From One Trommel to Three: How Doppstadt Helped Hansen’s Tree Service Scale

Jeff Hansen started trimming trees on Saturdays in 1988 so his wife could stay home with their children. Word spread. The side work became regular. Eventually, with his employer’s blessing, Jeff left his job at BFI and went full time. Nearly four decades later, Hansen’s Tree Service & Environmental Resources employs 90 people, operates a fleet of 75 trucks, and runs one of the most comprehensive tree care and organic recycling operations in Missouri. Three Doppstadt SM Trommel Screens sit at the center of it all.

Turning Tree Waste into a Finished Product

A 75-truck tree service generates an enormous and continuous stream of organic material. Logs, brush, limbs, and stumps. After shredding those to size the material piles up. The question is always whether the screening operation can keep pace with everything feeding into it.

For years, Hansen’s ran a Vermeer 626 Wildcat Trommel to screen ground material into finished mulch and compost. As the company grew and product consistency became more critical, the Wildcat’s limitations grew more apparent. Hansen’s needed faster throughput, better reliability, and a machine their crew could maintain without losing production days.

Why Doppstadt

Travis Amrine, Maintenance and Fleet Director at Hansen’s Tree Service & Environmental Resources, points to two things that drove the decision: screening speed and a maintenance friendly design. For an operation running at Hansen’s volume, unplanned downtime costs real money and real customers. “The build of the Doppstadt Trommel makes it very accessible for maintenance and repairs,” Travis says.

Hansen’s didn’t stop at one machine. They now have three Doppstadt trommels in active production, and their investment shows the confidence Travis and the Hansen’s team have in the platform.

Configured for Every Product

The SM Trommel earns its keep across Hansen’s entire product line. Their compost operation runs a 3/8 inch screen drum, producing a fine, consistent finished product suited for soil amendment. Their mulch lines run 5/8 inch or 3/4 inch drums depending on the specification of the product they are making. Homeowners, commercial landscapers, and municipal customers all receive a consistently screened product.

Switching configurations to match the product is straightforward. For a company serving that range of customers, that flexibility carries real operational value.

Faster, More Efficient, More Productive

The SM Trommels screen faster than anything Hansen’s ran before. The same crew moves more material in less time. In a labor-sensitive industry, that increased productivity flows directly to the bottom line. “It’s the most efficient Trommel Screen we have run,” Travis says.

Uptime matters just as much as speed. The reliability of the Doppstadt machines gives Hansen’s confidence to accept more volume and grow the mulch and compost business without worrying about whether the equipment will be ready when the material arrives.

Industry Knowledge Behind the Sale

Travis describes his experience with Ecoverse as one built on solid support and real industry knowledge. When equipment runs hard and something needs attention, having a supplier who understands the operation makes a genuine difference. Hansen’s holds itself to a high standard. Their compost carries both STA certification through the US Composting Council, verifying quality across nutrients, pathogens, and organic matter, and OMRI listing confirming compliance for certified organic use. When you hold your own products to that standard, settling for anything less from a vendor simply isn’t an option.

The Bottom Line

Ask Travis what he would tell another operator considering a Doppstadt Trommel and the answer is straightforward. “The efficiency and longevity of the Doppstadt Trommel is unmatched.”

A company that grew from Saturday side work into a 90-person operation doesn’t make equipment decisions thoughtlessly. Hansen’s Tree Service & Environmental Resources built its reputation on doing things right the first time. The Doppstadt SM Trommel Screen fits that standard exactly.

To learn more about Hansen’s Tree Service, visit HansensTreeService.com

Doppstadt SM 720.2 K Trommel screens and separates material with precision, delivering consistent, high-quality end products that maximize the value of your operation.

Contact us to learn how we can take your processing and production to the next level of production and profitability.