History and Background
Currently run by fourth generation members, the firm of Kurt Weiss Greenhouses has been growing and expanding for over a century. The present family members are the great grandchildren of Otto Muller who emigrated from Germany around 1900. Initially starting a partnership in Astoria Queens, catering to the carriage trade in New York City, he reestablished his business in Whitestone, home to many other greenhouse operations, when the partnership dissolved in 1910.
The original firm remained in Whitestone until Mr. Muller's death in the 1960s. Otto Muller's son-in-law, Kurt Weiss, and grandson Russell Weiss, developed the East Meadow facility that had been purchased in 1929. In 1960, the operation was incorporated as Kurt Weiss Florist, the forerunner of the present company.
In 1972, the East Meadow location was sold to AT&T for use as a satellite communication center. Concurrently, Kurt Weiss was in a serious automobile accident and could not continue in the business. The entire company was relocated to Center Moriches in eastern Long Island and continued to use the Kurt Weiss name.
As the customer base shifted, in the 1970s, from New York City retail flower shops to larger volume grocery chains and wholesale distributors, sales exceeded production. Russell Weiss decided to purchase the well known firms of Dupuy Greenhouses and Daurenheim Inc.. The latter, the number one pot plant grower of the time, could trace its origins back to the 1850s in Brooklyn.
By 1980, annual sales had reached five million and there were seven ranges totaling over one million square feet of production area. By the middle of the decade, Kurt Weiss expansion moved out of state with the construction of Sundance Growers in Sun City, Florida. Designed to take advantage of optimum growing conditions, the Florida operation focuses on the production of azaleas, chrysanthemums and gardenias.
Further growth ensued. Operations were opened in Georgetown, South Carolina in 1994 increasing the production of bedding plants, poinsettias and other holiday crops. Kurt Weiss Greenhouses of Connecticut established operations in Cheshire in 1996 to help service the demands of the ever expanding customer base.
Recent acquisitions include Kurt Weiss Greenhouses of Pennsylvania, in Mount Carmel, PA and Kurt Weiss of New Jersey, in Waterford Works, NJ. KW of NJ is currently be expanded to meet the growing demand for bedding plants and bulb crops, allowing the organization to continue to supply the call for holiday plants.
Presently the organization consists of 18 separate operations, 6 on long island, 2 in Florida, 2 in South Carolina, 1 in Connecticut, 3 in Pennsylvania, 1 in New Jersey, 2 in upstate New York and 1 in Canada with a combined total of over 11 million square feet. The individual facilities taking advantage of there geographic diversity give the company a unique depth of product. All this coupled with Kurt Weiss Greenhouses' commitment to producing quality product and excellent service insures their place as an industry leader.
