Company: Driggers Outdoor
Markets: Louisiana
Headquarters: 1440 Goodwin Road, Ruston, LA 71270
Phone: 318-251-0244
Driggers Outdoor has over 100 sign locations in Louisiana stretching along I-20 as well as I-49 south from Shreveport. The company is an operator associate of the IBOUSA. Rodney Driggers is the company’s President.
Rodney, how did you enter the outdoor business.
In 1984 I purchased a piece of real estate along interstate 20 which is adjacent to rental property that I owned. The purchased property was 100’ wide and a quarter mile long. In trying to come up with how to make the property income producing to pay for it, I realized that billboards were not very wide and upon checking out regulations, I found that I could place three structures along the strip of property.
I then went through the learning process of DOTD, how to build structures, what contracts should state and city permitting. Then I started getting contractors together to complete the project. I rented the faces without too much trouble and started buying other lands and duplicating the process. Then leasing property seemed to work better without taking up as much capital and borrowing from banks. In my attempt to keep down the cost of the first three structures, I purchased the abandoned Chicago Rock Island and Pacific Railroad through Louisiana for creosoted timbers. These poles provided me with adequate supply of materials to build several of my first billboards as I entered the market. I then began to try and buy land, build structures, and then flip the land. This worked out o.k. until the recession started.
Talk about your plant.
My company is located along I-20 from Texas to Mississippi and along I-49 from Shreveport to North of Alexandria, La. With Ruston, Louisiana as the base, we have a radius of approximately 100 miles coverage.
Who’s digital signs do you use and what have you learned.
In 2008 my company make an entry into the market by selling Chinese manufactured signs. These were smaller signs that would normally be sold to auto dealers, churches, schools, etc. This turned out not to be such a good idea as the replacement parts were so hard to get as well as the time delay. Also the Chinese lie and could not be trusted. I Learned that the hard way. My company also provided our structures for another company to install three of their 14’ X 48’ digitals on Interstate 20 and I-49. These were also Chinese and after a year or so, they decided this was not providing the necessary income that they were anticipating and removed the digitals.
What have I learned regarding digitals? Don’t buy direct from the Chinese. Use a US manufacturer. Digitals are great along heavily traveled routes that have traffic lights but you should be careful as to the location chosen for digitals along interstates with high traffic speeds.
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