Hickory, NC · ISA Certified Arborist · Fully Insured · BBB Accredited A+ · 100+ Years Combined Crew Experience

About Stumps By Dan

It Started With One Stump Grinder

Today it's seven counties, two of every machine we run, and a crew with more than 100 years of experience between them.

The Story

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.

Seven Counties

What began in Hickory now reaches up to seven 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.

What We Bring

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

Cranes, grapple trucks, bucket trucks, chippers, stump grinders, forestry mulchers, skid steers — two of each, owned rather than rented. 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.

How We Work

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.

Equipment

The Best Equipped Tree Company In Western North Carolina

Two of every machine we run, and every one of them owned rather than rented. The second machine is not a spare sitting in the yard — it is the reason your job happens on the day we said it would.

Your Job Does Not Get Bumped

When a company owns one crane and it is tied up across the county, somebody waits. With two, the storm call and the booked job both go ahead the same morning.

A Breakdown Stays Our Problem

Machines fail. When there is only one, the whole week moves and you are the phone call. A second machine turns a mechanical problem into something you never hear about.

Two Full Crews At Once

Each crew carries a complete kit, rather than one chipper being shuttled between two properties. After a storm that is the difference between days and weeks.

Owned, Not Rented

Renting means waiting on availability, and it means the crew is learning the machine on your property. These are ours, and the operators have been on them for years.

Cranes×2

For removals where there is nowhere for the tree to come down — sections lifted out over the roof and set down in the drive. Two means one is free when you need it. See crane-assisted work.

Grapple Trucks×2

Storm debris picked up and gone in one run rather than stacked at the kerb waiting on a second trip.

Bucket Trucks×2

Some jobs a lift cannot reach, and some trees should not be climbed. With bucket trucks and climbers both, we pick by the tree rather than by what is free that day.

Chippers×2

Brush goes through on site instead of being hauled away in loads. It is the difference between a clean lawn and a week of piles.

Stump Grinders×2

The machine the company was founded on. Sized for real hardwood stumps rather than the weekend rental. See stump grinding.

Forestry Mulchers×2

For clearing acreage, fence lines and overgrown lots in one pass instead of taking stems out one at a time. See forestry mulching.

Skid Steers×2

Moving wood and debris without churning the ground more than necessary, and reaching back yards a truck cannot.

Where We Work

Based In Hickory, Working Across Western North Carolina

Seven counties across western North Carolina: Catawba, Caldwell, Burke, Alexander, Iredell, Lincoln and Watauga. 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.

Questions

About Us Questions We Get

Prefer the facts without the story? Every detail about this company in one place: business information.

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.

Are you BBB accredited?

Yes. Stumps By Dan is a BBB Accredited Business, accredited since November 2026 and rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau. See our BBB profile.

How long have you been in business?

Founded in 2012 — fourteen years as a company — and Dan brought decades in the trade to it before that. Across the current crew that is more than 100 years of combined experience.

What areas do you cover?

Seven counties across western North Carolina: Catawba, Caldwell, Burke, Alexander, Iredell, Lincoln and Watauga. Larger jobs pull us further out still. See service areas.