Mark Krautmann has sold Heritage Seedlings and Liners to longtime employee Octavio Martinez. The sale was concluded June 1.
The wholesale nursery is based in Salem, Oregon, and was founded by Mark and his late wife, Jolly, who passed away in 2024. Mark and Jolly were inducted into the Oregon Nurseries Hall of Fame in 2019.
“A true American success story, Octavio began his nursery career with us when he was a teen in the summer of 2003,” Krautmann said. “Jolly spotted Octavio in the greenhouse one day and came to me with that determined look in her eyes: ‘We need to get that young fellow, Octavio, up here in the office.’ It soon became evident that I had an understudy who was my equal, only better, because he’s completely bi-cultural. I made it my priority to nurture his talents and help him understand elements of reasonable risk and business decision-making,” Krautmann said. “I’m honored and humbled to have been given this opportunity,” Martinez said. “I’m excited to continue Heritage and aim to run it with the same culture and values as Mark and Jolly did. I feel privileged to continue their legacy.”
The terms of the sale allow for a smooth transition and a unique way of financing the transaction.
“We jointly agreed to a purchase price that allows Octavio to pay for all the stock of the company out of projected annual profit,” Krautmann said. “We also signed a long-term farm lease. I provide the full initial operating line of credit as Octavio establishes his independent creditworthiness. As he pays off the company purchase over the coming 10–12 years, we’ll craft a land sale contract for his purchase of the farm and greenhouse facilities.”
Krautmann will remain involved to offer advice. “I sold the nursery, but I’m stepping sideways more than back,” Krautmann said. Octavio has asked me to stick around for my “wisdom factor.” We talk daily, and he and I will meet at least twice monthly to systematically review budget and sales, especially in these early transition years. Suppliers, clients and other employees must know that both Octavio and I are fully vested in his success and the ongoing financial stability and production capacity of our company. He’s got this, as anyone who has worked with him will verify. It’s time for me to let go, to let him sign the front of paychecks instead of the back.”
Krautmann appealed to other OAN members and nursery owners who are considering ownership transition options to look at their top Hispanic managers as owner candidates. “Our trusted, skilled, majority-Hispanic workforce is the engine that drives the nursery business,” Krautmann said. Have we been too slow to put our arms around them, to mentor them toward ownership? In planning for your own succession, what steps might you take to encourage a more inclusive pool of owner candidates?” Krautman said he’s happy to discuss his experience in more detail. He can be reached by mobile phone at 503-932-3920.
