diff --git a/main/src/com/google/refine/importers/TreeImporter.java b/main/src/com/google/refine/importers/TreeImporter.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f69b9b73c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/main/src/com/google/refine/importers/TreeImporter.java
@@ -0,0 +1,244 @@
+package com.google.refine.importers;
+
+import java.io.Serializable;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.Comparator;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.LinkedList;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import org.slf4j.Logger;
+import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
+
+import com.google.refine.model.Cell;
+import com.google.refine.model.Column;
+import com.google.refine.model.Project;
+
+public class TreeImporter {
+    final static Logger logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger("TreeImporter");
+    
+    /**
+     * An element which holds sub-elements we
+     * shall import as records
+     */
+    static protected class RecordElementCandidate {
+        String[] path;
+        int count;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     *
+     *
+     *
+     */
+    static protected abstract class ImportVertical {
+        public String name = "";
+        public int nonBlankCount;
+
+        abstract void tabulate();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * A column group describes a branch in tree structured data
+     */
+    static public class ImportColumnGroup extends ImportVertical {
+        public Map<String, ImportColumnGroup> subgroups = new HashMap<String, ImportColumnGroup>();
+        public Map<String, ImportColumn> columns = new HashMap<String, ImportColumn>();
+        public int nextRowIndex;
+
+        @Override
+        void tabulate() {
+            for (ImportColumn c : columns.values()) {
+                c.tabulate();
+                nonBlankCount = Math.max(nonBlankCount, c.nonBlankCount);
+            }
+            for (ImportColumnGroup g : subgroups.values()) {
+                g.tabulate();
+                nonBlankCount = Math.max(nonBlankCount, g.nonBlankCount);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * A column is used to describe a branch-terminating element in a tree structure
+     *
+     */
+    static public class ImportColumn extends ImportVertical {
+        public int      cellIndex;
+        public int      nextRowIndex;
+        public boolean  blankOnFirstRow;
+
+        public ImportColumn() {}
+        
+        public ImportColumn(String name) { //required for testing
+            super.name = name;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        void tabulate() {
+            // already done the tabulation elsewhere
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * A record describes a data element in a tree-structure
+     *
+     */
+    static public class ImportRecord {
+        public List<List<Cell>> rows = new LinkedList<List<Cell>>();
+    }
+    
+    static public void sortRecordElementCandidates(List<RecordElementCandidate> list) {
+        Collections.sort(list, new Comparator<RecordElementCandidate>() {
+            public int compare(RecordElementCandidate o1, RecordElementCandidate o2) {
+                return o2.count - o1.count;
+            }
+        });
+    }
+    
+    static public void createColumnsFromImport(
+            Project project,
+            ImportColumnGroup columnGroup
+        ) {
+            int startColumnIndex = project.columnModel.columns.size();
+
+            List<ImportColumn> columns = new ArrayList<ImportColumn>(columnGroup.columns.values());
+            Collections.sort(columns, new Comparator<ImportColumn>() {
+                public int compare(ImportColumn o1, ImportColumn o2) {
+                    if (o1.blankOnFirstRow != o2.blankOnFirstRow) {
+                        return o1.blankOnFirstRow ? 1 : -1;
+                    }
+
+                    int c = o2.nonBlankCount - o1.nonBlankCount;
+                    return c != 0 ? c : (o1.name.length() - o2.name.length());
+                }
+            });
+
+            for (int i = 0; i < columns.size(); i++) {
+                ImportColumn c = columns.get(i);
+
+                Column column = new com.google.refine.model.Column(c.cellIndex, c.name);
+                project.columnModel.columns.add(column);
+            }
+
+            List<ImportColumnGroup> subgroups = new ArrayList<ImportColumnGroup>(columnGroup.subgroups.values());
+            Collections.sort(subgroups, new Comparator<ImportColumnGroup>() {
