 From left, John Godwin, Willie Robertson, Jase Robertson and Justin Martin with Duck Commander's Hyster J35XN forklift |
Materials handling equipment dealer Deep South Equipment Co provided assistance when online product demands stretched the logistical resources of Duck Commander Co in West Monroe.
Family-owned and -operated Duck Commander gets significant publicity from principals' appearances on the popular Duck Dynasty reality television series from the A&E cable channel of A&E Television Networks LLC.
Duck calls from Louisiana cedar trees are among the firm's products.
Deep South technicians analysed and made suggestions about the company's traditional old-school operations, installed modern pallet racks throughout the warehouse and encouraged the hiring of a manager to install an automated inventory-control system.
Deep South, as a longtime dealer for Hyster Co of Greenville, North Carolina, knew the Duck Commander organisation needed a forklift as part of its supply chain support.
Hyster made contact with Duck Commander and, through Deep South, supplied an electric Hyster J35XN forklift that was delivered in September as the first piece of materials handling equipment in the warehouse.
"There is no doubt that Willie, Phil and the other duck-men are tough guys," says John Parsons, president and owner of Deep South Equipment. "That's why it makes sense that Duck Commander chose a tough Hyster forklift to help move the business forward."
Willie Robertson, chief executive officer, says, "At Duck Commander, we love our Hyster forklift. When running my family business here, I don't always get a choice of employees because it's family. However, I do get to choose the equipment we have, and the Hyster forklift is efficient and easy to drive. This ease gives my guys maximum productivity, and that is what I am looking for. It's versatile and so easy to run that even Jase and Godwin can run the thing." He was referring to Duck staffers Jase Robertson and John Godwin.
Based in New Orleans, Louisiana, Deep South Equipment added a branch in Paris, Texas in early 2012. Now the dealership has three locations in Louisiana, two each in Oklahoma and Texas and one in Mississippi.
All eight sites represent Hyster and Utilev, and some branches also handle the Yale, Manitou, Rail King and JCB brands.
Recently, Deep South signed an agreement to represent the JCB line in Texas and hired Chris Clark as sales manager for JCB products.