Beautifying through Nature
directly to your door
by Medisun Lanscapes
Talk to anyone on these Islands about bringing nature into your business or home,
and the ‘Calamatta’ name is bound to surface rather quickly. Originally founded by Peter Calamatta and later taken over by his son Carlos, Calamatta Landscapes Ltd has been on the landscaping scene for over 35 years. Furthermore, Calamatta Landscapes is part of the Environmental Landscape Consortium (ELC) which takes care of the landscape embellishment of all the public areas in Malta and parts of Gozo.
Yet in the last couple of years Calamatta joined forces with other business partners and their landscaping works are now being carried out under the name of Medisun Landscapes Ltd. Together with Green Supplier Ltd and the Polidano Group, Medisun Landscapes’ sheer girth, infrastructure, experience and manpower is providing our country and our indoor and outdoor urban areas and landscapes with a widely versatile array of natural beauty, embellishing our homes, work, performance, and last but not least, joie de vivre.
Medisun’s understanding of their vocation; and pride on quality offerings and pristine customer service, is made obvious through their matter of factly stating “we always put our plants first, and we realise that happy plants mean happy customers.”
Design & Build met up with Medisun’s General Manager Herman Scifo to learn more.
A n obvious thing to ask was what prompted two companies in the same industry to join forces rather than remain competitors. Herman explained that it was true that Green Supplier and Calamatta Landscapes were in the same business and competitors too – though respectfully so of each other – it was actually the realisation and the logic of what the advantages would be of getting together that made the marriage possible.
“Calamatta Landscapes joined with Green Supplier to form Medisun Landscapes as both companies had already experienced working together through the Environmental Landscapes Consortium for over 18 years; and so joining forces was natural to take place.
Over the past 30 years, though the two companies were competitors there was also an element of ethical inter-trading and they often collaborated together,” he added.
Herman continued to explain that, nonetheless, the partners themselves – now also including the impressive strength added by the Polidano Group – had also nurtured good relationships with the industries they themselves were involved in, so that coming together to combine their strengths offered very viable options both for their potential clients as well as for the partnership itself.
Landscaping is one of Medisun’s major sectors of operation, and a large number of landscaping projects now grace the pages of Medisun’s laden ‘jobs book’. Herman explained that “our expertise covers all forms of internal and external landscaping and our nurseries house a large variety of specially imported sub-tropical plants to choose from.” Indeed, Medisun is also involved in a swathe of interior-scaping works and projects.
In addition to the above, he added that they also specialise in providing a comprehensive maintenance service “which ensures that your indoor plants and gardens are looking their best at all times of the year.”
Maintaining this level of quality requires a lot of personal involvement such that all plants supplied to customers – commercial or not – are personally chosen by Medisun’s technical personnel; more often than not being Herman Scifo himself: “I often travel overseas accompanied by other members of our staff, to actually pick the right plants to fit the briefs of our different clients,” he explained.
“We can – and do – choose each and every plant we sell! We don’t just buy over the phone…. we go and see what we are actually buying, we check them, we tag them and then recheck them against our records when we receive them – before finally delivering to our clients,” he added. This obviously needs a lot of experience and that Herman has been in the business for 25 years helps Medisun to no end. He had studied commercial horticulture in Malta and Germany, and has worked with the Government and Peter Calamatta himself for some time too. These unique elements add to the peace of mind of Medisun’s clients, who can immediately understand that they are dealing with a true professional and connoisseur.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF INTRODUCING A GREEN TOUCH
Herman adds that he is most pleased by how popular the concept of plants-based interior design have become these days. People, and employers, are now adding live plants to their homes and offices – not only to add colour but to add a living form of decoration which provides health and psychological benefits.
Though quite new in Malta, landscaped grass walls have been very well received too. “In itself, this can really be labelled as a novelty but one with a very specific, useful and green role,” he added. “We have been preparing these walls for the past eight years or so now, both for internal use (like in hotels, offices, clinics and homes) or outdoors (gardens, both private or commercial). They require only some maintenance, and our gardeners can visit every two or three weeks for maintenance work. That said, our systems are highly automated in as far as even watering is involved,” said Herman.
We can – and do – choose each and every plant we sell
Turning to interior office landscaping he explained that this is now considered a must, with modern pots available in various colours adding punch to what otherwise would be considered a drab office reception area or board room. Interior-scaping of this kind – to use the technical term – not only provides an aesthetically pleasing environment but also creates a lasting impression on clients while simultaneously purifying the inside air.
