The climbing center at the SEED Campus is a unique and special training facility for both Davey employees and the green industry. The opening of the space brought new and expanded opportunities for training, which helped contribute to Davey being the first tree care company to be recognized as a Petzl Technical Partner. 
Petzl is a global company that designs and manufactures safety and technical equipment for the work-at-height industry, including climbing gear and personal protective equipment (PPE) used in the tree care field. A Petzl Technical Partner is a company that has been recognized by Petzl as an expert in vertical environments and demonstrates a thorough understanding of their respective industry, contributes to the development of best practices and meaningfully integrates Petzl into their systems and curriculum.
The opening of the SEED Campus brings more standardized opportunities for training, amongst other research, scientific testing and collaborative features, which was a contributing factor in being recognized as a technical partner. The opportunities won’t just impact employees that train at the campus, it will also spread across the company by setting a standard that will be replicated elsewhere.
“Being recognized as a Petzl Technical Partner is a strong affirmation for our company because it highlights Davey’s expertise in our craft to our clients, stakeholders and the greater green industry,” said Greg Ina, executive vice president, the Davey Institute and Employee Development. “We’re extremely proud of the thought we’ve put into our SEED Campus, and becoming a technical partner represents that hard work being recognized by the greater at-height industry.”
Earlier this year, Davey also earned the ISO 9001 certification, the world’s leading Quality Management System standard. ISO is an independent body that certifies products, services and systems that meet established international requirements to define best practices for processes, products and management systems. The curriculum developed at the SEED Campus’s climbing center has achieved the ISO 9001 certification, meaning employees can expect consistent, quality training each time they attend a training event at the climbing center.
ISO 9001 is more commonly reserved for manufacturers, so elements of the certification include numerous processes and documentation to ensure each step is taken to produce the highest quality product or course. Because of this, earning this certification is rare for a tree care company and something Davey is very proud of.
The climber center has already hosted approximately 350 employees for trainings, and it was even used for the fun head-to-head ascent event during the North American Tree Climbing Championship this past May.