+                public int compare(ImportColumnGroup o1, ImportColumnGroup o2) {
+                    int c = o2.nonBlankCount - o1.nonBlankCount;
+                    return c != 0 ? c : (o1.name.length() - o2.name.length());
+                }
+            });
+
+            for (ImportColumnGroup g : subgroups) {
+                createColumnsFromImport(project, g);
+            }
+
+            int endColumnIndex = project.columnModel.columns.size();
+            int span = endColumnIndex - startColumnIndex;
+            if (span > 1 && span < project.columnModel.columns.size()) {
+                project.columnModel.addColumnGroup(startColumnIndex, span, startColumnIndex);
+            }
+        }
+    
+    static protected void addCell(
+            Project project,
+            ImportColumnGroup columnGroup,
+            ImportRecord record,
+            String columnLocalName,
+            String text
+        ) {
+            if (text == null || ((String) text).isEmpty()) {
+                return;
+            }
+            
+            Serializable value = ImporterUtilities.parseCellValue(text);
+            
+            ImportColumn column = getColumn(project, columnGroup, columnLocalName);
+            int cellIndex = column.cellIndex;
+            
+            int rowIndex = Math.max(columnGroup.nextRowIndex, column.nextRowIndex);
+            while (rowIndex >= record.rows.size()) {
+                record.rows.add(new ArrayList<Cell>());
+            }
+            
+            List<Cell> row = record.rows.get(rowIndex);
+            while (cellIndex >= row.size()) {
+                row.add(null);
+            }
+            
+            logger.trace("Adding cell with value : \"" + value + "\" to row : " + rowIndex + " at cell index : " + (cellIndex-1));
+            
+            row.set(cellIndex, new Cell(value, null));
+            
+            column.nextRowIndex = rowIndex + 1;
+            column.nonBlankCount++;
+        }
+    
+    
+    static protected ImportColumn getColumn(
+            Project project,
+            ImportColumnGroup columnGroup,
+            String localName
+        ) {
+            if (columnGroup.columns.containsKey(localName)) {
+                return columnGroup.columns.get(localName);
+            }
+
+            ImportColumn column = createColumn(project, columnGroup, localName);
+            columnGroup.columns.put(localName, column);
+
+            return column;
+        }
+
+        static protected ImportColumn createColumn(
+            Project project,
+            ImportColumnGroup columnGroup,
+            String localName
+        ) {
+            ImportColumn newColumn = new ImportColumn();
+
+            newColumn.name =
+                columnGroup.name.length() == 0 ?
+                (localName == null ? "Text" : localName) :
+                (localName == null ? columnGroup.name : (columnGroup.name + " - " + localName));
+
+            newColumn.cellIndex = project.columnModel.allocateNewCellIndex();
+            newColumn.nextRowIndex = columnGroup.nextRowIndex;
+            
+            return newColumn;
+        }
+
+        static protected ImportColumnGroup getColumnGroup(
+            Project project,
+            ImportColumnGroup columnGroup,
+            String localName
+        ) {
+            if (columnGroup.subgroups.containsKey(localName)) {
+                return columnGroup.subgroups.get(localName);
+            }
+
+            ImportColumnGroup subgroup = createColumnGroup(project, columnGroup, localName);
+            columnGroup.subgroups.put(localName, subgroup);
+
+            return subgroup;
+        }
+
+        static protected ImportColumnGroup createColumnGroup(
+            Project project,
+            ImportColumnGroup columnGroup,
+            String localName
+        ) {
+            ImportColumnGroup newGroup = new ImportColumnGroup();
+
+            newGroup.name =
+                columnGroup.name.length() == 0 ?
+                (localName == null ? "Text" : localName) :
+                (localName == null ? columnGroup.name : (columnGroup.name + " - " + localName));
+
+            newGroup.nextRowIndex = columnGroup.nextRowIndex;
+            
+            return newGroup;
+        }
+}
diff --git a/main/src/com/google/refine/importers/XmlImportUtilities.java b/main/src/com/google/refine/importers/XmlImportUtilities.java
index e0cae4da2..6c145c981 100644
--- a/main/src/com/google/refine/importers/XmlImportUtilities.java
+++ b/main/src/com/google/refine/importers/XmlImportUtilities.java
@@ -1,10 +1,7 @@
 package com.google.refine.importers;
 
