The ISA Canopy Partners program is a collaborative initiative that brings together industry leaders to support ISA's mission to promote the professional practice of arboriculture, inform the public about tree benefits, and provide a global network of arborists, urban foresters, and people who care for trees.
We met with several members of the leadership team at The Davey Tree Expert Company, an ISA Gold Canopy Partner, to discuss their views on the industry and how they see it changing in the coming years.
What are some industry trends Davey is has noticed and are actively working towards?
New technology and tool developments have enhanced safety, our quality of work and our production. As a company, we want to supply this new and improved equipment for not only safety and production reasons, but also for recruitment purposes. New employees want to see the equipment they trained with in the workplace, and they want to see that the company cares for them by providing safe and quality equipment and tools. If you want happy employees, you need to take care of them.
Also, Davey is actively working towards recruiting and retaining employees that represent diversity, and our leadership team at the highest level is actively finding ways to continue to build a diverse workforce.
-Jed Day, Executive Vice President & General Manager, U.S. Residential Operations, The Davey Tree Expert Company
How does Davey see the industry growing in the next few years?
Consolidation is a big trend where there are a lot of investor groups flipping tree care companies. Where Davey plays a role in this is we feel we’re a safe haven as an employee-owned company that has been around for over 140 years. Greg Ina, Executive Vice President, the Davey Institute and Employee Development
-Jim Houston, Vice President & General Manager, Eastern Operations, U.S. Residential/Commercial Services and Commercial Landscape Services
What does Davey want ISA’s members and credential holders to know about their organization?
Our value-based culture is important to us at Davey. We want to cultivate a sense of belonging for our employees, and we recognize the decision-making process is always best when there’s a diverse group of people in the room.
-Greg Ina, Executive Vice President, the Davey Institute and Employee Development
What are some ways Davey is investing in the industry?
Davey’s SEED Campus is one of our biggest examples of how we’re investing in the industry by creating a center for education and training that covers a wide variety of services and technical and leadership skills.
We also hold more frequent regional trainings on specific issues and outcomes we’re looking for.
-Brent Repenning, Executive Vice President, U.S. Utility & Davey Resource Group