Business involves many different moving parts that come together to form a successful product and brand. One thing that is involved in all of the different parts? People.

Drew Agar is a graduate of the University of Arkansas with a degree in management and agricultural business, and joined the Bush-Whacker customer service department in February 2021. Since then, Drew has also worked the Hall Tank side as a tank estimator, and has now rejoined the Bush-Whacker brand in his current role of inside Sales, government sales and marketing.

“Since Thomas who had this role previously worked closely with me beforehand, and my previous role kind of played a part in this one as well it helped with knowledge I already had, being able to take it over this position,” Drew said.

In Drew’s current role, he deals a lot with Bush-Whackers customers. Answering calls, technical questions for the customers or dealers, and working with the government to ensure that they have what they require in their contracts..

“Every day I’m really just talking with customers and taking care of them, making sure that they’re happy and getting what it is they need,” Drew said.

Drew’s message resonates deeply with customers, emphasizing that Bush-Whacker is far from being just another impersonal business. Instead, he firmly believes in recognizing each customer as an individual and treating them fairly. Drew takes great pride in prioritizing the customer, making it a cornerstone of Bush-Whacker’s values.

“Some people will call us and they have had their mower since the 1990s and are just now needing to be replaced. So that’s a credit on how long and how well built these mowers are and how good our products are. We stand by our product.”

Almost every company has that one exceptional employee who goes beyond their job description, and at The Hall Group, that person is Daral Battles. While Daral has primarily worked on the Hall Tank side of The Hall Group, he is now taking on a role here at Bush-Whacker as well. When he joined Hall Tank in 2017, Daral initially worked in the supply chain. However, with his drive to improve the system of the workplace, he quickly climbed the ranks and became the team lead of the fiberglass department. Currently, he holds the position of Purchasing Administrator.

The strategies he used to improve the workflow and supply chain at Hall Tank are now being implemented at Bush-Whacker as he learns the rotary cutter side of The Hall Group. Daral attributes his success to his willingness to draw on his previous experience and use it to make improvements. He says, “When I take on a new position, I always look for ways to make it better.”

Through the results of Daral’s work at Hall Tank, he has been entrusted with the responsibility of doing the same thing on the Bush-Whacker side of the business. The trust placed in Daral by those around him, and by CEO and President Robert Hall, is one of the things that he credits to him not only staying with the company for so long, but also wanting to improve it.

Daral’s drive to improve the system of the workplace is evident in the way he has approached his work at both Hall Tank and Bush-Whacker. He believes that the company is open for anyone to advance in their career, and all one needs to do is to put in the work. Daral is not only putting in the work but is going above and beyond to improve how it’s done, making him an exceptional asset to The Hall Group.

Working part-time during college may not seem like a significant step in your career, but for Thomas Gring, it was the start of a decade-long journey with The Hall Group. After starting as a part-time employee working in the shop and on the yard in 2013, Thomas is now the newly-appointed Logistics Manager at the company.

When Thomas took on the new role, he had the advantage of being trained by former Vice President of Hall Logistics, Greg Davis. “Greg was an amazing mentor and provided me with a wealth of knowledge,” Thomas says. “The logistics manager position comes with a steep learning curve, but I feel confident in my abilities, thanks to Greg’s guidance.”

Throughout his time at The Hall Group, Thomas has held four different positions, starting with his part-time role and moving on to customer service, sales, and marketing, before finally taking on the logistics manager role. “Each new role brought new challenges, but I was excited to take them on,” he says. “The logistics manager role was the only position I hadn’t held yet, and I was eager for a new challenge.”

With his new role, Thomas has two main goals in mind: to expand the company and to increase profitability. “I believe that with the right strategies, both of these goals are achievable,” he says. “And I’m confident that I can bring new ideas and a fresh perspective to the table.”

Thomas attributes his success and longevity with The Hall Group to the supportive work environment and the trust placed in him to take on various roles. “The fact that The Hall Group is family-owned and operated is very important to me,” he says. “I feel valued and heard, and I’m not just a number on a spreadsheet. I’m part of a family, and that’s what makes working here so special.”

Thomas’s journey with The Hall Group serves as a testament to the power of hard work and determination. Starting as a part-time employee, Thomas has climbed the ranks and taken on various roles, proving that opportunities for growth and advancement are always available for those who are willing to work for it.

