Hayes Lawn and Garden of Valley Center has announced a merger with Atlanta, GA, based Southern Sales & Marketing Group. Hays is a leading supplier of lawn and garden products to retailers throughout North America. It will now become a division of Southern.

Steve Hayes, President and CEO of The Hayes Company, Inc., says “This is a tremendous opportunity to combine two world class operations to more effectively service our common customer base.

Ken Harbaugh, of Southern Sales & Marketing Group, Inc., states “I have known Steve Hayes and the Hayes family for many years. Hayes is a class “A” company, and Southern is a class “A” company. Bringing two “A” companies together will create an A+ partnership. I can think of no better partnership in our industry than Southern and Hayes. We will now be offering an expanded, top quality product line and an unparalleled one-stop shopping option for our customers.”

Upon completion of the planned merger, the combined companies will be headquartered in Atlanta, GA, with operating offices in Park City, Kansas, Orangeburg, South Carolina and Shenzhen, China.

The Park City, facility will remain as the corporate headquarters for Hayes Holding, Inc. Hayes Holding, Inc., and its subsidiaries will continue to utilize the office and warehousing facilities in Park City and additional states within the U.S. and China. In addition to Hayes Lawn and Garden LLC, Hayes Holdings operates several subsidiaries including its largest Hayes Retail Services LLC.