The Davey Tree Expert Company is proud to announce the release of Growth Rings, a new book about the company’s history and growth from 1962 to 2020.
Growth Rings is a sequel to Green Leaves, which was published in 1977 and told the story of John Davey’s founding of Davey Tree. Growth Rings tells the story of the events that transpired leading to the employee acquisition of the company in 1979, making Davey employee-owned, and includes interviews with more than 50 past and present employees. Growth Rings chronicles the success of the employee-ownership model at Davey and the company’s growth following the employee acquisition.
“The purpose of the book, aside from detailing the modern history of Davey Tree, is to tell the stories of the employees who have made this company such a huge success,” said Matt Fredmonsky, author of Growth Rings and manager of corporate content at Davey Tree. “Davey has always been and continues to be a company focused on people, so I hope that current and future generations of employees will read Growth Rings and come away with an understanding that Davey is all about our people whether they are employees, clients or our shareholders.”
Growth Rings is 200 pages long and contains over 100 photographs. It is available for purchase as of June 6, 2023, which is John Davey’s birthday, and can be bought online at ShopDaveyTree.com.
Sandra Reid, vice president of corporate communications and strategic planning at Davey Tree, said Davey Tree is one of few companies in the industry with a history that dates back to the 1800s that is also employee-owned, so it’s something Davey employees, retirees and shareholders are proud of. “We felt it was important that we document the success and growth our company has experienced since our employee acquisition, and we want to ensure this story gets told and shared with our future Davey generations because it’s something we’re extremely proud of.”
Green Leaves, written by Robert E. Pfleger, tells the story of John Davey starting with his early years as a boy and young farm worker learning agriculture, horticulture and floriculture in England. Green Leaves explains how John traveled to America, created the science of tree surgery and founded North America’s oldest and largest tree care company, Davey Tree. The book also covers the company’s leadership transitions and spans the years 1846 to 1961.
