Cox said he believes Environmental Design has moved some of the largest, heaviest and most complicated trees in the world.
“We ended up realizing that there was going to be a continued demand for the largest of trees, and so [we] built a business by developing an apparatus and processes for moving the largest trees that have ever been moved,” Cox said.
Environmental Design purchased the company that invented the original hydraulic tree spade—which holds trees that need to be moved—in 1993, according to Cox. The company also developed and patented machines and methods for moving these trees. Cox said he founded Environmental Design in Tomball in 1977 when he was hired to plant trees in the Champion Forest subdivision. He and his brother started out with a few employees, without capital and working seven days a week.
“Hard work and diligence and delivering our promises to our customers paid off, and now we get the best projects in the world,” Cox said.
Since then, the company has added five offices in different states and planted and moved trees all over the world. Cox said he expects the business to add five to 10 more branches over the next five years.In Tomball, Cox said Environmental Design provided the oaks on Main Street.
Depending on size, the time it takes to relocate a tree varies. Chief Operating Officer Mark Merit said it takes about a week to move a 30-inch-diameter, 100-year-old live oak tree. Three months before relocation, a team prepares the roots, for example.
Cox said Environmental Design also brings in mature trees when companies do not want to wait for trees to grow. The company grows hundreds of trees on its tree farm in Tomball for these types of projects.
“We do projects that typical landscapers don’t have the capacity to do,” Cox said.
Environmental Design
23544 Coons Road, Tomball
281-376-4260
www.treemover.com
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Sat.-Sun.
