Davey Tree Expert Company

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The Davey Tree Expert Company
TypeEmployee owned
IndustryGreen Industry
FoundedKent, Ohio, United States
1880 (origins)
1909 (incorporated)
FounderJohn Davey
HeadquartersKent, Ohio, United States
Key people
Patrick M. Covey (Chairman & CEO)
ServicesArboriculture, Horticulture, Environmental and Consulting Services
RevenueIncreaseUS$1.288 billion (2019)
OwnerEmployee owned
Number of employees
10,500
Websitewww.davey.com
Davey tree trimming operation Superior Township, Michigan
Corporate headquarters in Kent, Ohio.

The Davey Tree Expert Company, also known as Davey Tree, is an American multinational employee owned corporation. The company's main services are tree, commercial grounds, utility and consulting. It has employees throughout the United States and Canada.

Davey was the first and is the largest tree care company in North America.[1][2][3] John Davey, its founder, started the company in 1880 and is considered the father of the science of tree surgery and arboriculture.[4][5][6] It has been employee owned since 1979 and is 9th largest such company in the U.S.[7] Forbes named it as one of America's best employers.[8]

Company headquarters are in Kent, Ohio.[9] It provides services to homeowners, small and large businesses, public utilities, and local, state, and federal agencies through its arboriculture, horticulture, and environmental and consulting services.[10]

History[]

In 1873, John Davey at age 27 traveled from Europe to America and began working at Standing Rock Cemetery in Kent, Ohio. He transformed the cemetery with new plantings of trees, shrubs and flowers. He planted hundreds of trees along the Kent streets and around homes in the community and performed a modest amount of tree work. He became determined to gain acceptance of his methods for the care of trees, and wrote a book.[11]

In 1901, The Tree Doctor was published, a milestone in the career of Davey and the science of tree preservation.[12] John Davey was the President, and his son, Martin L. Davey, became the general manager and treasurer when it became incorporated in 1909.[13] By 1915, Davey Tree was growing and expanding; during the period from 1915 to 1920, the company expanded more than fivefold.[14] Today, its sales are more than $1 billion.

Employee ownership[]

The Davey Tree Expert Company has been employee owned since 1979 and is the 9th largest employee-owned company in the U.S., according to data from the National Center for Employee Ownership.[15] (The 2015 Employee Ownership 100 list includes the nation's largest companies that are at least 50 percent owned by an employee stock ownership plan or other broad-based employee ownership plan.[16]) The list also names it as the largest employee-owned company in Ohio.

Environmental science[]

John Davey established the Davey Institute of Tree Surgery in 1908.[17] The training facility was staffed by experts and also provided employees with the skills and tools needed to advance tree science. Today, the company still provides basic tree science as the educational foundation for its employees.[18]

The company purchased 170 acres of land in 2017 across from its corporate headquarters in Kent to primarily establish what the company calls a "science and learning center."[19] According to the company, scientists and technical advisers guide field service teams in diagnosing and prescribing products, application procedure, and pest and disease cultural practices.[20]

It assists college students in the green industry through its Arbor Day Grants.[21] The company partners with other organizations to promote the benefits of trees, such as American Forests, International Society of Arboriculture and the Tree Care Industry Association and programs like the National Register of Big Trees and fundraisers like Tour des Trees.[22][23] It also partners with universities such as Kent State.[24]

In 2013, it published its first corporate social responsibility report.[25] The company has been involved in many projects to help care for the environment with initiatives such as i-Tree,[26] software created by Davey and the USDA Forest Service used to quantify the benefit of trees,[27] as well as helping the National Park Service care for the trees at the Flight 93 National Memorial.[28] It also assists and helps clean up from natural disasters, such as Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Katrina.[29][30] Hurricane Katrina created widespread tree damage prompting the International Society of Arboriculture, Davey Tree, and Urban Forest Strike Teams to deploy certified arborists into at least nine communities along the Mississippi/Louisiana Gulf Coast.[31] Throughout September and October 2017, thousands of federal, state, and private agencies were deployed to areas that were impacted by hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Nate. These first responders are there to help the people in the storm's path. However, Davey is part of another group of responders that go into storm-ravaged towns to aid the trees.[32]

Service divisions[]

According to Davey Tree, it operates in two segments, residential/commercial, and utility. It has research, technical support, and laboratory diagnostic facilities.[33] The residential/commercial segment is involved in the treatment, preservation, maintenance, removal, and planting of trees, shrubs, and other plant life. The segment's services also include landscaping, grounds maintenance, tree surgery, as well as the application of fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides. The utility services segment engages vegetation management around power lines, rights-of-way, and chemical brush control services; and natural resource management and consulting, forestry research and development, and environmental planning services.

