Tree Service Competition

[lxskllr]

You all noticed more tree companies in the last bunch of years? Seems like years ago there were a few big players, but I see trucks all over now. Possible reasons...

1: I'm only noticing now cause I've taken an interest in it. They were always there
2: Suburbanization of my area has caused a greater need for arborists than years past
3: There's more people getting into this, and competition is stiffer

This all based on what I see on the road, eg chip trucks, bucket trucks... equipment that takes a real investment. Dunno about craigslist hacks and whatnot. Have you all seen your pie shrinking?

 

[cory]

With the advent of more and more hi tech and capable equipment, more and more folks are buying it allowing them to get going or go deeper than they could with just manpower.

Around here, there's plenty of well equipped outfits as well as loads of hacks n ham n eggers.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

There were a lot of start ups even from out of state that were trying to cash in on the ROW work CA has been amping up since the tree mortality issues we had started up back in 2014/2015. Since they had soooooooooooo many mishaps over the last 5 years with property damage, fires and death from that work, a lot of the larger companies had to move on or change their Corporation to even get insurance anymore. This also left a lot of newer small ones that kind of got left behind when the contracts moved to other big guys and or bankruptcies etc that occurred during all this. PGE and the state or being more aggressive with ROWs now and the clearing is in full swing and crazy busy. They are removing more than they did in the past for the ROW. More companies have moved in from with in the state and from with out. The small guys that were able to hang on are getting subbed into those companies as well. More new trucks and gear moving about.
I doubt that this is your exact situation, but some of this can trickle into your as larger companies keep trying to expand into other areas when they have a big influx of capitol.
Seems all the newer little ones come in waves around situations like that. You know, have chainsaw so...... Anyway. We see this with government grant work too. Many new forestry mowers about.

 

[lxskllr]

There's definitely been more RoW work lately. Used to be Asplundh, but they all but disappeared, and it's Lewis now. I have been seeing the occasional orange truck lately. For awhile I thought they maybe went out of business.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Here, Asplundh disappeared, their trucks came back with new signs. Then those left. Arborworks rolled in.. A few others... Now Community Tree Service and Arborworks..... It moves like a tide.
ACRT and Trees Inc does all the tree location and surveying. And now there is another one of those, I forget the Acronym.

 

[cory]

Big biz in the tree biz

 

[Jonny]

My area is flooded by zero experience guys that retired from their day job and decided to buy a stump grinder to make extra cash and pass the time. You can’t have a visible stump in your yard without someone knocking on your door. Very little cash, grinding stumps earns maybe 40$ an hour now, unless it’s through a real tree service that’s doing stumps of the trees they remove.

 

[lxskllr]

That's probably the lamest part of treework :^D

I've thought a cool job would be vine cutting and brush clearing, but I don't think I'd want to dispose of the stuff. Cut it and leave it. Give the homeowner a start on keeping it up themselves. Doubt anyone would pay for that though.

 

[Sven]

Around here there’s an increasing batch of sole proprietors who decided to make more than $18-$20 an hour being climbers and foreman. Many established outfits have been gearing up hardcore though, can’t imagine the loan payments they make! But they are always hiring...

 

[cory]

What part of Maine are you from?

I have some roots in Livermore Falls

 

[Sven]

In the Brunswick area, went to school in Orono. Kept coming back from working elsewhere and travels, Maine is just a great state. Getting more busy and developed unfortunately.

 

[cory]

I was in Stillwater for awhile.

Getting more busy and developed unfortunately.

 

[murphy4trees]

EAB just got to town and we have 11% ash trees in the state. These aren't your little 20-24" midwestern ash mind you. Many 4-5' DBH and 85-100', some with huge spreads as well. It seems like when the economy is hot, you get some new folks coming in and many killing it, but also tends to be a situation where other opportunities to make better easier $, so that limits new startups into the market. In '08-'09 when the economy tanked, many new small companies came into the market, but more importantly, when demand fell the bigger local companies with the shiny trucks had o drop prices just to keep their best men employed. That drove the price of tree work WAY DOWN.

Last year, due to Trump's delay in allowing seasonal workers from south of the border, many of the bigger tree outfits and a lot of landscapers couldn't get their regular foreign workers until June, which made a busy spring for a lot of the smaller companies.

I was born in the Chinese zodiac year of the rat, so I always manage to find a nitch. Right now I own 3 Raco RG-100s, and just bought a hooklift 550 to clean up the chips. We're all going to busy from these ash trees dying for the next few years, so lots of guys would rather leave the stumps and just cut the trees.

 

[Mick!]

I have noticed more smaller tree companies driving around.

Looking at their work I would say they know their stuff, decent standard.

There‘s a lot more training around for people wanting to get into it.

I am losing a fair bit of the simpler stuff to them, it is difficult to compete with their energy and hunger, it’s usually my gear that secures me the bigger stuff.

Coupled with the downturn due to c19, it’s been a bad year thus far.

 

[Bermy]

I've had to up my advertising presence...facebook community groups, local newspaper.... If people don't know you are available locally they call the big boys from the city.

 

[cory]

Coupled with the downturn due to c19, it’s been a bad year thus far.

I feel like C19 has made biz go thru the roof here- people home full time noticing now what needs doing, instead of later.

 

[murphy4trees]

me too...

Busiest spring in recent memory. Lots of people home doing home projects.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Yup, same here. Time on their hands and stimulous money. Booking September now. Solid till then.

 

[cory]

Same here though I only book 8 weeks out max, seems like anything beyond that just leads to headaches