About Us
   

In 1885, Ashbel Merrel Leonard started a nursery as a hobby in his backyard at 607 Wood Street, Piqua, Ohio. By 1912 he and his sons Parker and Stanley established A.M. Leonard & Sons as a nursery/landscaping service. The business was further developed in 1928 when A. M. and his son John started a wholesale horticultural tool company at 512 Walker Street. In 1941, following the death of A. M. Leonard, John became the President of the company and moved it to 1714 West High Street. John’s forte was customer service. He mailed out 7,500 pocket-sized catalogs per year and monitored the purchases of each customer. John kept impeccable notes. When an order was not received from a customer within a year, John would contact the customer personally to ask how his organization might be of better service. The call usually resulted in product sales. Since only the finest quality tools were offered, customers always knew that when they chose something from the Piqua based company, they would receive the best money could buy.  Howard Kyle became a partner with John Leonard in February 1964. Like the Leonards, Howard had a strong background in the nursery and mail order businesses. His family owned Springhill Nursery in Tipp City, Ohio. Howard quickly learned the A. M. Leonard operation. Ill health caused John Leonard to retire early, and Howard took over as sole owner inheriting a staff of 8. Howard and the staff expanded the catalog and merchandising operations emphasizing customer service, product dependability, and fast order response. Continuous growth caused the company to move to 6665 Spiker Road where by 1979 about 15 employees were kept busy in an area totaling 30,000 square feet. In November 1993, the company made a major commitment to its customers and the community by constructing a new 50,000 square foot facility at 241 Fox Drive.

In 1996, A.M. Leonard produced it’s first Retail Catalog to reach the serious home gardener. In 2005, as this segment of the business continued to grow, A.M. Leonard re-introduced the Retail publication as A.M. Leonard’s Gardeners Edge. This move proved to further distinguish this market and to address it’s unique needs. Meanwhile, attention was also being focused on how to better serve and support the loyal Professional customers who were the foundation of the business’ success. To that end, in 1999 the Account Manger Program was born. The philosophy here was to partner a knowledgeable and responsive A.M. Leonard salesperson with an assigned group of professional customers and have them work together to meet the needs of the customer’s business on an ongoing basis. This relationship building process has built a dynamic partnership between A.M. Leonard and their Professional customers and contributed greatly to customer satisfaction and success. In recent years, A.M. Leonard has continued to grow it’s ever expanding Private Label line of tools. The skilled Merchandising and Product Support Technicians hand-pick the features and benefits of other similar tools and design a product that more exactly meets the demands and specifications of their customers. The Internet has added another exciting dimension to the daily business activity at A.M. Leonard as their presence there continues to grow with two company web sites and sales through amazon.com. A.M. Leonard keeps in close touch with local customers through their Counter Sales in the company Showroom. Here city employees, park department workers and area residents enjoy picking up their product on the spot and getting right back to the job. Plans are underway now for an expansion project for both the office and Distribution Center to even better serve customers close to home and across the country. Today, under the leadership of Gregory Stephens, grandson of Howard Kyle, over 90 people meet the needs of an ever-expanding list of customers. A. M. Leonard, Inc. is a leader in the horticultural tool implement business with emphasis on customer satisfaction. A selection of over 7,000 first class tools for nursery workers, landscapers, foresters, arborists, contractors and gardeners is readily available at competitive prices. The company’s success is a function of the fine, dedicated employees who carefully assist each customer, treat one another with respect, and work together to maintain a safe, enjoyable, productive business environment.

In Loving Memory of Howard Kyle