Holt Tree Spades has taken pride in the manufacturing of tree movers since 1957. The tree moving industry has become a very important part of the world today. With experience as a tree mover, Jack Holt has manufactured tree spades that will dig in all kinds of soil — sand, dirt and gravel.

The first Holt tree spade was designed and built by Jack Holt in 1957. At this time Jack was digging trees by hand with three helpers. They would use four hand spade shovels; each man would push his shovel in the ground to form a cone, and then they would lift the 12″ diameter root ball out of the ground. After many calluses and tired backs, Jack got the idea to build some sort of framework out of flat bar — this would keep the root ball in one shape and size. This was the first Holt tree spade.

In 1964 a friend asked Jack to build him a small trailer mounted tree spade. After this the sale of others started; it took five years for enough requests to set up a shop. As of today Jack has developed and manufactured over 50 different models of tree movers. What started at the ground level has advanced to the highest level and technology in the world today.

Jack built a fleet of tree movers for himself. Over the next 43 years Jack moved approximately 1,000,000 trees, and this has given him the technology that is required to build an efficient tree mover. Around the world other companies have copied Jack’s technology and never changed it. This is because they are copiers, not inventors — most have never moved a tree. With his tree mover experience, Jack is advancing his tree spades to keep up with what the tree moving industry needs.

Holt Tree Spades Ltd. builds 16″ up to 144″ root ball. Loader mounts up to 104″, skid steer mounts up to 52″, excavator mounts up to 74″, truck mounts up to 94″. Some truck mounts have been equipped with a side shift and in–out sliders for perfect centering. Trailer tree spade mounts up to 144″, with or without steering axles, articulated frames and in/out slider frames. All tree spades are built to fit the customer and their needs.