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Celebrating 45 Years of Employee Ownership!

Employee ownership — it's who we are. In 1979, employees bought The Davey Tree Expert Company from the Davey family, ushering in the era of employee ownership. Since the acquisition, the company has enjoyed tremendous success.

As an employee-owned company, we get to take a path that's beneficial for our employees, clients and shareholders. We are committed to leading with our values and doing the right thing, because we are the owners.

Hear From Our Employee-Owners

Two Employees
Two Employees

Davey Among Top 10 Largest Employee-Owned Companies

The NCEO 2023 Employee Ownership 100 list shows Davey has ranked No. 9 among the top 10 largest employee-owned firms.

CORP 1159

Davey's Chairman, President and CEO Shares His Employee-Ownership Story

"I played a lot of team sports growing up and loved the team mentality engrained in Davey culture through employee-ownership. We're in this together. We own the company together. We win or lose together."

-Pat Covey
Davey Chairman, President and CEO

We Work for Each Other

Willkirby (1)

I think part of the reason Davey is so successful is because you’re not showing up to work for somebody, you’re showing up and it’s your company. Employee ownership gives people a sense of accountability, ownership, and self-motivation. That really changes the process and how things go. It motivates us as a company because everybody is working towards the same goal.

Will Kirby

Landscape Crew Leader, Cleveland East Maintenance territory, Commercial Landscape Services

Lillian Boehm 01 2023

I feel like being employee-owners gives us a little more sense of purpose with what we do. We know that the work we do in the long term directly impacts us, as opposed to us doing the hard work just for the money to go to the higher-ups in the company. 

Lillian Boehm

Environmental Scientist, Environmental Consulting Services, Davey Resource Group

Eric Phillips

The continued opportunity to invest in the company I work for makes me feel secure. It's a good feeling. Employee ownership ties us all together in a way that I believe is unique.

Eric Phillips

Assistant District Manager, Akron office

Company History - 1979
  • 1977: Alexander M. Smith, CEO of Davey Tree and husband of Evangeline Davey, announces plans to sell the company.
  • 1978: Davey Tree’s board of directors approve the employee’s purchase offer.
  • 1979: Ownership of the company officially transfers to the employees.
  • 1980: The company buys 62,000 shares from Martin L. “Brub” Davey, Jr. Brub delayed selling his shares so the employees could more easily afford the acquisition.
  • 1982: The Employee Stock Purchase Plan is established, allowing employees to buy stock through payroll deduction at a 15-percent discount.
October 1976 District Managers Meeting
  • 1983: A three-for-one stock split allows active employees to buy three shares for every one original share purchased, thus making it easier—and more affordable—for active employees to obtain stock.
  • 1987: A four-for-one stock split allows active employees to buy four shares for every one original share purchased.
  • 1996: A two-for-one stock split is offered and followed by two more such splits in 1999 and 2008.
  • 2005: “Do It Right Or Not At All: A Case Study of The Davey Tree Expert Company” is published by the Ohio Employee Ownership Center. Davey is listed on the National Center for Employee Ownership’s first Top 100 list as the 16th largest employee-owned firm in the U.S.
Karl Warnke OEOC
  • 2014: Then Davey CEO and President Karl Warnke speaks at the Ohio Employee Ownership Conference.
  • 2018: Forbes names Davey 294th on its Top 500 List of Best Employers in America for 2018.
  • 2020: Davey partners with Certified Employee-Owned (Certified EO), the leading certification program for employee-owned companies in America.
  • 2021: A two-for-one stock split allows active employees to buy two shares for every one original share purchased.
  • 2024: Davey celebrates 45 years of employee ownership.
Employees Sign
Employees Sign

Join Our Team And Grow With Us!

Looking for a rewarding career with opportunities for growth? Whether your dream office is somewhere in the great outdoors or something more traditional, we have a career path for you. We believe in providing a healthy, growing work-environment where you choose your career path and have access to constant education and the tools you need to set yourself up for continued success.

With jobs available throughout North America, Davey has an opportunity for you in the location you desire.

Let's Find What
You're Looking For!