Who dominates the tree industry?

[ArboristSite]

Hello Everyone,
I had a post on my site, http://www.Arboristsite.com, that says: "who dominates this industry?" Many guys who wrote back said it was the landscapers that get the majority of work but not the trees around electical wires or in tight areas. What my question to you is if the majority of lawnsite readers would be interested in trees also or doing the majority of tree work, why arent many of you interested? I have tons (not lawnsite tons, but more traffic than I expected after 3 months) of posts on arboristsite but not a lot of varience of people who answer the posts. Most of the people who answer are guys in the tree industry only. I have learned a lot from the threads on my site and hope to see you there. Chuck's (lawnsite owner) master plan is to dominate all fazes of the turf industry. I get new members from him and he from me. I would like to know the answer to the question, I had earlier. Who dominates the tree industry? And If it is the landscapers, what would you change about arboristsite so you would visit? If you want become a member and post your answer here: http://arboristsite.com/showthread.php?threadid=69 Thanks for supporting lawnsite and arboristsite, Darin

[LoneStarLawn]

I don't know if that is the kind of answer you are looking for, but I think they are pretty dominant in the tree industry.

[ArboristSite]

Yes, I agree. Since this is true, I would think the majority of lawnsite members would be interested in Arboristsite also. Why isnt this the case. Most of my members are Homeowners and tree companies.

[gusbuster]

The biggest tree companies in your area(everybody in the U.S.) will probaly be the company that has the Utility line clearing contract.

In Northern Califonia, it use to be Davey Tree for eons, then came a company, from I belive Wisconson called (forgive the spelling) Alspundah. They drive big orange trucks with self contained chippers or towing chippers. They came in and took away the Pacific Gas and Electic contract away from Davey Tree. Now Davey concertrates more on residentials than commercial jobs, at least from what I see driving around.

John

[joshua]

davey, dominates the u.s and canada, their in almost every state.

[ArboristSite]

I know of the large companies. Thats really not where I am trying to go with this. What I am saying is, if you look at the number of companies, as a whole, the majority of them that get the tree business seems to be landscape companies (not large jobs, just the majority of jobs). Obviously, the landscape business is of interest. You can barely post something on lawnsite and its answered. There are several posts that remain unanswered on http://www.arboristsite.com. Is it that its uninteresting to read. Or the normal landscaper has the knowledge to use a chainsaw and collect money and not know the correct answer to many of the posts. When I first started out as a landscaper I had no idea what pests and diseases lurked in trees. I just knew I was gonna get $500 bucks out of the deal. If this is the case, why wouldnt you want to read some of the posts to learn about them. That is what http://www.lawnsite.com and http://www.arboristsite.com is for, isnt it? To learn? I know quite a bit, not as much as I could, but I have researched a lot of the answers I gave myself. So I have learned a lot myself. I hope you get my question a little clearer now. Thanks guys!!!

[LoneStarLawn]

Well I am a member of arboristsite.com and unfortunately Im am not educated to answer posts that are on the forum. Like you said I am there to LEARN...and then add that service to my business...gusbuster (I won't even try spelling it nor even try pronouncing it) they are big here too...

[oneEXMARKfan]

OH.....I wish I had a dollar for every truck I've seen around here over the years !!!!! It would be ZTR's for everyone !!!!!! (I could afford it)

[thelawnguy]

"Or the normal landscaper has the knowledge to use a chainsaw and collect money and not know the correct answer to many of the posts. "

Probably sums it up.

In my state, you need an arborist license to do tree work (over 15') which requires both a written test and an in-field skills test i.e. climbing knots chainsaw use etc. Plus your landscape contractor license. Plus your pesticide license(different than turf). Plus your Home improvement license if necessary.

So, the small tree companies do the take-downs and pest control, the landscape co's do the small tree trimming and the re-planting. About the only free reign is, who removes the stump. lol

[awm]

i do tree work some myself. im self taught and believe me
thats not the way to start doing tree work.
im only here because it just wasnt my time.
you need the basics of felling ,first cut, finish cut and how to leave a proper hinge etc. that is one thing i think thru real good before i start. i once had several tons of tree jump about 6-8 ft,no way i could have moved in time.
i got lucky as it jumped beside me instead of on top of me.
like i say,just wasnt my time. the aboriste sight can be a real help.

