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John Parsons has a motto: “If you don’t take care of your customers, they won’t be your customers for long.”
As the owner, president and CEO of Deep South Equipment, Parsons’ customer-first approach has paid off—taking the company from humble beginnings to a premier materials handling equipment dealer that has won national accolades and maintained a diverse portfolio of loyal customers. With its 35th anniversary on the horizon, company leaders say they’re as committed as ever to doing whatever it takes to keep clients happy.
AT A GLANCE
Top executives: John Parsons, Owner & President; Patrick Parsons, VP of Used Truck Sales and JCP Construction Equipment; Lindsey Hernandez, VP of New Truck Sales; Gerald Boudreaux, CFO; Randall Kent, COO
Phone: 225.383.6117
Address: 1150 LeBlanc Road, Port Allen, LA 70767
Website: deepsouthequipment.com
Deep South Equipment handles sales, service, rental and parts for Hyster-Yale forklifts, JCB construction equipment, TICO terminal tractors, FECON forestry equipment and PowerBoss scrubber sweepers—among other products. Its clients include chemical plants, paper mills, retailers and airlines.
Parsons, whose background is in sales, started Deep South Equipment in 1990 with three locations in Louisiana and one in Mississippi. As the company hit and exceeded milestones, national brands rewarded Deep South Equipment with more territory to sell and service their products. Today, the company has 10 locations across the South, including one in Lafayette that opened just last year.
The company has been named a Hyster Dealer of Distinction for 10 years, and in 2024, it won its first Yale Dealer of Excellence award.
“That was huge,” says Rebecca Lowe, human resources manager. Earning the award meant meeting a long list of criteria, including goals related to market share, technician training and customer relations. The honor—and the company’s overall success—all go back to the concept of family, she says. The business is family owned, and employees and customers alike are treated like family.
Deep South Equipment’s team of 350 includes many long-time employees. The average tenure at the company is 20 years, representing a wealth of experience that translates to better service for customers. From mechanics to sales reps, employees are truly valued at Deep South Equipment, where leaders stand ready to help them succeed in any way they can.
“These are the people that are doing the work. These are the people that are taking care of the customers,” Lowe says. “They really are the backbone of the business.”
Among those employees are a number of military veterans, including Parsons, who served in the Navy, and Lindsey Hernandez, a vice president who was in the Army. Every branch of service is represented at the company, which participates in 50 Strong, a Hyster-Yale veteran recruitment initiative.
The company prides itself on its reputation for customer satisfaction, too. “We go out of our way if the customer is dissatisfied with something,” says Randall Kent, chief operations officer. “A lot of companies would never go to the extent that we do to make sure that we make them happy.”
He says keeping clients as the priority has been key to Deep South Equipment’s success. “Everybody has that mindset—to take care of the customer, whatever that is,” he says. “We want to be easy to do business with.”
