John Hugg and Robert Hall: From Tonka toys to the real things

By Kenneth Heard

Tonka toys, those steel trucks, bulldozers and road graders, were the staples of fun for the children growing up in the 1960s and 1970s.

Kids could feel like construction workers as they dug holes, hauled stones and paved roads in their sandboxes with the yellow, sturdy vehicles.

But John Hugg pretty much skipped that stage of his youth. He didn’t have time to play with toy trucks when he was a tyke. He was too busy around the real ones.

Hugg, 64, was born in Lake Bluff, Ill., a northern suburb of Chicago. His father, Charles Hugg, worked at a forklift company in Chicago in the 1950s and 1960s. The elder Hugg worked his way up in the business from salesman to sales manager to general manager.

“Ever since I was a newborn, I’ve been around the equipment,” John Hugg said.

While seeing success in Chicago and learning important business strategies there, Charles Hugg wanted to own his own heavy equipment business.

In 1970, Charles Hugg bought a dealership in Arkansas and moved his family south.

“We pulled up roots and moved to Little Rock,” John Hugg said. “A lot of friends said he lost his mind. But we replaced the cold weather of Illinois with the warmth of the people in Arkansas.”

Back then, Hugg’s business began with stores in Little Rock and Fort Smith. John Hugg would work in the Little Rock dealership after school, sweeping, cleaning and doing any odd jobs.

Hugg also met Robert Hall, who would become his best friend, brother-in-law and partner in their business, in Little Rock.

“We’ve been friends for 50 years, worked together for 40 years and have been partners for 30,” Hugg said.

Hall joined the company in 1979 and married Hugg’s sister, Marcie. Hugg and Hall purchased the business from Hugg’s father in 1990 and named it Hugg & Hall.

Now Hugg serves as the president of Hugg & Hall, a massive business that features both equipment sales and rentals in 19 markets across Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri and Oklahoma. They employ more than 780 people.

Hall is the vice president.

The company sells and rents equipment made by Bobcat, Crown, Doosan, Taylor and Toyota, all major manufacturers. It has Arkansas dealerships in Little Rock, Fort Smith, Jonesboro, El Dorado, Conway, Springdale and Texarkana.

Hugg & Hall’s success also comes from its long-term relationships with customers and quality of service.

In a testimonial about the business on its website, Greenwood School District Superintendent John Ciesla said he was pleased at Hugg & Hall’s reaction to providing air conditioning for the school’s graduation.

“I was amazed at Hugg & Hall’s response to our inquiry about the possibility of air conditioning such a large facility on only a couple of days’ notice,” Ciesla wrote. “To have a crew on-site within hours to evaluate our needs and to have equipment operational in such a short time period was truly an amazing accomplishment.”

Both Hugg and Hall credit their workers for their success.

“We’ve been blessed with a lot of great people who are effective and loyal,” Hugg said.

Hall said in an interview last year with Arkansas Money and Politics, “We’ve always kept our eyes on the goal.”

“We made sure the company stayed stable, and we weren’t selfish with our money, our time or any of our assets.”

The two have made several decisions over the years that kept their business on a steady path of growth.

In 2011, they bought Arkla Taylor and began operating in Oklahoma and Louisiana. A year later, they purchased Westquip in central Oklahoma, and in 2016, they obtained RMP Service and Rentals of Houma, La.

Finally, the company acquired Southern Material Handling, which strengthened their operations in Oklahoma.

Hugg & Hall also is a unique equipment dealer in Arkansas in that it emphasizes rental equipment as well as sales. The company also provides excellent customer service and has scores of workers on the road constantly checking in with customers after sales and rentals have been made.

“We’ve seen nice, steady growth every year,” Hugg said.

While other businesses struggled during the pandemic, Hugg & Hall still thrived.

“We were considered an essential business,” Hugg said. “We were part of the supply chain. We didn’t slow down. We didn’t know what to expect and we were cautious. But we carried on and met the challenge and supported our customers.”

Hugg said there are no concrete plans for the future other than to continue what they’ve already done.

“Our goal is to keep on finding good customers,” he said. “It’s not necessarily our goal to grow, but if we do our jobs correctly, we will grow.”