Sean Tomei is a third generation tree arborist who took over the Tree Bee Arborists business. The Tree Bee Arborists are members of the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) and the Indiana Arborist Association, and are Indiana Society of Arboriculture certified arborists. The company was established in 1952 by his grandfather, and Tomei wanted to carry on that legacy to keep making the community and environment better.
“When my grandfather retired, we did not have anybody in the family to take over. I was too young to take over the business at the time. My mom was a horticulturist – an expert in garden cultivation – and my grandfather has been an arborist most of his life. That made me grow up with a passion for trees and plant care in general,” said Tomei.
The environment is very important to those involved in this field of work, which Tomei saw through seeing his family out on the job. Tomei grew up watching his grandfather put in the hours to maintain a great environment in the Northwest Indiana region. Once his grandfather retired, Tomei could not stand to let it come to an end.
“My grandfather’s vision was always to have somebody in our family take the business over and continue growing it into what he envisioned it to be, which was a business that takes care of trees and really focuses on preservation,” said Tomei.
When it comes to the type of work this business offers, it includes a variety of different options.
“We help customers identify trees that are hazardous and risky and may need some mitigation work, whether that's removal or pruning or some combination of other treatments. We want to try to help people preserve their trees as much as possible. We also help with tree selection,” said Tomei. “We plant the trees properly for our customers and many times we care for them after the fact.”
Providing an option for customers to keep the community trees intact and thriving is everything to the employees at the Tree Bee Arborists.
“We cover all of Northwest Indiana. We basically go from the Illinois border to the Michigan border. We go a little further in Porter County than the other counties, but we service this entire area. Our normal customers are people that understand the value that trees bring not just to the environment but also to their home and their communities. We are really focused on preservation and caring for the trees,” said Tomei.
Anyone who runs a business knows it takes time to grow your business and give it life and longevity. Tomei went through that phase when starting the business back up.
“I started back up when our business was in Illinois. I started it back up with the intent of continuing a legacy of focusing on tree care and tree preservation in our community here. We work year-round as of right now. There is enough work in the winter months, and it keeps us busy. We slow down a little bit in January and February, but that's about it,” said Tomei.
Tomei loves what he does and loves keeping the area in tip-top shape.
“Driving around and seeing trees that we have cared for is great. I can drive by a house and say I removed the tree there and we have been caring for this tree for 10 years or more, and in the future, still being able to see that tree flourish is great,” said Tomei. “To see that it's still there, providing a lot of value to our environment – it just gives more personal satisfaction when we see that type of work.”
For more information, visit www.treebeearborists.com.