Before Arborist Enterprises was born, well before our first red truck, Ben Tresselt began taking on side jobs helping homeowners care for their trees on weekends near his and Tina’s small apartment in Rohrerstown.

That was more than 30 years ago.

“Ben started buying some of his own tools and did little jobs here and there,” said Tina Tresselt, co-owner and Vice President of Arborist Enterprises. “The work he did full time never felt right to him. He was just another cog in the wheel. At the same time, he was getting more and more side work and had to bring in our friend, Pete, to keep up. In those early days, I don’t think we realized that we were laying the groundwork to launch a business.”

Ben and Tina in 1998

The growing volume of side work had Tina and Ben slowly buying more and more equipment and a small shed to store it all. The work kept coming in and Ben and Tina decided it was time to take a chance and begin a tree care business of their own.

So, in 1991, after Ben received his Certified Arborist certification from the International Society of Arboriculture, he and Tina launched Arborist Enterprises.

It didn’t take long for their equipment to outgrow their small shed.

“We found an apartment in Leola with a second story apartment above a deli,” said Ben, now co-owner and President of Arborist Enterprises.” We put our shed behind a three-car garage and rented one of the garages. That was enough space for our equipment plus the additional equipment we needed to purchase to keep up with the work. That was also when Pete began working with us full time. He moved in so we could save money and we worked out of the apartment.”

The company quickly outgrew its office apartment and garage, so the small team moved the business into its first ‘real’ office in Leola. It wasn’t too long before that space was too small, as well, and the team moved to the Greenfield Corporate Center in Lancaster in 2001.

Since 2012, Arborist Enterprises has operated out of its current location on Auction Road in Manheim. And as the offices grew over the years, so did the Arborist Enterprises team.

“We’ve been fortunate to have great people by our side throughout the past 30 years,” Tina said. “Several employees have been with us for a long time. John Brewer, one of our ISA-certified arborists, has been with us since 2008. Karl Weaver has been part of things since 2002. He learned how to climb trees while here, then later became a foreman. Today, he’s our Certified Treecare Safety Professional.”

Arborist Enterprises began as a family business, and it’s stayed that way – something that makes Tina and Ben particularly proud.

“Ben’s brother is an Army veteran who served in Desert Storm,” Tina said. “After serving, he went to college and ended up at Arborist Enterprises. Fast forward to today and he’s now a nationally recognized trainer within our industry and our Director of Safety and Training. Ben and I are very proud of him, and I like to think we were a small part of his success.”

Ben’s father and Tina’s father both worked for the business through the years, as did Ben’s other brother. After graduating college from West Chester in 2018, Ben and Tina’s daughter, Janelle, also joined the business.

“Janelle is working with us full time, as well,” Tina said. “I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

Ben and Janelle, then and now

When you ask Tina and Ben about the long history of their business and all the milestones along the way, they’ll tell you that Arborist Enterprises isn’t about them. It’s about the customers who have trusted them to care for their properties for 30 years.

“We’re not celebrating the 30^th anniversary of Arborist Enterprises,” Ben said. “We’re celebrating 30 years of customers putting their trust in the company… and now – more importantly – in our staff members who are out there each day caring for our customers. After doing this for 30 years, the trust we’ve built is what we’re most proud of.”

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Thank you for 30 years!