11/ 30/ 2007
by Lena Basha
The key to success is not always standing out from the crowd; sometimes all it takes is blending in. Just ask David Weekley, co-owner of Tucson, Ariz.-based Cell Trees Inc.. His business has found success by camouflaging cell towers--those oversized, unsightly structures towering over every city, town and suburb that help ensure fewer dropped calls for the millions of cell phone users in the United States.
Weekley's business partner, Scott Krenzer, started the company in 1999 in response to the proliferation of cell towers, which now exceed 100,000 in the United States, and the strict zoning regulations that often require towers to be inconspicuous.
Cell Trees' signature pine and palm trees, made of epoxy, resin and other durable materials, are so inconspicuous that Weekley says even he has trouble spotting them, which take about six weeks to create.
"If you don't know exactly where the site is, you would be hard-pressed to find it," he says. "I drove around for half an hour one day looking for my site, and it was only when I found the equipment shelter that I realized the tree was just 100 feet away."
What's more, the "trees" are friendly to the environment, thanks to their radio-frequency emissions minimization design. Tested rigorously during construction, each tree can also withstand the harshest weather conditions, like 150 mile-per-hour winds. And the trees will only get better, Weekley says.
"As the years go by, we continue to improve our product, making it even more realistic," he says. "Because we manufacture all the branches and other parts ourselves, we have the ability to adapt to the circumstances and make quick changes and adjustments to meet our customers' needs."
Expecting even more growth in the industry, Cell Trees has branched out its operations, adding five acres to its manufacturing facility in Arizona and creating new designs, including a generic broadleaf tree and a Saguaro cactus.