[kris]

Darin.. I am interested in learning from the site...I have to be honest and say that after working in Landscape construction for over 20 years now,I am not very qualified in your speciality...I do sub out any large tree work..Like I said I am interested but being spring,I only have limited time on here and since we branched out and started Maintenance last year I am busy trying to learn as much as I can about turf etc.

[Eric ELM]

Darin, I also am just a novice at this. I did work p/t with a leadman for Davey on weekends taking down trees years ago. He was very good at this and I did learn a lot. He now drives a semi across the USA. Since my old body won't allow me to do this sort of work now, I sub out all this work to an Arborist.

I do have a link to your site on my links page on my website, so I am trying to get you more members. I have been a member since your forum started. You are the 2nd member and I am the 3rd. ;)

[ArboristSite]

Hey, Everyone I appreciate many of you becoming new members of Arboristsite.com. Every little helps! I am glad to know that much of the "lack of interest" isnt because many of you dont care its because you you dont know. I hope reading some posts you will learn more about this industry. Being well rounded in knowledge will always be your benefit. I am interested in your answers so keep them coming.
Thanks for the link ERIC

[awm]

if you guys think we are bad to bicker about whos mowers are best, you oughta hear the stihl and huquevarna boys
go at each other.Pleas excuse big mouth tonite, after tooth pull today i been taking some kinda gooood pain pill
whoopee

[cos]

Davey Tree is big around here too, but they do mostly landscaping. Asphlundh does all the tree line work here. There are a couple of private owned tree comapnies that are pretty big. I believe they couldn't be bothered with cutting grass or landscaping.

[jaclawn]

In our area, we have a few locally based companies that seem to be "real" tree services. We also have an abundunance of outfits with a 1T dump and chipper that call themselves tree services. We also have our fair share of landscape/tree services, and lawn/tree services.

I can see a need for all three.

Lets face it, taking down a 30' tree in the middle of a yard, where there is no chance of it hitting anything is not rocket science. Just about anyone with the proper safety knowledge, and a Sears saw can take it down.

Taking down a 150' specimin tree that is nestled between two buildings is a whole different ball game.

In the first case, that job would be pursued by the smaller, 1T & chipper services. They could do the job, and do it well. The result is the same, the tree is gone, whether done by an arborist, or a homeowner. About the only thing that is varible is the quality of the clean up assiocated with the job.

An arborist, with all the proper equipment, bucket trucks, cranes... is not going to be price competitive on a job like that. It is the same as with lawns, someone setup to mow acreage is not going to be price competitive on postage stamp size lawns. This is the case in just about every industry.

This is also true in reverse. The guy with a 1T and chipper is not going to be able to take down a large specimin tree as fast as a crew with a bucket truck and crane. How many trips is that guy going to have to make with his little truck hauling it all away?

I can see a need for all aspects of the tree industry. I have however, noticed that the larger co's, the ones with the equipment, are better for pruning. I have seen some very bad pruning jobs done by the small outfits, as well as the lawn/tree and landscape/tree services. However, just because you are setup to handle the large stuff, does not mean that you are going to do a proper job.

Having said that, in my business, I will stay away from most all tree work. In fact, I only have a $129 Poulan saw, and it only gets used a couple of times per year. I will take down something small for one of my customers, mabe 15-20', and even some of them I won't do. Most of what I take down are actually large bushes.

I will sublet the job, if it is part of a larger project, or simply refer the customer to a tree service. Depending on what the situation is, I will refer them to a few different comapnies. If it is a large specimin that they want pruned, they get refered to an arborist. If it is a 30' pine that they want taken down in the middle of a field, they get refered to one of the smaller outfits.

As a side note, this story was related to my by a homeowner that I went to prepare a bid for. We did not do any work for him, but at our meeting he told me this story.

He had a large tree in his back yard that he wanted taken down. He wanted the logs left onsite, and the limbs carted away. He contracted with this fellow to do the work. This guy did tree work as a side business.

They showed up in a 20 year old station wagon, caring a dumping cart on the back. As one fellow was up in the tree, the other worked the ground. The owner, after seeing their setup became a little nervous. He questioned the fellow on the ground about insurance. (Shouldn't you do this BEFORE they start working?) They guy on the ground hollered up" Hey George, this guy wants to know about insurance". George hollered down" Don't worry, I fell out of a tree before, and I didn't get hurt too bad". They had no insurance.