It Started With One Stump Grinder
Today it's ten counties, a yard full of equipment, and a crew with more than 200 years of experience between them.
Dan Wittenburg Started This Company With A Stump Grinder
One Machine, One Man
Dan Wittenburg already had decades of tree work behind him when he founded Stumps By Dan with a single stump grinder and whatever jobs he could find around Hickory. No fleet, no crew — just the machine and whoever needed a stump gone.
Built On Word Of Mouth
The business grew the way local businesses do: one job at a time, one neighbor telling another. Stump grinding led to removals, removals led to everything else.
Ten Counties
What began in Hickory now reaches up to ten counties across western North Carolina — with the equipment and the certification to match.
Still Called Stumps By Dan
The name stuck, and so did the line Dan has been saying for decades: "I don't just do stumps, you know!"
New Owners. Same Crew.
Stumps By Dan was recently purchased by the Richardson family — but Dan is still the heart of this company, and the crew on your property is the same crew it has always been.
Nothing about how the work gets done has changed. Same people, same equipment, same standard, same phone number. Different bosses, that's all.
If you've used us before, you'll recognize the truck and the faces. If you haven't, you're getting Dan's forty-five years in the trade, and it didn't go anywhere.
Why People Keep Calling Us Back
An ISA Certified Arborist On Staff
Decisions about your trees get made by someone trained to assess health, structure and risk — not just someone willing to cut. It's also why we'll sometimes tell you a tree can be saved.
Equipment For The Hard Jobs
Crane-assisted removals, bucket trucks, climbers, chippers, skid steers, a forestry mulcher — the equipment many companies around here have to rent. Having the right machine on site means less time on your property and far less damage to it.
Fully Insured
Tree work carries real risk. We carry full insurance so that risk never becomes yours — certificate provided before work begins.
Residential And Commercial
Single-family homes through to HOAs, schools, churches and municipalities. Same standard either way.
Fast. Professional. Efficient.
Three words we've been judged by on every job — by neighbors who call us back and send us down the street.
Safety Is Why The Job Takes Longer
Tree work has one of the highest injury rates of any trade. Almost everything we do differently on a job site comes back to that.
Rigged Down, Not Dropped
Around a house we take a tree apart in pieces and lower each one on rope, or lift it out with a crane. Felling is faster and it is the wrong answer on most properties.
The Tree Gets Read First
An ISA Certified Arborist assesses structure and risk before anyone climbs. A hollow trunk or a lifted root plate changes the whole plan, and neither is obvious from a drive.
The Property Gets Protected
Drop zones set, routes planned, surfaces covered where they need to be. The damage that costs people money is usually not the tree — it is the lawn, the drive and the fence.
Insurance Before Work Starts
We are fully insured and the certificate is provided before we begin. Ask any contractor for that. If they hesitate, that is your answer.
Owned, Not Rented
Some companies around here rent the machine when a job needs one. Renting means waiting for availability, and it means the crew is learning the machine on your property.
Crane
For removals where there is nowhere for the tree to come down — sections lifted out over the roof and set down in the drive. See crane-assisted work.
Bucket Trucks & Climbers
Whichever suits the tree and the access. Some jobs a lift cannot reach; some trees should not be climbed. Having both means we pick by the tree, not by what is in the yard.
Chippers
Brush goes through on site rather than being hauled in loads. Faster, and it is the difference between a clean lawn and a week of piles.
Stump Grinders
The machine the company was founded on. Sized for real hardwood stumps rather than the weekend rental. See stump grinding.
Forestry Mulcher
For clearing acreage, fence lines and overgrown lots in one pass instead of removing stems one at a time. See forestry mulching.
Skid Steers
Moving wood and debris without churning the ground more than necessary, and getting material out of back yards that a truck cannot reach.
Based In Hickory, Working Across Western North Carolina
Catawba, Caldwell, Burke and Alexander are the core. Larger jobs — crane work, clearing, commercial contracts — pull us considerably further out.
Residential
Single-family homes are most of what we do, and most of it happens within a few feet of something expensive. See residential tree services.
Commercial
HOAs, apartment complexes, churches, schools and municipalities, on scheduled contracts. See commercial tree care.
Emergency
Storm damage answered 24/7 by a real person. See emergency tree service.
Full Service Area
County-by-county detail and the towns we work in most weeks: service areas.
About Us Questions We Get
Who owns Stumps By Dan?
The company was founded by Dan Wittenburg and was recently purchased by the Richardson family. Dan is still the heart of the company and the crew on your property is the same crew it has always been.
Do you have a certified arborist?
Yes, an ISA Certified Arborist is on staff. That is who assesses health, structure and risk — and it is why we will sometimes tell you a tree can be saved.
Are you insured?
Yes, fully insured, with the certificate provided before work begins.
How long have you been in business?
Over twenty years as a company, and Dan brought decades in the trade to it before that. Across the current crew that is more than 200 years of combined experience.
What areas do you cover?
Catawba, Caldwell, Burke and Alexander counties as the core, reaching up to ten counties across western North Carolina for larger work. See service areas.
Do you work on commercial property?
Yes. HOAs, apartments, churches, schools and municipalities, on one contract with one point of contact. See commercial tree care.
Got A Tree You're Worried About?
We'll come out and look at it — no charge — and tell you honestly what it needs.
Find Us
Hickory, NC 28601
Crews on site Mon–Fri
Over 200 years of combined crew experience protecting properties across western North Carolina. ISA Certified Arborist on staff. Fully insured.
“I don't just do stumps, you know!”
Contact
- 8935 NC-127
Hickory, NC 28601 - Calls answered 24/7
Crews on site Mon–Fri - (828) 312-3797
- [email protected]