILDING 8
Espoma commences construction of its 8th building. It adds another 14,000 sq ft of finished good warehouse space and holds over 1,600 pallets.
1994: SYLVIA RETIRES
Sylvia Maxfield retires as Secretary after 46 years with The Espoma Company.
1996: BUILDING 9
Espoma builds its ninth building with approximately 13,500 sq ft of space to house its new state of the art, fully automated small package line that’s now capable of filling 80 bags per minute. Later an automated liquid plant food line would also be placed here.
1997: JEREMY BRUNNER
After graduating from Cornell University and getting his law degree from Rutgers University, Serge Brunner’s son Jeremy joins the family business. Today, Jeremy currently serves as President of the company and is the fourth generation in the family to run it.
1997: TOMATO-TONE
Espoma updates its Tomato Food, originally introduced in 1984, to become the eighth addition to the Tone family of products.
1998: 2ND OFFICE EXPANSION
As the Espoma team continues to grow the need for a larger office became a must. The company started work on the expansion in the summer of 1998.
1999: FLOWER-TONE
Espoma launches Flower-tone, its ninth Tone product. Specially formulated for annuals & perennials, it’s low in nitrogen & higher in phosphorus & potash to promote blooming.
Espoma in the 2000's
2002: FIRST ROBOT
Espoma installs its first robotic palletizer thereby freeing up three people from one of the hardest jobs in the Plant. Today Espoma has 4 robots but never let anyone go due to automation.
2005: JOE ELWELL RETIRES
Joe Elwell retires as Plant Supervisor after 43 years with The Espoma Company.
2007: TWO MORE TONES
As Espoma heads into southern tropical markets, it adds Citrus-tone and Palm-tone to its stable of Tone products.
2007: BIO-TONE
Espoma launches the Bio-tone family of products for the professional landscape market. Bio-tone Starter Plus was eventually added to its consumer line and is one of our most popular products today.
2009: BUILDING 10
Espoma adds its tenth building with nearly 25,000 sq ft of space. Over time it has been filled with racks that can now store up to 3,250 pallets of finished goods and packaging.
Espoma in the 2010's
2010: SOLAR POWER
Espoma invests $2.5m in solar energy covering nearly 43,000 sq. ft. of warehouse rooftops. The system produces over 700,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity and saves more than 1.4 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
2010: POTTING MIXES
Espoma introduces a line of potting mixes for indoor and outdoor gardening. Each mix contains a rich blend of the finest natural ingredients & several are enhanced with Myco-tone™, a proprietary blend of mycorrhizae.
2012: IRON-TONE
Espoma adds its 12th addition to the tone family of products with Iron-tone. An all-natural organic product that turns yellow plants green and won’t stain concrete surfaces in the process.
2013: LAWN PROGRAM
Espoma introduces an all organic lawn program consisting of four products specifically designed to optimize the health & growth of lawns during their respective seasons.
2015: JAIME BRUNNER
After completing her MBA from the University of Miami, Jaime Brunner, Serge’s daughter and sister to Jeremy Brunner joins the family business. Jaime currently works in the Marketing Department.
2016: LIQUID PLANT FOODS
Espoma introduces a new line of liquid plant foods that are loaded with natural ingredients and millions of beneficial microbes to grow bigger, more beautiful plants.
2018: 4th GENERATION
Matt Dauphinais, Jaime Brunner’s husband, joins The Espoma Company. He graduated from the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is a former Golf Course Superintendent. Matt Currently works in the Marketing Department.
2018: New Office HQ
Espoma Opens its new 12,500 square foot state-of-the-art headquarters in Millville, NJ. The new building features solar technology and a vertical Living Green Wall made up of 672 plants across multiple varieties.
Espoma in the 2020's
2022: BERNARD URIE RETIRES
Bernard Urie retires as Shipping Manager after 44 years with The Espoma Company.
