Bob Ray Company

What Bob Ray Company does

Bob Ray Company (legal entity Bob Ray Co., Inc.) is a fourth-generation, family-owned tree care, plant health care, and land clearing provider headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, with continuous operating history dating to 1960 and a family arboriculture tradition beginning in 1916. The company serves residential, commercial, and municipal clients across the Kentuckiana region (Louisville metro and surrounding Kentucky and Indiana counties), with land clearing operations extending into Ohio. Service delivery is anchored by seven ISA-Certified Arborists, TCIA Certified Treecare Safety Professionals, and Pesticide Licensed Technicians operating under TCIA accreditation (held by fewer than 1% of tree services), with a specialty fleet that includes cranes, bucket trucks, compact 36-inch-gate stump grinders, the Morbark 4600XL Tracked Wood Hog, and the Komatsu XT445L-3 feller buncher.

The service portfolio is organized into four core modules: Tree Care (pruning/trimming, removal, cabling/bracing, ANSI A300-compliant practices, stump grinding), Plant Health Care (subsurface fertilization, dormant oil and fungicide/insecticide sprays, Arborjet trunk injection for Emerald Ash Borer and Beech Leaf Disease, Dutch Elm Disease management), Land Clearing (selective thinning, commercial development clearing, municipal and utility right-of-way work), and Emergency/Storm Damage Clean Up. Two affiliated entities — Natural Products LLC (formed 2006, recycling byproducts into mulch, compost, topsoil, lumber, and fuel chips) and Chip Trucking LLC (formed 2007, hauling, heavy equipment transport, and roll-off dumpster rentals) — provide vertical integration that supports a "full circle" service model.

Revenue is generated through quote-based, project-priced engagements with free estimates provided via phone, web form, and on-site consultation; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The revenue mix combines one-time project work (Tree Care, Tree Removal, Land Clearing) with recurring seasonal Plant Health Care programs and byproduct recycling income. Ownership is concentrated entirely within the Ray family (Tee Ray, who purchased the company from founder Bob Ray in 1992), with no outside equity, debt issuance, or institutional capital disclosed.

Name

Bob Ray Company

Legal name

Bob Ray Co., Inc.

Website

https://bobrayco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1960

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Bob Ray Company is a fourth-generation, family-owned tree care, plant health care, and land clearing provider serving residential, commercial, and municipal clients across the Kentuckiana region (Louisville, KY and Southern Indiana), with affiliated logistics and wood-recycling subsidiaries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Louisville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tree Care & Removal Services: Project-based, one-time service revenue from residential, commercial, and municipal tree removal, pruning/trimming, stump grinding, cabling/bracing, storm damage cleanup, and emergency tree services. Pricing is quote-based with free estimates provided.
2. Plant Health Care Programs: Recurring/seasonal plant health care revenue from preventive tree and shrub care programs including trunk injections, fertilization, dormant oil/fungicide/insecticide sprays, and pest/disease management (Emerald Ash Borer, Dutch Elm Disease, Beech Leaf Disease, etc.). Often structured as multi-treatment seasonal programs.
3. Land Clearing & Forestry Mowing Contracts: Contract-based land clearing services for residential property clearing, commercial development, municipal projects, and utility right-of-way maintenance across Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. Pricing is per-project quote-based.
4. Affiliate Recycling Revenue via Natural Products LLC: Byproduct recycling revenue through affiliated Natural Products LLC (est. 2006) — converts removed trees, brush, and stumps into mulch, compost, topsoil, lumber, pulp wood, and fuel chips. Supports internal sustainability and external sales of recycled products.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Core offering

Bob Ray Company provides commercial and residential tree care services — including pruning/trimming, tree removal, stump grinding, cabling/bracing, storm damage clean up, and 24/7 emergency response — alongside preventive Plant Health Care programs (fertilization, trunk injections, dormant oil/fungicide/insecticide sprays) and contract-based Land Clearing for commercial developments, municipal projects, and utility right-of-way maintenance. All services are delivered by ISA-Certified Arborists following ANSI A300 and TCIA standards across the Kentuckiana region (Louisville metro, Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio), with a vertically integrated recycling loop through affiliate Natural Products LLC.

