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Family-Owned · Tampa Bay · Est. 2011

Started after a hurricane.
Stayed family-run.

Diego Mariotti founded Ironwood in November 2011, three months after Tropical Storm Lee dumped two feet of rain on Tampa Bay and exposed how badly the region's tree care industry was set up for storm response. Fourteen years later, we run the same way: ISA-certified climbers, real bucket trucks, four-person crews, no day-laborers.

Royal palms in a Tampa Bay landscape — Ironwood Tree Co. service area
FOUNDER · DIEGO MARIOTTI
"Anybody can buy a chainsaw. The cert is what tells you the climber knows what they're doing."
The Backstory

Built around the climbers,
not the trucks.

Before Ironwood, Diego spent seven years climbing for a regional tree service that served Tampa Bay and Sarasota. He saw the pattern repeat: storm hits, the company expands the crew with day-laborers who've never climbed before, customers get inconsistent work, the climbers who actually know what they're doing get burned out and quit. The model didn't scale because it didn't respect the trade.

Ironwood was built backwards from that. Hire fewer, more experienced climbers. Pay them more. Don't grow faster than you can certify the people doing the work. Today we run two four-person crews. Three of our four climbers hold ISA certification. Our fourth is sitting for the exam in March.

The business model has not changed in fourteen years: ISA-certified work, fully-insured climbers, same crew on every job, written warranty on the cuts, insurance-direct billing on storm claims. We've turned down territory expansion (no, we don't go to Sarasota) and we've turned down growth-via-day-laborers (no, we don't double the crew during hurricane week). The customers we serve fastest are the ones we've served longest.

Operating Principles

Four rules.
Every job, every season.

Not a slogan on the wall. These are how we hire, schedule, price, and decide whether the work was done right at the end of the day.

[ 01 ]

ISA standards or nothing

The International Society of Arboriculture publishes pruning, removal, and rigging standards. Our climbers train to them. If a request violates ISA standards (topping, lion-tailing, removing healthy structure), we explain why and propose the right work — even if it loses us the job.

[ 02 ]

Same crew, every visit

We don't rotate crews across customers. The climbers who work your property in March are the climbers who work your property in October. They know your trees, your access, your gates, your dog. Customer-requested by name on the third call onward.

[ 03 ]

Real insurance, real coverage

$2M general liability plus full workers' comp on every climber. COI sent before work begins on any property. The Tampa Bay tree market is full of underinsured operators — when their climber falls in your yard, the difference between $300K and $2M is your homeowner's policy versus theirs.

[ 04 ]

Maintenance customers first

During Idalia we ran 14-hour shifts for nine days. The customers we served first were the ones already on annual maintenance plans. New customers wait their turn (usually 4-7 days during named events). Fair, but worth knowing if you call us cold during a storm.

The Crew

Eight people.
Two crews.
Three ISA certs.

Every Ironwood climber is W-2, ISA-trained, background-checked, and carries our insurance. We don't subcontract climbing work. The crew on your job is on our payroll.

/ FOUNDER · 14 YRS

Diego Mariotti

Owner / Master Climber

Founded Ironwood in 2011. Twenty-one years total in the trade. Still climbs three days a week — running the South Tampa and Davis Islands route personally. The founder turning ropes keeps the standard honest.

ISA #FL-7041A TCIA Certified Crane Rigger
/ OPERATIONS · 9 YRS

Marisol Mariotti

Operations / Estimator

Joined full-time 2016. Walks every quote in person — yes, every single one. Runs scheduling, dispatch, billing, insurance coordination, and estimator visits. Most customers know Marisol's voice better than they know any climber.

FL Insurance Adjuster Bilingual EN/ES
/ SR CLIMBER · 8 YRS

Tomás Vega

Senior Climber

Brandon, Riverview, Valrico, and Apollo Beach routes. ISA-certified climber and our resident palm specialist — fastest in the shop on Royal Palms and Sabals. Customer-requested by name on most repeat calls in East Hillsborough.

ISA #FL-8829 Palm Specialist
/ CLIMBER · 5 YRS

Davis McCray

Climber / Rigger

Pinellas-side dispatch lead — handles the morning emergency calls across the bridges. Specializes in tight-space sectional removal and crane-rigged work. Came up through Diego's apprenticeship program.

ISA #FL-9457 Crane Rigger
/ CLIMBER · 3 YRS

Jordan Bauerlein

Climber / Health Inspector

North Tampa, Lutz, Wesley Chapel routes. Sitting for ISA cert in March. Already qualified for tree health inspections under Diego's certification — handles most pre-purchase property reports.

ISA Candidate Inspector
/ GROUND · 6 YRS

Eli Sandoval

Ground Lead / Stump Grinder

Runs the ground crew on every job — rigging hand-offs, drop-zone management, debris loading, stump grinding operations, customer communication during the work. The job runs on Eli's pace.

Crane Signal Stump Specialist
Credentials

Licensed, insured,
and publicly verified.

[ 01 ]

Florida Tree Service License #LCC20140012

Active and in good standing since 2011. Public record at the Florida DBPR. Annual renewal current. Zero consumer complaints filed in 14 years of operation.

[ 02 ]

Three ISA Certifications

Diego (#FL-7041A), Tomás (#FL-8829), and Davis (#FL-9457). All active, current on continuing education, and verifiable through the ISA online directory. Cert numbers available before any climbing work begins on your property.

[ 03 ]

$2M general liability + full workers' comp

Real insurance coverage, not the legal minimum. Certificate of insurance available before service begins. Bonded for jobs over $5,000 (most large removals). We've had three claims in 14 years — all roof-tile damage from minor mis-rigs, all paid out, all kept the customer.

[ 04 ]

BBB A+ · Google 4.9 (327 reviews)

Public reputation. Never solicited with discounts or incentives. Customer concerns are handled directly by Diego or Marisol — no offshore call center, no escalation queue, no "manager review" delay tactics.

Service truck driving through Tampa Bay palm-lined road — Ironwood Tree Co. fleet
FLEET · 2 BUCKET TRUCKS · TAMPA
"Same trucks. Same crew. Same standards."