To research this month's spotlight, I headed out into the fresh air on a glorious clear frosty January morning, my destination is a garden where a large beech tree stands, every now and then a branch falls from the tree. I have come to see tree surgeon Richard Dixie, doing what he does best, expertly dismantling the tree which is overhanging a customer's house. I spoke to him about his business, Garrigill Tree Services ............
Richard Dixie became a tree surgeon ten years ago after moving to Garrigill with his wife Lana. Richard who was a trained mechanic at the time found there was no demand for his services in the area, and decided becoming a tree surgeon would be a good choice in such a rural area, "I had a chainsaw, it seemed an interesting job and I thought I would be good at it." One reason Richard believed he would be good at the job was that he had been a competent rock climber in South Africa where he originally comes from and felt this would give him an advantage when it came to the tree climbing part of the job.
Richard makes his job look very easy, I asked how long it took him to become competent at it, "You can get qualified in a few weeks from start to finish but that just gives the qualifications, I would say it takes five or six years to become half competent at it and you should know by then whether you are good at it or not." He smiles.
Richard has built up his experience working for local tree surgery companies over the years and when in 2009 the company he was working for went out of business, he decided to branch out on his own and started Garrigill Tree Services. "I decided to work for myself to see if it could be self-sustaining and it's now getting there."
For Garrigill Tree Services to work in a small place like Alston Richard decided he had to run his business a little differently. Only a small part of Garrigill Tree Services deals with dismantling and felling trees in the Alston Moor area, with most of the business coming from contracting his services to other companies. Richard has been gradually building up a client base all over the country and Alston's central location serves him well for travelling to jobs.
Having the right equipment is key to the success of the business and Richard has worked hard to build up a good selection of the essential tools for his job. His equipment includes a variety of chainsaws one of these is a Stihl 880 which has a 124.5cc engine, Richard laughs "This saw would be taller than you if you stood it on its end". He also has climbing and lowering gear, safety equipment a chipper, a quad and a Land Rover with a winch.
Richard has felled and dismantled hundreds of trees over his ten years in the business; the biggest tree being an impressive three metres wide at the base. I asked him whether different types of trees present more of a challenge than others, "Oak is nice and easy to climb, the worst tree to work in is poplar, you can't rely on them for anything if you stand on the branch the wrong way they just snap."
I asked Richard what he enjoys most about his job "I enjoy being outdoors all the time and every tree is different, no two jobs are ever the same." Richard's business covers dealing with overhanging branches in gardens, reducing trees and hedges, woodland management, utility work and dismantling large trees in awkward areas.
With tree surgery being such a physically demanding job I had to ask how long Richard sees himself spending all of his days at the tops of trees. "It depends how many injuries I pick up, you can do it until you become one of the old people of the woods." He laughs.
Although Richard enjoys travelling and getting to see a lot of the country he hopes the business will become more locally based in the future.
Finally I asked Richard what advice he would give to others thinking of starting their own business, "Make sure you have a wife who a has a good job" he laughs, "It takes a lot of money to get you over the quiet times, be flexible, never say no to something even if you don't like it."
So if you have any troublesome trees you can contact Richard at Garrigill Tree Services on 01434 381561 or 07823 338522
Article by Samantha Ridley
our Spotlight Reporter
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