 import java.io.InputStream;
-import java.io.Serializable;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.Collections;
-import java.util.Comparator;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.LinkedList;
 import java.util.List;
@@ -20,84 +17,12 @@ import org.slf4j.Logger;
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
 import com.google.refine.model.Cell;
-import com.google.refine.model.Column;
 import com.google.refine.model.Project;
 import com.google.refine.model.Row;
 
-public class XmlImportUtilities {
+public class XmlImportUtilities extends TreeImporter {
     final static Logger logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger("XmlImporterUtilities");
 
-    /**
-     * An element which holds sub-elements we
-     * shall import as records
-     */
-    static protected class RecordElementCandidate {
-        String[] path;
-        int count;
-    }
-
-    /**
-     *
-     *
-     *
-     */
-    static protected abstract class ImportVertical {
-        public String name = "";
-        public int nonBlankCount;
-
-        abstract void tabulate();
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * A column group describes a branch in tree structured data
-     */
-    static public class ImportColumnGroup extends ImportVertical {
-        public Map<String, ImportColumnGroup> subgroups = new HashMap<String, ImportColumnGroup>();
-        public Map<String, ImportColumn> columns = new HashMap<String, ImportColumn>();
-        public int nextRowIndex;
-
-        @Override
-        void tabulate() {
-            for (ImportColumn c : columns.values()) {
-                c.tabulate();
-                nonBlankCount = Math.max(nonBlankCount, c.nonBlankCount);
-            }
-            for (ImportColumnGroup g : subgroups.values()) {
-                g.tabulate();
-                nonBlankCount = Math.max(nonBlankCount, g.nonBlankCount);
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * A column is used to describe a branch-terminating element in a tree structure
-     *
-     */
-    static public class ImportColumn extends ImportVertical {
-        public int      cellIndex;
-        public int      nextRowIndex;
-        public boolean  blankOnFirstRow;
-
-        public ImportColumn() {}
-        
-        public ImportColumn(String name) { //required for testing
-            super.name = name;
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        void tabulate() {
-            // already done the tabulation elsewhere
-        }
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * A record describes a data element in a tree-structure
-     *
-     */
-    static public class ImportRecord {
-        public List<List<Cell>> rows = new LinkedList<List<Cell>>();
-    }
-
     static public String[] detectPathFromTag(InputStream inputStream, String tag) {
         try {
             XMLStreamReader parser = XMLInputFactory.newInstance().createXMLStreamReader(inputStream);
@@ -297,13 +222,7 @@ public class XmlImportUtilities {
         return null;
     }
 
-    static public void sortRecordElementCandidates(List<RecordElementCandidate> list) {
-        Collections.sort(list, new Comparator<RecordElementCandidate>() {
-            public int compare(RecordElementCandidate o1, RecordElementCandidate o2) {
-                return o2.count - o1.count;
-            }
-        });
-    }
+    
 
     static public void importXml(
         InputStream inputStream,
@@ -326,49 +245,7 @@ public class XmlImportUtilities {
         }
     }
 
-    static public void createColumnsFromImport(
-        Project project,
-        ImportColumnGroup columnGroup
-    ) {
-        int startColumnIndex = project.columnModel.columns.size();
 
-        List<ImportColumn> columns = new ArrayList<ImportColumn>(columnGroup.columns.values());
-        Collections.sort(columns, new Comparator<ImportColumn>() {
-            public int compare(ImportColumn o1, ImportColumn o2) {
-                if (o1.blankOnFirstRow != o2.blankOnFirstRow) {
-                    return o1.blankOnFirstRow ? 1 : -1;
-                }
-
-                int c = o2.nonBlankCount - o1.nonBlankCount;
-                return c != 0 ? c : (o1.name.length() - o2.name.length());
-            }
-        });
-
-        for (int i = 0; i < columns.size(); i++) {
-            ImportColumn c = columns.get(i);
-
-            Column column = new com.google.refine.model.Column(c.cellIndex, c.name);
-            project.columnModel.columns.add(column);
-        }
-
-        List<ImportColumnGroup> subgroups = new ArrayList<ImportColumnGroup>(columnGroup.subgroups.values());
-        Collections.sort(subgroups, new Comparator<ImportColumnGroup>() {
-            public int compare(ImportColumnGroup o1, ImportColumnGroup o2) {
-                int c = o2.nonBlankCount - o1.nonBlankCount;
-                return c != 0 ? c : (o1.name.length() - o2.name.length());
-            }
-        });
-
-        for (ImportColumnGroup g : subgroups) {
-            createColumnsFromImport(project, g);
-        }
-
-        int endColumnIndex = project.columnModel.columns.size();
-        int span = endColumnIndex - startColumnIndex;
-        if (span > 1 && span < project.columnModel.columns.size()) {
-            project.columnModel.addColumnGroup(startColumnIndex, span, startColumnIndex);
-        }
-    }
 
     /**
      *
@@ -532,102 +409,7 @@ public class XmlImportUtilities {
         thisColumnGroup.nextRowIndex = nextRowIndex;
     }
 
