Corporate Profile // History

Right-A-Way Applicators, Inc. was established in 1985 by owners Mary and Dave Matson. Mary's experience in business management, insurance and accounting qualified her to administer these aspects of the company.

During Dave's six years as a safety officer for a Class I Railroad, he recognized the need for improved vegetation control in order to meet current EPA standards, decrease fire hazards, improve crossing visibility and maintain the integrity of the track geometry. His background and training in EPA requirements, FRA rules, hazardous material management and mechanics enabled him to design equipment specific to the vegetation control industry.

Currently RAW operates over thirty state of the art spray trucks in sixteen states and continues to grow and expand. As it continues to grow and expand Matson's are committed to keeping RAW a small town family owned business.

As Dave pursues endeavors in real estate and other business ventures, Mary has taken over much of his former involvement with the company. On April 1, 2006 she was made President to acknowledge the management role she has filled for several years. Matson’s oldest daughter Jessica currently serves on the board of directors while working toward her master’s degree. Their youngest daughter, Julia, also on the board, graduates from the University of Minnesota, Duluth in May. She will join RAW in June as a public relations consultant and will begin learning all other aspects of the business as well.

Matson’s are proud of the business they started together twenty-one years ago and are glad to provide good jobs for so many families located in a federally funded empowerment zone, depressed because of out migration. They hope their daughters will continue to conduct the business with the same integrity sometime in the future.