For more than 30 years, Arbor Age magazine has been covering new and innovative products, services, technology and research vital to tree care companies, municipal arborists and utility right-of-way maintenance companies
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FROM THE EDITOR Additional Perspective Regarding the State of the Industry For this year’s “State of the Industry” coverage, we sought the input of you, the reader, and received some interesting insight (see page 10). The responses we received provide a brief glimpse as to how business owners and managers throughout the market are faring in 2011. As mentioned on page 11, if you did not have a chance to respond to our questions in time for the print edition, please feel free to e-mail your responses to me for the upcoming online version of the article. Also for the State of the Industry coverage, we asked industry leaders for their feedback. Jim Skiera, executive director of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), was kind enough to share his thoughts on a variety of topics. And although we were unable to garner input from the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) regarding our specific questions for this editorial overview, Mark Garvin, president and CEO of TCIA, did address many related topics during the recent TCIA Winter Management Conference. His comments provide additional insight into the current state of the tree care industry. According to Garvin, the Certified Treecare Safety Program (CTSP) took off during 2010, and continues to gain momentum. By the end of 2010, there were 600 CTSPs — trainers who can go back to their companies to improve the culture of safety in their organizations. Also, for the third consecutive year, TCIA’s accident survey results demonstrated that employees working for TCIA member companies are less likely to be injured on the job, and that employees who work for TCIA member companies that are accredited and have a CTSP on staff are safer still, Garvin stated. Garvin also addressed the potential unification with PLANET, which TCIA investigated and debated during 2010 (TCIA ultimately decided not to proceed with unification discussions). “While unification talks are not on the agenda in 2011, many of the challenges that prompted those talks remain in front of us —for the industry and for TCIA,” said Garvin. According to Garvin, those challenges include competition from un- professional practitioners; increased regulation, higher taxes, rising energy and soaring healthcare costs, coupled with reduced discretionary income for customers; convincing consumers of the environmental benefits of quality tree work; attracting, training and retaining a dedicated workforce of legal employees; adapting to a new generation of customers; defining “green” for arboricul- ture; and making sure employees return home safely each evening. “Those are some of our challenges,” said John Kmitta Editor 847-720-5613 jkmitta@m2media360.com 6 Arbor Age / May/June 2011 www.arborage.com 6 Garvin. “We do not look at them with trepi- dation or dread.” He added that challenges present oppor- tunities, and the association is excited to tackle those challenges with the help of dedi- cated, loyal industry members. Joy Gariepy 16267 W. 14 Mile Rd., Ste. 202 Beverly Hills, MI 48025 248-530-0300, ext. 1401 jgariepy@m2media360.com 1030 W. Higgins Rd., Suite 230, Park Ridge, IL 60068 www.arborage.com jkmitta@m2media360.com Integrated Content Team Executive Vice President Charles Forman Editor John Kmitta Calendar Editor Steve Noe Editorial Direction Richard Brandes Production Team Art Director Adam Lane Production Manager Karen Kalinyak M2MEDIA360 President/CEO Marion Minor Vice President, Finance and Operations Gerald Winkel Vice President, Circulation and Collateral Services Joanne Juda-Prainito Production and Operations Director Mary Jo Tomei Direct Mail List Sales Cheryl Naughton, 678-292-6054, fax 360-294-6054 e-mail cnaughton@m2media360.com Reprint Service Cheryl Naughton, 678-292-6054, fax 360-294-6054 e-mail cnaughton@m2media360.com For Subscription Inquiries and Customer Service Questions Please Call: 845-856-2229; 845-856-5822 (fax) ARBOR AGE SALES TERRITORIES Charles Forman, Executive Vice President Advertising Account Managers Glenn Datz ph: 213-596-7220 fax: 213-624-0997 gdatz@m2media360.com 626 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500 Los Angeles, CA 90017 Bruce Loria 626 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 500 Los Angeles, CA 90017 213-596-7226 bloria@m2media360.com Publisher’s Notice: We assume no responsibility for the validity of advertising claims in connection with items appearing in Arbor Age. Reader Service Numbers are given to facilitate further inquiry. Commercial product names are used for the convenience of the reader. Mention of a commercial product does not imply endorsement by Arbor Age or Bev-Al Communications, or preference over similar products not mentioned. 360 1030 W. Higgins Rd., Suite 230, Park Ridge, IL 60068