Boyd Duckett: Southern Tank Leasing's Owner

You can read about Boyd Duckett’s career as a professional angler at his personal Web site: www.boydduckett.com

If you have even a passing interest in professional bass fishing at the world’s highest level, you know the name Boyd Duckett. He is the 2007 Bassmaster Classic champion and the all-time, single-season earnings leader among Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) competitors. He’s considered one of sport’s brightest stars, an articulate spokesman and a fixture on ESPN2, as well as other networks that produce “outdoors” shows.

For roughly a decade, Boyd Duckett also made a name for himself in the music business. While living in Nashville, Boyd and partners owned two music companies and managed country music stars. In fact, his company managed three musicians – Tim McGraw, Ty Herndon and Joe Diffie – during periods when they produced No. 1 hits. And Duckett himself is also a singer, songwriter and guitarist who is still asked to play and sing at local clubs.

But as “high profile” as his fishing and music careers have been, if you spend a little time with Boyd Duckett, you’ll learn something else about him. Ask him what he does for a living, and the answer might surprise you.

“I’m a tank trailer guy,” Duckett says. “I lease and sell tank trailers, and I have to say I do a good job at it because I know a lot about tanks and a lot about the tank trailer industry. I know what tanks can and can’t do.”

Duckett, the owner of Demopolis, Alabama-based Southern Tank Leasing, is in fact doing what he’s been doing almost his entire life.

“I grew up in the tank trailer business. My dad owned a tank-trailer repair shop in Charlotte, North Carolina. He had two bays. And I’ll admit that I started working in the business before the labor laws allowed me to,” Duckett said.

“I’ve literally tracked this industry since the early 70’s. In my career, I’ve seen the repair and fabrication side. I’ve learned all the ins and outs of fabrications, the parts, what works, what doesn’t. Even though I learned a long time ago I didn’t want to spend all my life just working on trailers, I still, to this day, love working on tank trailers and feel right at home doing it.”

Duckett freely admits he has enjoyed his “alternate” careers, pro fishing and music, but the tank trailer business is home.

“There have obviously been other businesses I’ve gotten into, but my whole life has revolved around building, repairing, selling and leasing tanks. I’ve never NOT been in this business,” Duckett said.

“I also believe that the best way to take care of business is to have a complete understanding of what you’re doing. And I have that, because I know tanks. I’ve built them, I’ve loaded them and I’ve repaired them.

“And I’m proud of what we do at Southern Tank Leasing, because I can say the same things about our entire team. Our folks know what they’re doing, and they know how to get any kind of job done. If we have a customer that wants to haul a particular product from Louisiana to Minnesota, we’ll know how to handle it. We’ll know what type of tank the customer needs, we’ll know how to load it the right way, and we’ll be able to anticipate just about any problem the carrier might have. That’s why I feel comfortable saying that we can take care of most any need or problem our customers might have.”

In describing Southern Tank Leasing, Duckett said his company is not a “car leasing service with a few one-size-fits-all vehicles to choose from.”

Duckett said, “What makes us different is that we’re a tank company first, not a leasing company. Obviously, we lease tanks, but we approach things differently than other companies. Most companies are leasing companies first. Not us.”

When asked to describe Southern Tank Leasing in a nutshell, Duckett says the following:

“We’re tank people. We’re tank people that happen to be in the tank trailer rental business.

“We have quality equipment at affordable rates. We have full control of our quality measures. We keep our equipment in top shape. … We’re financially strong, and we carry an impressive inventory.

Our tank trailers, if you average the year models, are probably the newest on the highway. … We have the expertise to repair. We do our own DOT certification. … We have transportation services. And we have cleaning services.

“And maybe most importantly, we understand the chemical industry, and we know what a tank can and can’t haul. You won’t find another company more skilled to handle those challenges.

“We not going to just offer a piece of equipment with a rate tag on it.”