Dennis Herold has only had two bosses throughout his life: his dad and himself. Growing up lending his father a hand on the farm, Herold learned both the value of hard work and being your own boss.
Company
Herold, determined to work for himself, started Premier Tree Service in 1998 and continues to serve the Minneapolis metro and its surrounding suburbs.
As far as Herold is concerned, he still enjoys working for himself after 18 years in the business.
“I like being my own boss and making decisions,” he says. “You still have to listen to people, but I guess the most important thing is doing what you think is right.”
Herold’s single-crew operation offers a wide variety of services including trimming, pruning, shaping, edging and stump grinding. Advanced trainings, certifications and tested experience allow Premier Tree to shine when it comes to large tree removals and high-risk climbing.
Need for powerful, reliable equipment
Premier Tree is proficient in large takedowns and performs removals frequently. Herold’s crew needs equipment that can keep up with the high volume of wood debris. For the past 18 years and the lifespan of the company, Premier Tree has turned to Vermeer for its equipment needs.
“I’ve never had anything but Vermeer equipment,” says Herold. “I always get good service and they treat me well, so I never go with anything else.”
His current fleet includes a Vermeer BC1500 brush chipper and a Vermeer SC362 stump cutter.
With the number of large takedowns performed by Premier Tree, the crew needs a quick and efficient way to dispose of the brush. The BC1500 allows for rapid processing of large branches and tree debris.
“The Vermeer chipper is able to get rid of that brush fast,” says Herold. “That allows us to just move from job to job more quickly.”
The Premier Tree crew works rain or shine, so Herold appreciates the Vermeer stump cutter’s four-wheel drive on the muddier days.
Early and often
Herold prefers to replace his Vermeer equipment every couple of years to stay on top of normal wear and tear.
“For the past five or six years, my equipment hasn’t been older than two or three years,” he says. “That’s reduced the number of maintenance issues we’ve had. If we do have one, the Vermeer dealer will either fix it or get us a different machine to run within a half day. That service means we’re always working.”
At a time when profit margins are low throughout the industry as a whole, a reliable crew and reliable equipment are essential to running a successful tree service company. When he has those two elements of the equation, Herold says, the tree care business is a good living.