American Farms has taken over day-to-day management of Hoffmann Heimos Greenhouses, bringing two US ornamental plant businesses under one operating team. The Illinois nursery will trade as American Farms – Midwest, while John Hardiman, chief executive of American Farms, will oversee the Midwest operation and the company’s base in Naples, Florida.
The change, reported by Greenhouse Grower on 13 October with statements from Hardiman and Hoffmann Family of Companies chairman David Hoffmann, consolidates management of two businesses that were already owned by the Hoffmann group. It is not a newly announced acquisition of Heimos.
Nearly 3.7 million square feet of existing production
Greenhouse Grower reports that the combined American Farms operation will manage nearly 3.7 million sq ft (about 344,000 sq m, or 34.4 hectares) of environmentally controlled growing space. The number describes established facilities under unified management, not greenhouse area added by new construction.
The businesses operate in different US growing regions: Heimos has a major facility at Millstadt, Illinois, while American Farms is based in Naples, Florida. Together they supply ornamentals, bedding plants and seasonal crops to wholesale buyers, independent garden centres, retailers and landscape businesses. The wider footprint offers the operating team scope to coordinate production and distribution across different growing seasons; the announcement does not quantify savings or specify changes to crop schedules.
New operating structure, earlier ownership
The group had announced its intention to buy Heimos in an April 2025 statement. That earlier transaction should not be confused with the current operating change. Greenhouse Grower’s October account describes both companies as existing Hoffmann holdings.
Hardiman said the businesses would offer wholesale customers a broader variety and greater reliability through the year. This is the management team’s stated commercial objective, not independently established performance. The transition also brings Heimos’ Midwest operations under the American Farms – Midwest name.
Before integration, the publication’s 2026 Top 100 data recorded Heimos and American Farms separately at 2.99 million and 655,000 sq ft, respectively. Their rounded combined area is consistent with the newly reported 3.7-million-sq-ft management footprint.
Key takeaways
- American Farms now manages the Heimos operation in Illinois, under the American Farms – Midwest name.
- CEO John Hardiman will direct the Illinois and Florida sites.
- The nearly 3.7 million sq ft figure is combined existing protected growing capacity, not a new-build announcement.
Featured image: archival Heimos greenhouse and flower-production collage published with 2025 reporting. Not a photograph of the 2026 management change.
