The Dutchman Story
From a side hustle in Eagles Nest Township to fire lines over Ely, five years of iron, faith, and hard-won lessons.
A side hustle in the township
It started at Vermilion Community College and the Eagles Nest Volunteer Fire Department. Austin began cutting trees and removing balsam fir throughout the township as a side hustle business.
The dream job
Austin landed his dream job as a forestry technician on the Superior National Forest, Kawishiwi Ranger District in Ely, MN, and earned his Faller 2 certification. Fire assignments took him out west several times through the end of his second season in October 2019.
Earning the name
On a 20-person interagency hand crew, working as a designated faller, Austin picked up the nickname “Dutchman.” A Dutchman cut modifies the hinge wood to steer a tree around an obstacle, a specialized, unconventional cut that experienced fallers use when felling timber out west. The name fit twice over: the family name, originally spelled VanScoic, is Dutch. It became Van Scoy on the boat over.
Mike’s Tree Company
Austin took a crew leader position with Mike’s Tree Company in Brainerd, MN, serving lake homes, residential, and commercial estates with high-end tree services and snow removal. He ran a variety of machinery and climbed so, so many broad-spreading trees. It was a treat.
Big-city arborist
Austin and Jess uprooted from Brainerd and moved to the Twin Cities, where Austin joined the Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board as an arborist, working alongside 49 arborists with decades of experience, and subcontracted specialized tree work for private companies across the metro.
Dutchman Tree Service LLC
Rogan, our first boy, arrived on St. Patrick’s Day. We moved into our house in Ely on March 30th. And we started the business on April Fools’ Day, because quitting our jobs in Minneapolis, buying a house in Ely, having a baby, and starting a company all on a leap of faith that this was God’s plan for us was truly an insane move. Only fitting to start the company on April Fools’.
The storm that saved us
On the edge of throwing in the towel, not enough work, no employees yet, a windstorm tore through Ely, destroying several homes and the entire Blueberry Festival. Family visiting their new nephew and grandson pitched in; Austin’s dad volunteered himself and his truck on the spot. That storm generated enough work to get out of debt, make a mortgage payment, and pay off subcontractors. Between a 4th of July parade photo taken from atop a 12-foot log and a shot of Austin riding out a crane pick through the corner of a house on Conan Street, the phone began to ring.
First crew & HELGA 1
Two amazing hires, both former wildland firefighters with military and tree-work backgrounds, learned to climb fast and were outstanding from the start. We purchased HELGA 1, our 4×4 Western Star semi, a tag trailer, and a 1996 Bandit tracked chipper, and nearly went out of business several times keeping up with repairs and downtime. Statistics say we should have folded at least three times. Making it through was truly a miracle.
The first excavator
An absolute game changer. Once we figured it out, it did the work of ten people all day long, taking a load off the team and transforming our productivity on understory fuels work.
A business degree in three days
We met George Urvari of Knowledge Tree Consulting out of Toronto. He helped us iron out the most urgent problems and stop the bleeding, a full-blown business education in three days, plus some serious trauma-reversing advice centered on leadership and finances.
Building the right fleet
Things started looking up. We made it through a harsh winter by supplementing with construction demolition and snow plowing, and kept adding the right tools to the fleet, having learned how productive the right people in the right machines are. Streamlining processes and building the right fleet became the priority.
The rollover & Sheridan Street
Our first major setback. Picking up a rental machine shipped from Pennsylvania, Austin rolled HELGA 1 a full 360 degrees, totaling truck and trailer. A local hauler stepped in, the crew covered production, and we still finished three months of jobs in one, proving we did need that machine. That same season we acquired our property at the entrance of town on Sheridan Street. A huge blessing in disguise.
Statistics say we should have been out of business at least three times. Making it through was truly a miracle.
Babe’s Bait & new faces
After another long winter, we tore down most of the building on our Babe’s Bait property to create open slab parking for the equipment. Then one of our key players, Justin, was offered a USFS position he’d only dreamed of, a big milestone for him and for us. We found others to take his spot and had plenty of island work to finish before ice-out.
The new chipper season
Things really started ramping up. A new tracked chipper arrived with a heap of large projects waiting, none for the faint of heart. Huge credit to Mike, our crew leader at the time, for taking on a major role without a deep well of field experience to lean on. A huge season; we learned a ton.
Steady through the winter
The first winter we stayed steady enough to keep up with cash flow and work through the elements without frostbite. We started the year with exciting new equipment and hired an operator, Kolby, who became our estimator as the season ramped up.
Robb joins
Robb came on board, originally from Brainerd, arriving from Pendleton, WA and buying a house in Ely with his fiancée. He brought a wealth of construction and tree-care knowledge and was truly bred for this work in Ely.
The hardest season
Key-player turnover, an excavator tipped on its side, and HR issues that ended with letting two people go. It ultimately worked out and opened new opportunities, but creeping up on five years in business, it was the most difficult season as a leader, friend, and company owner, digging deep in faith and patience just to keep a mental sanity.
Five full years
We celebrated five full years in business, cooking with gas with a full suite of amazing equipment. Robb had the ropes of the organization dialed in, streamlined as a groundman and equipment operator.
Answering the fire
The page turned again. After years of bidding without landing state or federal contracts, we finally got the chance to help on a truly complex incident. The smoke column over Ely was a signal to most: manage your forest before wildfire spreads onto your property, these fires can start naturally and run roughly ten miles in two days, taking out everything in their path. Equipped to work for state and federal agencies, we built fire lines and shaded fuel breaks, and we’ll likely assist until snow ends the fire season. Past clients reached out with gratitude wanting us back, while windstorms and the growing July Lightning Incident drove a wave of demand for tree cutting and wildfire mitigation.
