<font color=red>UPDATED:</font> The Care of Trees Joins The Davey Tree Expert Co.

KENT, Ohio-Two top tree care companies have joined together, but both brands will continue to exist. This was the message after The Care of Trees, a residential/commercial tree service organization, joined The Davey Tree Expert Co., North America’s largest residential tree care company. Combined, the companies bring 7,000 employees that operate in 45 states and six Canadian provinces.

The Care of Trees will operate as a wholly owned Davey subsidiary. Because the companies were employee owned, the transaction was a merger of stock rather than an acquisition. As a result of the merger, The Care of Trees stock no longer exists and employees immediately own a proportionate amount of Davey stock, said Karl J. Warnke, Davey president and CEO.

The operations will continue to run as they are for now, Warnke told Lawn & Landscape. That means The Care of Trees will remain under that brand name and will operate even in markets where there is a Davey branch.

“We’ll probably talk to customers and let them know (about the transaction),” Warnke said. “We’re offering two of the best options in the industry to customers and prospects and we’re not going to hide that fact. I expect The Care of Trees brand will be around for a long time. The Care of Trees is a strong brand in a number of markets and we intend to build that further and leverage it more.”

Davey Tree, founded in 1880 by John Davey, provides diversified services and technical consulting to the utility industry, state and federal governments, large commercial properties, and golf and sports facilities, in addition to the residential market. In 2007, Davey had consolidated revenues of $506 million. The company placed at No. 4 on Lawn & Landscape’s list of the industry’s top 100 revenue earners.

The Care of Trees, based in Wheeling, Ill., has operations and facilities in Illinois, California, Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. It provides tree care services for more than 60,000 residential and commercial clients. In 2007, The Care of Trees posted revenues of approximately $51 million and placed at No. 19 on the Lawn & Landscape Top 100 list.

John R. Hendricksen started Hendricksen Tree Experts in the 1960s. It later became The Care of Trees as a result of the merger of Archibald Enoch Price, the Care of Trees, and Hendricksen Tree Experts in 1985. Hendricksen, prior to the merger, was the principal owner of the employee-owned business. Scott Jamieson, former president and CEO of The Care of Trees, departed the company before the merger.

“Our companies have many similarities. As employee-owned companies, our people are the foundation of our success,” Warnke said. “We have storied histories and similar cultures.  We take pride in providing employees with the atmosphere and training they need to deliver the highest levels of performance and customer service.”

While the companies are similar, Davey also provides some different opportunities for The Care of Trees employees that they didn’t have before, Warnke said.

“Combined with a company like Davey, with four main divisions and diverse services, that provides a lot of opportunity for the folks from The Care of Trees,” he said. “If you want to look into an unrelated field you’ll find it at the Davey Co.”

“This merger gives us the chance to take the best practices of both companies across North America,” said Hendricksen, chairman of The Care of Trees. “Our commitment to our employees, particularly exemplified with our Leading with Safety program, is very compatible with Davey’s safety commitment to their employee owners.”

The transaction is Davey’s 13th acquisition in the past two years. It follows Davey’s March 2008 acquisition of the assets of Wolf Tree Experts, a Knoxville, Tenn.-based utility tree trimming company with 700 employees, a 13-state service area, and annualized revenues of more than $40 million.