Product overview

Bob Ray Company operates as a multi-service tree care platform rather than a single unified product, delivering tree care through a core set of integrated service modules: Louisville Tree Care Services (the foundational offering), Tree Removal, Plant Health Care (including Arborjet trunk injection treatments), Land Clearing (with Forestry Mowing as a specialized sub-service), and Emergency/Storm Damage Clean Up. Supporting these are sub-services such as Stump Grinding and Cabling/Bracing, plus two affiliate partner companies — Chip Trucking, LLC (heavy equipment/logistics) and Natural Products LLC (recycling into mulch, compost, topsoil, biofuel, and lumber) — which together form the company's "full circle" tree service model. All offerings are delivered by ISA-Certified Arborists following ANSI A300 and TCIA-accredited safety standards across residential, commercial, and municipal segments in the Kentuckiana area.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tree Removal Professional tree removal service using cranes, bucket trucks, and chippers for residential and commercial customers, including assessment of troubled trees and risk evaluations.
• Louisville Tree Care Services Core tree care offering for residential, commercial, and municipal clients encompassing pruning/trimming, stump grinding, cabling/bracing, storm damage clean up, and related maintenance, delivered by ISA-Certified Arborists using state-of-the-art equipment and ANSI A300-standard techniques.
• Plant Health Care (PHC) Preventive and diagnostic plant health care program for trees and shrubs encompassing subsurface fertilization, dormant oil spray, fungicide spray, insecticide/miticide spray, bactericide spray, Emerald Ash Borer trunk injection, Dutch Elm Disease trunk injection, and insecticide trunk wash.
• Land Clearing Land clearing division providing selective thinning, storm clean up, commercial development clearing, and municipal project clearing using whole tree chippers/grinders, forestry-equipped excavators, forestry harvesters, stump harvesters, feller bunchers, and log skidders.
• Forestry Mowing (Hydro-Axing / Brush Mulching) Eco-friendly land-clearing method using tracked forestry mowers such as the Morbark 4600XL Tracked Wood Hog and Komatsu XT445L-3 feller buncher to shred brush and small trees into mulch for soil enrichment and invasive species control, minimizing soil disturbance on hilly Louisville terrain.
• Storm Damage Clean Up / Emergency Tree Service 24/7 emergency tree response with a specialized fleet and safety-trained staff to secure properties after severe weather events.
• Arborjet Trunk Injection Treatment Trunk injection system administering exact pesticide dosage for pests such as the Emerald Ash Borer (using the Tree-Age / Emamectin Benzoate formulation) and Sudden Oak Death, used as part of the broader Plant Health Care program. Bob Ray is certified with Arborjet to administer the formulation.
• Beech Leaf Disease Treatment Program Specialized proactive plant health care for Beech Leaf Disease caused by the Litylenchus crenatae subsp. mccannii nematode, including foliar applications coupled with a fungicide/nematicide trunk injection and ongoing monitoring for American and European beech trees.
• Spotted Lanternfly Treatment Program Pest management program targeting the Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) in Louisville/Kentucky, using systemic insecticide trunk injection, bark sprays, and trunk treatments to protect trees from infestation.
• Boxwood Care Treatment Program Targeted boxwood health program addressing Box Tree Moth (Cydalima perspectalis), Boxwood Blight, Boxwood Leafminer, Boxwood Psyllid, and Volutella Blight through targeted insecticide, fungicide, and biological control applications.

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Monster Tree Service: Franchise-based tree service brand expanding across the U.S. with residential tree removal, pruning, and PHC. Comparable on service mix; represents a franchise-driven competitive threat in the Louisville market.

Broad incumbents

• SavATree / SavaLawn: Multi-state tree, shrub, and lawn health care company with strong PHC subscription program. Comparable on integrated Plant Health Care and land care offerings serving affluent residential and commercial clients across multiple U.S. regions.
• Davey Tree Expert Company: National, employee-owned tree care and lawn service company with full residential, commercial, and utility line clearance capabilities. Largest U.S. tree services incumbent and direct comparable in ISA-certified arborist staffing and Plant Health Care offerings.
• Asplundh Tree Expert Company: Privately held, family-owned utility vegetation management and tree services company — the dominant U.S. line-clearance and right-of-way contractor. Comparable as a multi-generational private tree services firm with utility and municipal contract exposure.
• Bartlett Tree Experts: F.W. Bartlett Company subsidiary operating a national network of arborist-led tree care offices. Closest direct analog to Bob Ray on ISA-certified arborist model, PHC programs, and residential/commercial service mix.
• TruGreen: National lawn and outdoor services company including tree and shrub care programs. Comparable on subscription-style PHC revenue model and broad residential customer base, though broader in scope.

Regional players

• StumpBusters LLC: Multi-location tree and stump grinding service in Ohio and the Midwest. Comparable on stump grinding and residential/commercial tree services within driving distance of Louisville.
• Nelson Tree Service: Regional Midwest tree care provider serving Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana markets with residential and utility services. Direct geographic overlap with Bob Ray across KY/IN/OH municipal and right-of-way work.
• Limbwalker Tree Service: Indiana-based residential and commercial tree care company with ISA-certified arborist staff. Closest pure-play Indiana/Kentuckiana peer to Bob Ray on residential service mix and certified arborist positioning.

Others

• Arborjet: Manufacturer of tree trunk injection formulations and equipment (including Tree-Age / Emamectin Benzoate). Comparable as the technology supplier whose certification program Bob Ray relies on for EAB treatment services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/BobRayCompany
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bob-ray-tree-company-inc
• Instagraminstagram.com/bobraycompanyinc
• Xx.com/bobraycoinc

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bob Ray Company