Studies show that a pot plant emits oxygen while filtering deadly office gases. This happens when the foliage soaks up pollutants in the air caused by modern man-made furniture, paint, varnish, printers, photocopiers and some air conditioning units. These air pollutants are increasingly linked to various respiratory problems, such as asthma, and also a general feeling of being under the weather.
Herman quotes the NASA Clean Air Study which listed the top air purifying plants for homes and offices. He says it further recommends that 15 to 18 good sized houseplants are used in an area of 170 m2. Many of these plants such as the Rubber Plant (ficus elastica), the English Ivy, the Peace Lily (spathiphyllum), the Dracaena Marginata, the Mother in Law’s Tongue (sansevieria), the Spider Plant and Scindapsus; are readily available from Medisun, and fare well in Malta. He added that nowadays offices can also avail themselves of regular plant maintenance services which Medisun offers, thus ensuring that plants are kept healthy and in good condition even when the office staff do not have green fingers.
“Having office plants has been found to help reduce dust pollution, reduce employee stress and even improve concentration and productivity! Therefore, a couple of office plants and stylish pots are definitely a good investment and employers should consider it money truly well spent,” he adds.
Having office plants has been found to help reduce dust pollution, reduce employee stress and even improve concentration and productivity
UNDERSTANDING CLIENTS’ NEEDS
The client/supplier relationship at Medisun is one that goes beyond the basic concept that customers come, see, buy, go and, hopefully enjoy their purchase. Herman emphasised that they are more concentrated on the quality of the plant than selling it. Medisun is also careful on the right ‘fit’ between the client and the plants and trees that are most suited for the wants and needs at hand. “Firstly, one has to understand the client and his or her needs…. as well as their ideas and what they wish to get out of the purchase of the plants,” Herman explained.
Apart from all this, Medisun looks at the long term picture here too, such that follow up maintenance is available and even if a client contacts them years after a purchase with a problem they will look into it immediately. As already mentioned, the company also has an ongoing service of maintenance to ensure that things are going as well as originally planned. “Gardens are a living organism and therefore need a certain amount of attention and care throughout the seasons,” outlined Herman. “When certain delicate plants are involved, this becomes a primary way of keeping the greenery looking the way it should and also for the garden to be constantly delivering what it was planned to do,” he added.
Gardens are a living organism and therefore need a certain amount of attention and care throughout the seasons
THE BACKING TEAM
Medisun’s performance hangs on the level of professionalism of their own staff. Herman explained that before employment, staff is properly checked for their trustworthiness as much as for their gardening and horticulture knowledge “We also monitor the way they are handling the jobs assigned to them especially in clients’ homes or establishments so that we have as much control over the actual quality of the service that the company is giving through its employees,” he added.
The company has a simple structure for maintaining this status quo of an efficient service on site.
This involves a group foreman leading the different on-site team/s working with clients while supervisors visit the sites to oversee all the works that are in progress.
Herman added that an office manager then ensures that every project is running to the client’s satisfaction. Medisun thus completes the whole picture by following up through direct contact with the clients.
Medisun … can offer professional guidance on identifying potential problems areas, the proper planning for lighting of specific areas or some other complex elements which could be rectified easily at early stages
Herman finds that customers regularly come to Medisun with questions, proposals and enquiries on simple and ambitious projects alike. Developers and interior designers too are regularly in touch with them to discuss and plan upcoming projects especially in the very early stages of the process. This is a particularly helpful time since they can offer further professional guidance on identifying potential problems areas, the proper planning for lighting of specific areas or some other complex elements which could be rectified easily at this early stage.
Once set up, the clients are then able to take out maintenance agreements with Medisun for the continuing overseeing of the health of the plants installed… whether in an interior or external location.
HAPPY PLANTS MEANS HAPPY CUSTOMERS?
Can an office worker produce more in a green environment? Herman enthusiastically answered this by saying that despite indoor and outdoor gardening and landscaping being one of the last remaining pieces of the jigsaw puzzle of every property project, “we nevertheless do make a big difference! The minute we enter with our trees and plants, everyone admits, that the place changes… it comes alive. I think that, all in all, people working in such surroundings do actually work better, and live happier. And the surroundings are valued higher!”
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