Duck Commander makes the right "call" on lift truck buy

The camo-clad, heavily bearded gang at Duck Commander, the family-owned duck- and deer-call business featured in A&E's "Duck Dynasty" reality series, knows a thing or two about hunting ducks and deer. They also seem to know how to hunt up material handling equipment.

Thanks to the wildly popular TV show, the Robertson family's West Monroe, La., business has taken off, and the duckmen now sell hunting gear, tee shirts, books, DVDs, and the like along with their duck call line. To accommodate that expansion, they needed to make their small facility more productive. So the Robertsons called on New Orleans-based Deep South Equipment for help. The material handling equipment distributor installed new racking in the warehouse and recommended Hyster's electric J35XN lift truck because of its tight turning radius, low cost of operation, and durability.

It was the right "call," you might say. "At Duck Commander, we love our Hyster forklift that we got from Deep South Equipment," said CEO Willie Robertson. "When running my family business here at Duck Commander, 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 so versatile and easy to run that even Jase and Godwin can run the thing," he said, referring to his easily distracted younger brother and shipping department supervisor John Godwin.