-    static protected void addCell(
-        Project project,
-        ImportColumnGroup columnGroup,
-        ImportRecord record,
-        String columnLocalName,
-        String text
-    ) {
-        if (text == null || ((String) text).isEmpty()) {
-            return;
-        }
-        
-        Serializable value = ImporterUtilities.parseCellValue(text);
-        
-        ImportColumn column = getColumn(project, columnGroup, columnLocalName);
-        int cellIndex = column.cellIndex;
-        
-        int rowIndex = Math.max(columnGroup.nextRowIndex, column.nextRowIndex);
-        while (rowIndex >= record.rows.size()) {
-            record.rows.add(new ArrayList<Cell>());
-        }
-        
-        List<Cell> row = record.rows.get(rowIndex);
-        while (cellIndex >= row.size()) {
-            row.add(null);
-        }
-        
-        logger.trace("Adding cell with value : \"" + value + "\" to row : " + rowIndex + " at cell index : " + (cellIndex-1));
-        
-        row.set(cellIndex, new Cell(value, null));
-        
-        column.nextRowIndex = rowIndex + 1;
-        column.nonBlankCount++;
-    }
 
-    static protected ImportColumn getColumn(
-        Project project,
-        ImportColumnGroup columnGroup,
-        String localName
-    ) {
-        if (columnGroup.columns.containsKey(localName)) {
-            return columnGroup.columns.get(localName);
-        }
 
-        ImportColumn column = createColumn(project, columnGroup, localName);
-        columnGroup.columns.put(localName, column);
-
-        return column;
-    }
-
-    static protected ImportColumn createColumn(
-        Project project,
-        ImportColumnGroup columnGroup,
-        String localName
-    ) {
-        ImportColumn newColumn = new ImportColumn();
-
-        newColumn.name =
-            columnGroup.name.length() == 0 ?
-            (localName == null ? "Text" : localName) :
-            (localName == null ? columnGroup.name : (columnGroup.name + " - " + localName));
-
-        newColumn.cellIndex = project.columnModel.allocateNewCellIndex();
-        newColumn.nextRowIndex = columnGroup.nextRowIndex;
-        
-        return newColumn;
-    }
-
-    static protected ImportColumnGroup getColumnGroup(
-        Project project,
-        ImportColumnGroup columnGroup,
-        String localName
-    ) {
-        if (columnGroup.subgroups.containsKey(localName)) {
-            return columnGroup.subgroups.get(localName);
-        }
-
-        ImportColumnGroup subgroup = createColumnGroup(project, columnGroup, localName);
-        columnGroup.subgroups.put(localName, subgroup);
-
-        return subgroup;
-    }
-
-    static protected ImportColumnGroup createColumnGroup(
-        Project project,
-        ImportColumnGroup columnGroup,
-        String localName
-    ) {
-        ImportColumnGroup newGroup = new ImportColumnGroup();
-
-        newGroup.name =
-            columnGroup.name.length() == 0 ?
-            (localName == null ? "Text" : localName) :
-            (localName == null ? columnGroup.name : (columnGroup.name + " - " + localName));
-
-        newGroup.nextRowIndex = columnGroup.nextRowIndex;
-        
-        return newGroup;
-    }
+    
 }
diff --git a/main/src/com/google/refine/importers/XmlImporter.java b/main/src/com/google/refine/importers/XmlImporter.java
index 344dcdc13..7b23428ec 100644
--- a/main/src/com/google/refine/importers/XmlImporter.java
+++ b/main/src/com/google/refine/importers/XmlImporter.java
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import org.slf4j.Logger;
 import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
 
 import com.google.refine.ProjectMetadata;
-import com.google.refine.importers.XmlImportUtilities.ImportColumnGroup;
+import com.google.refine.importers.TreeImporter.ImportColumnGroup;
 import com.google.refine.model.Project;
 
 public class XmlImporter implements StreamImporter {
diff --git a/main/tests/server/src/com/google/refine/tests/importers/XmlImportUtilitiesTests.java b/main/tests/server/src/com/google/refine/tests/importers/XmlImportUtilitiesTests.java
index 38eb66595..b4c6e94f1 100644
--- a/main/tests/server/src/com/google/refine/tests/importers/XmlImportUtilitiesTests.java
+++ b/main/tests/server/src/com/google/refine/tests/importers/XmlImportUtilitiesTests.java
@@ -18,9 +18,9 @@ import org.testng.annotations.BeforeMethod;
 import org.testng.annotations.BeforeTest;
 import org.testng.annotations.Test;
 
-import com.google.refine.importers.XmlImportUtilities.ImportColumn;
-import com.google.refine.importers.XmlImportUtilities.ImportColumnGroup;
-import com.google.refine.importers.XmlImportUtilities.ImportRecord;
+import com.google.refine.importers.TreeImporter.ImportColumn;
+import com.google.refine.importers.TreeImporter.ImportColumnGroup;
+import com.google.refine.importers.TreeImporter.ImportRecord;
 import com.google.refine.model.Project;
 import com.google.refine.model.Row;
 import com.google.refine.tests.RefineTest;