History of the Treewheeler

When Casey Vandervalk planted 130 Scotch Pine in 1984, no one thought he would give up his hightech manufacturing job to become a full-time tree farmer. But with the slow and steady expansion of his Mendon, Mass., farm. Mr. Vandervalk was forced to choose between his day job and the Christmas tree business he had started as a hobby. In 2001, he chose the farm. Vandervalk Tree Farm now grows 10,000 trees. Just the right, manageable size, said Mr. Vandervalk, the farm's only employee. But with manufacturing in his blood, he is always coming up with new ideas for his farm. His latest idea, the "Treewheeler," is exactly what it sounds like, a cart for customers to wheel cut trees out of the field. "The initial criteria for the design was to keep it inexpensive and simple," Mr. Vandervalk says. Mr. Vandervalk said his customers love using Treewheelers at his farm. He realized other tree farms could also benefit from them. There were design obstacles, he said. "The problem with tree carts up until now is that they took up too much space and wouldn't ship UPS," Mr. Vandervalk said. "So to have a successful product, it not only had to be inexpensive and simple, but it also had to be light and fit in a small box, so I could ship it." His new design, which is now both built and marketed by Mr. Vandervalk, has all of these features and more, he says. Some other features include the ability to stand on end for easy storage and a wide handle. The Treewheeler also interlocks like a train allowing the ability to move many Treewheelers all at once. The Treewheeler lists for $199, comes in a do-it-yourself kit that takes about 30 minutes to assemble. The Treewheeler weighs only 40 pounds and can easily ship UPS. Mr. Vandervalk said he has had much success with Treewheelers on his farm because it provides easy and safe transportation of his cut trees. He said he has sold scores of them at Christmas tree association field meetings throughout the Northeast.