Great Company Highlight

Brandendberger Associates

by Jon Xanders, Xanderbuilt Tree Care

Happy Spring Arborists! After what seemed like a LONG Winter of weather that was all over the place, its now time to ramp up for the growing season. I hope you all had a chance to have a little down time and reflect on last year. It’s a great time to carry over decisions to a new year that worked for you, as well as make some changes on things that maybe did not play out quite the way you thought they would. Regardless, I hope you all have a safe and fruitful upcoming season.

For this edition of the Hoosier Arborist I decided to highlight a company I had the privilege of visiting late this winter. Brandenberger Tree Care Professionals is a company out of Auburn, IN; which is a town just north of Fort Wayne. Mason Brandenberger and his wife Eryka have been in business now for 10 years, which is a HUGE milestone for any company. They have come a long way from their humble beginnings operating out of the trunk of an old Chevy Malibu as they mentioned to me.

My original objective for the visit was to discuss an initiative we are working on for the IAA with Mason. You will be hearing more about this program soon and is a topic for many new articles. Before we got started with our conversation, he invited me to sit in on some team meetings with his staff and just observe how they operate. Needless to say, I was blown away with the level of professionalism and integrity in which they operate. From the managers, meeting to discussing projects that were either just completed, in process, or upcoming, to the entire team meeting discussing the companies core values; I was super impressed. What struck me as quite unique is that during the team meeting, Mason gave all of his employees an opportunity to share what was on their mind. He asked them questions like, “what do you feel you could do all day and not get tired of?” and “what is weighing heavy on you?”. What that does is allow them to open up in a comfortable, family like atmosphere. You see, they are not just focused on the growth of the company, they invest time and energy into the growth of their team members so that they can provide any assistance possible to help them become the best version of themselves. Providing a positive atmosphere with a focus on personal growth will have an exponential return on the quality of the work happening in the operation. My impression of their staff was that they were all in a good mood, super professional, approachable, knowledgeable, and overall great people. Mason and I joked around about the possibility that they were just putting on a show for me. HA! He did make sure to be candid that this was the highlight reel and just like all companies, they have moments of weakness and mistakes. This can be true for all of us. Running a tree company myself, I could really appreciate the investment they provide for their team members. That is time that could be used out in production; keeping up with the current work load and bringing in operating funds. This is not what they hold of the highest value. Brandenberger Tree Care is taking a different approach to their operation and I see it as a company setting the standard that all tree care operations should strive for.

In closing, building a successful company that provides high quality services for tree care is great, but an even greater reward is changing the lives of the individuals you work with. “Rising tide raises all ships” is a quote Mason used that truly embodies what they are doing here. No matter what the size of company, with this world we live in, should be an objective we all should be reaching for.