Doug is our Leicester tree surgeon – he’s the guy who loves to climb and dig holes, so the job is perfect for him. As a farmer’s son, Doug was perfectly placed to start his own business as his Dad had a lot of heavy machinery knocking around, just waiting to be fully utilized!
Around 9 years ago Doug decided he didn’t want to be making hay and digging spuds for the rest of his life, so he went to college to learn tree surgery, got a job working for a local company and immersed himself in the world of trees. After 4 years he felt he had enough knowledge, experience and qualifications to set up his own team and 5 years later he’s still expanding. He now runs 4 teams of qualified tree surgeons and is working on the 5th. His job is to quote, market and run the company, so he really doesn’t do much in the way of practical tree work these days. That’s the way big tree companies grow, when they have an owner who is prepared to oversee everything without getting too involved in the day-to-day minutae of his business.
The company tackles all types of tree surgery from hedge cutting and removal to stump grinding and crown reduction. Of course they also remove a lot of trees which have been planted in the wrong place or have outstayed their welcome, often undermining foundations or blocking light from a house and its garden.
Amongst Doug’s employees is his brother Rob, who also plays football with us occasionally when we’re a man short. Rob is younger and fitter than Doug and enjoys nothing more than zipping up a tree with chainsaw or working the new stump grinders and the big chipping machines. He also loves to tinker with machinery, replacing parts and accepting the challenge to get old equipment up and running again. They make a good pair, complementing each others skills and strengths.
A couple more of Doug’s lads play with the team regularly – Johnny and Ralph, who are both pretty good footballers and their profession keeps them fit and strong of course.
Next we’ll be telling you about another of our main men in the football team and what they do for a day job.
