The Davey Tree Expert Company has acquired Cortese Tree Specialists of Knoxville, Tennessee. This follows the company’s most recent acquisitions of Maier Forest and Tree in Rochester, Minn., and Superior NW Tree & Shrub Care, Inc., in Seattle, Wash., in January.
With the acquisition of Cortese, Davey increases its presence in the Knoxville, Tenn., area, where its Wolf Tree subsidiary already operates. Pat Covey, chief operating officer for U.S. operations, said Davey is committed to future growth — organically and through acquisitions.
“We will continue to focus on high-quality companies with customer demographics that are similar to our own, within markets where we want to grow density,” he said. “Our intent is always to choose talented, safety-conscious employees intent on providing high-level customer service,” said Covey.
Cortese has offered many aspects of residential tree care to the Knoxville area for more than 35 years, including tree preservation, fertilization, consultation and diagnosis. Owner and founder Jim Cortese said he chose Davey because he liked the additional career and arboricultural training opportunities that Davey offered his employees.
In a letter to his clients, Cortese stressed that, for them, many things would remain the same. “I know first-hand that Davey shares our values and our commitment to client satisfaction,” Cortese said. “We will retain our highly skilled people, rely on the best science, and use the best equipment available.”
“We are excited to welcome this company and its talented team into the Davey family,” said Covey. “We have no doubt they will benefit from Davey’s diversified service offerings, technology and equipment resources, research and development capability and of course the culture of employee ownership.”
The Davey Tree Expert Company, with U.S. and Canadian operations in more than 47 states and five provinces, provides a variety of tree care, grounds maintenance and consulting services for the residential, utility, commercial, and government markets. Founded in 1880, Davey has been employee-owned for 35 years and has more than 7,300 employees.