When a career spans the course of decades within the same organization, people are prone to experience growth, see change, and develop lasting memories. That’s exactly what happened to Greg Davis, Senior Vice President of Hall Logistics. In celebration of Greg’s upcoming retirement, we’re looking back at his 20-year career with The Hall Group.

When Greg began his career at The Hall Group, the company was simply known as Hall Manufacturing – a company that manufactured and distributed Bush-Whacker Rotary Cutters.
“Over my 20 years with the company, I’ve held just two positions. Starting out, I was responsible for sales and marketing for Hall Manufacturing/Bush-Whacker. When Hall Tank was purchased, I was named Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the entire group, which now included both Bush-Whacker and Hall Tank.”

Greg’s career featured many shining moments, but there are two achievements he’s most proud of (although he did say it was hard to narrow down): “The first was on the Bush-Whacker side of the company where I was able to lead our sales team from basically zero dealers to about 170 dealers—a feat that took time, energy and perseverance. The second was a tool I helped develop for Hall Tank that enabled us to provide pricing quotes to our tank customers with speed and efficiently, and that really gave us a leg-up on the competition.”

One of the biggest changes that came in Greg’s career was when Robert Hall offered him a new position as Senior Vice President of Hall Logistics, the position he holds today. “Scary? Yeah, I mean, it was challenging for sure because I knew nothing about logistics, but I took some courses, and allowed myself the freedom of trial and error until I got the hang of it.”

This change in positions is one of the many examples of faith and trust Greg said he has received from the Hall family over his time. Greg’s first interview included Bob Hall and Robert Hall, president of The Hall Group. The trust and honesty he experienced from both Bob and Robert from that day forward are some of the main reasons he decided to stay. “They never made me feel like I was micromanaged; they trusted me to do my job. I would go to them when something was wrong, ask them for advice, and they would say, ‘You know what to do; you just do it.”

This trust and the memories made in the company are what Greg reflects on as he enters the final stretch of his career, especially his time with the late Bob Hall. “Bob was probably one of the most generous and honest people that I have ever known. He would take anybody under his wing and he would do everything that he could to help people. He was a very fun guy. He was a great, great person…I honestly can’t say enough good things about him.”

As Greg gets ready to close this chapter and move onto the next, on behalf of the entire Hall Group, we want to thank him, and congratulate him on a successful career. We appreciate everything he has done for our family and for treating the company like it was his own.

“Not long after I started with the company, I got a piece of mail from a customer and it was addressed to Greg Hall. Robert came to me with the letter, and asked, ‘What is this?’ I joked, ‘Well, I guess they just think I own the place.’”

And that was the whole point to Greg. “They made me feel like I owned the company. That’s just a good feeling. If you’re trusted with it, and you treat it well…they’ll treat you like you do own the place. And the Halls always did.”

Getting the Secret Out: The Bush-Whacker Brand
With 135 million acres of farmland spread across Texas and Louisiana, there’s no shortage of demand for Bush-Whacker’s heavy-duty, high-quality rotary cutters. Covering this territory, otherwise known as Bush-Whacker Zone 2, is Territory Manager Billy Scott.

Prior to joining Bush-Whacker, Billy was a business owner with 20 years of experience in farm equipment sales. When COVID-19 hit, Billy pivoted his career path and decided to join the Bush-Whacker team!

Now having been with Bush-Whacker for a year and a half, Billy has become keenly aware of Bush-Whacker’s quality, especially since he had no previous experience with them.

“People are latching on to the quality of Bush-Whacker compared to the competition. You can visually see the grade of the product we offer is far superior. We’re a premium line competing with the best out there,just not at a premium price.”

Bush-Whacker’s pricing and quality is still not widely known, says Billy, but he’s starting to notice that this well-kept secret is getting out!

“Weekly I get phone calls from end users; farmers, ranchers, etc., that have heard about the brand and are looking for the closest place they can go to find the product.”

Aside from the premium quality and durability the Bush-Whacker brand has to offer, Billy notes that after having worked in the corporate world for the last 20 years, the family aspect of Bush-Whacker is also driving people in his direction.

“I’m not in the shredder business, I’m in the people business, and our whole objective is to get the product out the door and keep the customer happy.”

Focusing on the people and not the product is something Billy sees in all aspects of Bush-Whacker. Coming from corporate America where he says everything can get jumbled up in endless emails, Bush-Whacker is a refreshing family-oriented business.

“I really enjoy working here. The Bush-Whacker team is a really tight-knit group of folks…it’s really like a family. Here you aren’t just an employee number–you’re a part of a team.”