Fire at Altman Plants’ Texas Location

Jennifer Zurko

A fire in early August at an Altman Plants production facility in Troup, Texas, heavily damaged the building where the company mixes soil and transplants young plants.

No injuries were reported and the company said there was an outpouring of support from vendors, customers and industry friends immediately after the fire. CEO Matt Altman expressed his appreciation and wanted everyone to know that all of the team members at Altman were safe.

In a statement, Matt said, “I am so proud of our team in Troup and team members across our organization for pulling together during this time of need. The safety of our people was the priority.  Now that we are assured of that, we are putting in place everything needed to continue operations.”

The affected building served as the nursery’s hub for soil mixing and transplanting. The company shifted production into alternative buildings and arranged to bring in mixed soil from sister production nurseries in Huntsville and Giddings, Texas, to keep Troup supplied.

Importantly, there were no crop losses and shipping to customers will continue to stay on track. The Troup nursery employs around 375 team members, with approximately 4 million sq. ft. of growing space.

As of press time, the cause of the fire was still under investigation. Matt and the Altman Plants team extended their deep thanks and appreciation to the fire crews and first responders who worked through that evening to bring the blaze under control.

“As many of us know in this industry, we learn to deal with the unexpected. This is a significant event, but we are thankful our people are safe and we will come out stronger on the other side,” Matt said. GT