West Tree Service was founded in 1945. After
several years experience with the Davey Tree Expert Company, A.D.
West and M.E. Erickson formed West Tree Service. Once the company
was formed, they immediately began working for utility companies
such as Southwestern Bell Telephone and AT&T with one flat
bed truck and three employees. In 1950, West Tree Service began
working on it's first contract with Arkansas Power and Light (now
Entergy) and has maintained a working relationship with them for
over 55 years.
Due to the introduction of gasoline chain saws,
brush chippers and the demand for electricity, West Tree Service
began to grow and by the early 1960's, purchased their first two-bucket
trucks. Since that time, West Tree Service has continued to grow
and currently owns 120-bucket trucks, 10 jarraffs, 150-brush chippers,
65-dump trucks and 50-automobiles and pickup trucks. All of this
equipment is utilized by well over 100 crews serving primary utility
companies in Arkansas and the surrounding areas. West Tree Service
trims approximately 6,000 miles of utility right-of-way annually.
In the late 1960's, Jack West, Bill Jackson
and Ross Reckling joined West Tree Service and began to learn
the business from the ground up. Today, Jack's son, Matthew West,
is a third generation West Tree Service employee. In July of 2003,
the business was sold to Ford Overton of Little Rock, Arkansas.
Ford had over 15 years of experience in the service industry prior
to his purchase of WTS. He recognized the value in the existing
management team, and continues to rely on their knowledge and
expertise within the organization.
