Location: Knoxville, Ark.
Owner: John Skelton
Company History: John Skelton started Husky Branding Irons in 1990, up on Crow Mountain, in Arkansas. He bought an RV trailer designed to open up just like a hotdog stand. John set up his small shop inside this trailer, and started hitting every auction he could find, selling cattle branders. He traveled from Florida to Wyoming, building his business and creating relationships with cattlemen across the nation. “I was gone from my family for about six months at a time,” said John. “I did this for six years. I really enjoyed traveling and going to the auctions,” said John, smiling.
Products and Services: “We make electric brands, the freeze brands and also the old-fashioned fire irons. We also make the little steak branding irons. A lot of companies are buying branding irons now to put their logo on their crates. Sometimes we get a specialty order for someone special, like the 60 Minutes news anchor that retired, I can’t think of his name right now,” said John, “but they said he branded his barn, and that they wouldn’t be surprised if he even branded his desk!”
We are going to start making a new product, it’s a small backhoe built on a little two-wheeled trailer. There are only two companies making this backhoe in the United States right now. And we will be using our larger building next door for that assembly.”
What’s in the future?
“I expect to hire two or three more people when we start the backhoe product. Also, we have a company coming in to teach us to draw the brands on the computer; we draw them by hand right now. We need more room, so we have this (building) for sale, and we have leased a large building in Oklahoma City, and we plan on moving there.”
Any advice for the rancher?
“The advice I would have for the rancher would be trust everyone, but brand your cattle. The brands help to identify your cattle, it is a security that you shouldn’t do without in this day and time. If someone decides to steal your cattle, and they are not branded in some way, you have no way to prove that they are yours.”
By Donna Parker