About half the company growth in this century has come from mergers and acquisitions. The biggest was Illinois-based The Care of Trees in 2008.[34] Recently it has purchased S&S Tree and Landscaping Specialists,[35] LMS[36] and TGS Engineering[37]

References[]

  1. ^ [1]"Lawn & Landscape Top 100".
  2. ^ Abbott, R.E (August 1977). "Commercial Arboricultural Practices in North America". Journal of Arboriculture.
  3. ^ "Ohio Chapter International Society of Arboriculture: Chapter History".
  4. ^ "Davey: Father of Tree Surgery" (PDF). Heartland Science. The Ohio Academy of Science. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  5. ^ Grismer, Karl H. (1932). History of Kent (2001 Revision ed.). Kent, Ohio: Record Publishing (1932), Kent Historical Society (2001). p. 233.
  6. ^ International Society of Arboriculture ISA website Archived 2008-09-16 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "NCEO Home | NCEO". www.nceo.org. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
  8. ^ "America's Best Employers". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  9. ^ Report, Staff. "Kent schools, Davey Tree Expert Co. exchange land on North Mantua Street and Hudson Road". Record-Courier. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
  10. ^ "Commercial Services & Supplies Company Overview of The Davey Tree Expert Company, Bloomberg Business".
  11. ^ "Kent State University Library, SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES: DAVEY TREE, DETAILED HISTORY'".
  12. ^ "The tree doctor: a book on tree culture".
  13. ^ "Davey Tree, Detailed History". Kent State University Special Collections and Archives. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  14. ^ "Ohio History Central'".
  15. ^ "The Employee Ownership 100: America's Largest Majority Employee-Owned Companies". August 2017.
  16. ^ NCEO website. (2008). "The National Center for Employee Ownership". Retrieved 2008-09-02.
  17. ^ Abbott, R.E (August 1977). "Commercial Arboricultural Practices in North America (Vol. 3, No 8)". Journal of Arboriculture.
  18. ^ BAWDEN-DAVIS, JULIE (February 13, 2015). "Parade Online, Tree Training: Nation's Arborists Gather for Intense Program".
  19. ^ "Davey Tree expands property - Lawn & Landscape". Lawn & Landscape. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  20. ^ "About The Davey Institute, Davey Tree Company Website".
  21. ^ "Arbor Grant, University of Maryland College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Institute of Applied Agriculture".
  22. ^ "Davey Tree Partners, davey.com website".
  23. ^ "TREE Fund welcomes new Crown Partner, The Davey Tree Expert Company, STIHL, Tour Des Trees".
  24. ^ "Davey Tree, Kent State Partnership Produces Inaugural Graduate | Kent State University". www.kent.edu. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
  25. ^ "CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY REPORT 2013, The Davey Tree Co."".
  26. ^ "i-Tree.org Website".
  27. ^ U.S. Forest Service (August 2010). "Northeastern Area State & Private Forestry News Notes" (PDF).
  28. ^ "Honor Flight 93 Our Supporters". Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  29. ^ "Davey Tree workers help clean up from Hurricane Rita ( (Vol. 44 Issue 10, p22))". Landscape Management. Oct 2005. Archived from the original on 2015-10-01.
  30. ^ "Hurricane Aftermath". Arbor Age. Dec 2005. Archived from the original on 2015-10-01.
  31. ^ "Urban and Community Forestry Program". www.fs.fed.us. US Forest Service. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  32. ^ "After the Storm, Who Takes Care of the Trees?". US Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2018-05-07. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  33. ^ "Commercial Services & Supplies Company Overview of The Davey Tree Expert Company, Bloomberg Business".
  34. ^ "The Davey Tree Expert Co. Merges with The Care of Trees". Lawn & Landscape. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  35. ^ "Davey Tree branches out again". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  36. ^ "The Davey Tree Expert Co. Archives". Smart Business Magazine. Retrieved 2021-09-08.
  37. ^ "TGC Engineering joins Davey Resource Group". Tree Care Industry Magazine. 2020-09-01. Retrieved 2021-09-08.

Further reading[]

  • Pfleger, Robert E. (1977). Green Leaves: A History of The Davey Tree Expert Company. Chester, Connecticut, USA: Pequot Press. ISBN 978-0-87106-081-5.
  • International Directory of Company Histories. The Davey Tree Expert Company. 11. St. James Press. 1995. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
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