KENT, Ohio-Two top tree care companies have joined together. 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.
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.
“The Care of Trees and Davey Tree combined have nearly 170 years of experience providing advanced tree care services," said Karl J. Warnke, Davey president and CEO. "We will continue to focus on service integrity as we build on the best qualities of both companies. It’s an exciting time as we unite our individual strengths for the mutual benefit of our clients and our employee owners.”
Warnke added, “Our companies have many similarities. As employee-owned companies, our people are the foundation of our success. 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.”
“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.
