Appreciation for the vegetation management industry has grown as many areas of the country deal with the consequences of severe storms, including the massive hurricanes Katrina, Ike and Ivan and the tornadoes that have ripped apart so many neighborhoods. It’s human nature to wait until there’s a problem before fully appreciating particular delivered services, but Hipolito Acosta, the vice president of the International Branch of ABC Professional Tree Services, will tell you that only means a company is doing its job well. He should know, because his company not only clears and removes trees and other vegetation after storms hit, but also routinely does tree trimming and right-of-way vegetation clearing to keep public utility lines free, leading to a more reliable electric power grid.
Acosta describes the company in this way: “ABC Professional Tree Services works with utility companies throughout the U.S. doing regular contracting work like tree trimming and line clearance to remove or prevent utility line obstacles. Our clients are mostly big utility companies like Duke Energy, Entergy and Dominion Power to name a few. Over the last ten years, we have had a strong presence in 23 states that include New York, New Jersey, the eastern seaboard states, the Midwest, including Illinois and the mid-south and southern states of Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi and Florida.”
ABC Professional Tree Services is a Houston, TX, Hispanic corporation that won the 2009 LATINA Style Entrepreneur of the Year award. Most of the executives and top management are Hispanic including the current female company president, Rocio Jasso. The CEO, Martin Arriola, is a Hispanic male. Starting with 19 employees in 2002, the business has seen phenomenal growth in a ten year period and now has 2,400 field employees, up to 800 crews working at any time, and generates over $100 million in annual revenues. There are two main reasons for the exceptional business growth: employee on-the-job risk minimization and excellent customer service.
These two reasons for growth are what differentiate ABC Professional Tree Services from its competitors. The company is one of the safety leaders in a risky profession. It’s necessary to work around energized transmission and distribution lines. In addition, employees must be able to skillfully use major equipment to remove vegetation or trim trees without damaging utility lines or private property. During emergency clean-up jobs, the crews are also working in high risk areas due to downed power lines and hidden dangers.
“ABC Professional Tree Services has also developed a strong and committed customer base leading to growth because of our production record and being able to meet deadlines presented by clients. We’re responsible to our clients and diligently work to expand operations in a way that meets customer needs,” said Hipolito. He added, “We must make sure that our contract vegetation management work is done in the right way to prevent electrical outages as much as possible, which means we invest in extensive training that includes everyone from the lowest level employee to the highest.” Effective training contributes to both employee safety and customer service.
Never, Never Give Up
Of course, there are always challenges that must be met. One of the challenges common to many of the vegetation management businesses is a high employee turnover rate. The high turnover rate means ABC Professional Tree Services must ensure all employees, new and existing, are fully trained and that training is kept current. There is a higher risk of safety violations with high employee turnover rates. ABC uses a structured crew to ensure there’s a mix of experienced staff overseeing new employees to maintain safety standards and maintain production levels and schedules. ABC hires people from all over the United States, though everyone is hired through the Houston, TX, headquarters. This ensures that proper standardized recruitment and hiring procedures are followed and helps the company mitigate risks associated with the selection and training of new hires.
Hipolito’s advice to other MWBEs that want to expand is, “Believe in your product, thoroughly learn what you are doing, practice it, become an expert on it and determine to continue growing. There are going to be times when obstacles will look insurmountable, but the reality is, we live in a great country and those opportunities are there. You must learn to take advantage of them and never, never give up.”
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