Davey Tree Expert Company
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The Davey Tree Expert Company, also known as Davey Tree, is an American multinational employee owned corporation. The company's main services are
tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
care, commercial grounds,
utility As a topic of economics, utility is used to model worth or value. Its usage has evolved significantly over time. The term was introduced initially as a measure of pleasure or happiness as part of the theory of utilitarianism by moral philosopher ...
and consulting. It has employees throughout the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Davey was the first and is the largest tree care company in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. John Davey, its
founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...
, started the company in 1880 and is considered the father of the science of tree surgery and
arboriculture Arboriculture () is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants. The science of arboriculture studies how these plants grow and respond to cultural practices and to their environmen ...
. It has been
employee Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any other ...
owned since 1979 and is the 8th largest such company in the U.S.
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
named it as one of America's best employers. Company headquarters are in
Kent, Ohio Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeast Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 28,215 at the 2020 Census. The city is counted as pa ...
. It provides services to homeowners, small and large businesses,
public utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...
, and local, state, and federal agencies through its arboriculture,
horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
, and environmental and consulting services.


History

In 1873, John Davey at age 27 traveled from Europe to America and began working at Standing Rock Cemetery in
Kent, Ohio Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeast Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 28,215 at the 2020 Census. The city is counted as pa ...
. The
cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
let him experiment with the property's trees,
shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
s and
flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
. He planted hundreds of trees along the Kent streets and around homes in the community and performed some tree work. He wanted people to care about trees so wrote a book. That book was published in 1901 known as "The Tree Doctor". John Davey was the President, and his son,
Martin L. Davey Martin Luther Davey (July 25, 1884March 31, 1946) was an American Democratic politician from Ohio. He was the 53rd governor of Ohio. Childhood Davey was born in Kent, Ohio in 1884. His father was John Davey, better known as the tree doctor and ...
, became the general manager and treasurer eight years later when The Davey Tree Expert Company was incorporated in 1909. By 1915, Davey Tree was growing and expanding; during the period from 1915 to 1920, the company expanded more than fivefold. Today, its sales are more than $1 billion.


Employee ownership

The Davey Tree Expert Company has been employee-owned since 1979 and is the 8th largest employee-owned company in the U.S., according to data from the National Center for Employee Ownership. (The 2021 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.) The list also names Davey as the largest employee-owned company in Ohio.


Environmental science

John Davey established the Davey Institute of Tree Surgery in 1908. A 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. Davey is building a new research and training facility at its home headquarters in Kent, Ohio. It's about 175 acres of property that will test how to build more sustainable landscapes as the world faces
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
. This property is known as th
Davey SEED Campus
Some areas it plans to research are
water management Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on the Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slightl ...
and
pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are the maj ...
habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
. Davey also made a deal with the Kent
Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...
to exchange a derelict elementary for some other property. The Kent school district made this deal according to its Superintendent. 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. The company partners with other organizations to promote the benefits of trees, such as the Arbor Day Foundation,
American Forests American Forests is a 501(c)(3) non-profit conservation organization, established in 1875, and dedicated to protecting and restoring healthy forest ecosystems. The current headquarters are in Washington, D.C. Activities The mission of American ...
,
International Society of Arboriculture The International Society of Arboriculture, commonly known as ISA, is an international non-profit organization headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The ISA serves the tree care industry Tree care is the application of arboricultural m ...
and the
Tree Care Industry Association In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are u ...
and programs like the National Register of Big Trees and fundraisers like Tour des Trees. It also partners with universities such as
Kent State Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in Ash ...
. In 2013, it published its first corporate social responsibility report. The company has been involved in many projects to help care for the environment with initiatives such as
i-Tree i-Tree is a collection of urban and rural forestry analysis and benefits assessment tools. It was designed and developed by the United States Forest Service to quantify and value ecosystem services provided by trees including pollution removal, ca ...
, software created by Davey and the USDA Forest Service used to quantify the benefit of trees, as well as helping the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
care for the trees at the
Flight 93 National Memorial The Flight 93 National Memorial is a memorial built to commemorate the crash of United Airlines Flight 93, which was one of four aircraft hijacked during the September 11 attacks in 2001. The memorial is located in Stonycreek Township in Somer ...
. It also assists and helps clean up from
natural disaster A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econ ...
s, such as
Hurricane Rita Hurricane Rita was the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Gulf of Mexico and the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. Part of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, which included three of the top ten L ...
and
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
. Hurricane Katrina created widespread tree damage prompting the
International Society of Arboriculture The International Society of Arboriculture, commonly known as ISA, is an international non-profit organization headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The ISA serves the tree care industry Tree care is the application of arboricultural m ...
, Davey Tree, and Urban Forest Strike Teams to deploy certified arborists into at least nine communities along the Mississippi/Louisiana Gulf Coast. Throughout September and October 2017, thousands of federal, state, and private agencies were deployed to areas that were impacted by hurricanes
Harvey Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit * Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...
, Irma, Maria, and Nate. These
first responder A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency, such as an accident, disaster, medical emergency, structure fire, crime, or terr ...
s 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.


Service divisions

According to Davey Tree, it operates in two segments, residential/commercial, and utility. It has research, technical support, and laboratory diagnostic facilities. 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 Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal o ...
, 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. Recently it has purchased S&S Tree and Landscaping Specialists, LMS and TGC Engineering


References


Further reading

* * {{Authority control Companies based in Ohio Kent, Ohio Privately held companies based in Ohio