Hazel Park tech company has way to feed nutrients directly into the trees

HAZEL PARK, Mich. (WJBK) - Trees  are like people. They need food, water and nutrients to live and thrive -- and 50 percent of all newly-planted trees are dying. They often last longer than one or two years.

A Hazel Park company called Exlterra has come up with a new technology that can help trees grow even stronger and healthier. It's called the Nutrient Enrichment Passive System, or NEPS.

"We install this technology into the ground, directly into the tree, and that will provide nutrients for the tree for years and years to go," CEO Frank Muller explains. 

NEPS can enhance the growth, vitality and yield of trees in a sustainable way. It allows the trees access to nutrients that are deep in the soil but are otherwise inaccessible to the tree's roots. And here's how they get them. They use a unique drilling rig with a familiar name.

"The drill apparatus they have, they named it HAZL after the City of Hazel Park. We're so proud of that," says Hazel Park City Manager, Edward Klobucher. "That particular apparatus has been engaged in operations across planet earth."

Xelterra is a cutting edge, high-tech green company. It paved the way for other high tech companies to locate in Hazel Park. But it's also been used outside of Michigan, from cities in Switzerland to California.

The company says it helps improve a tree's survival rate and boosts its vitality. This tool is important for urban foresters, professionals or anyone who wants to plant a new tree.

"All those trees struggle more and more with the environment and lack of nutrients in the ground. We provide the nutrients directly from the ground up to the tree root system," Muller says.

He says their technology can increase tree survival rate to 100 percent. 

You can learn more about these products at www.exlterra.com.