Duck decoy company molds a second life in rural Arkansas

Work is well under way at a former Walmart store in rural Arkansas where the new owners of America's oldest — and arguably most famous — duck decoy company are transforming the site to restart production.

Years have passed since Walmart closed in Corning, Ark., but the building now bustles with activity as Five Rivers Plastics Manufacturing, the new owner of G&H Decoys, expects plastics processing to start in just a matter of weeks.

Renovations are being made, machinery is being installed and people are being hired by Five Rivers, which is looking to build on G&H's 90 years of history in Henryetta, Okla., before the company filed for bankruptcy protection and closed earlier this year.

Five Rivers, owned by Rob Hansen and Andrew Holman, won a bankruptcy court auction and now looks forward to resuming production of decoy waterfowl made from high density polyethylene at the new 40,000-square-foot location, General Manager Brent Sawyer said.

"It's go time," he said.

The new company wants to not only make its own products, starting with decoys and potentially branching out into other outdoors offerings, but also attract contract work from other companies seeking plastics manufacturing.

"They were the very first. They were the first to begin plastic manufacturing of decoys in the United States," Sawyer said. "So we wanted to continue that brand and that history, that reputation. But we also felt like diversification was going to be important for survival.

"Although we think it can be a very lucrative business, we also feel like it's seasonal and has the potential to be difficult for us to promise to keep employees busy year-round the way we want to," Sawyer said.

Five Rivers not only wants to keep its employees active year-round, but the company also needs to add business if it wants to receive the economic incentives that helped lure the company to Arkansas. Those incentives, coupled with a favorable lease agreement with the city of Corning, which owns the former Walmart building, led to the decision to relocate the company.

Five Rivers is a new firm created to acquire G&H. It currently has 13 workers, expects to build that to 25 in a year and has committed to ultimately employ 77 by the end of 2028. "I hope to have more than that," said Sawyer, who is friends with Five Rivers co-owner Hansen. The two outdoorsmen became close about four years ago when Sawyer started using Hansen's hunting guide company.

The men became aware of financial troubles at G&H, which previously had been sold after Dick Gazalski — the "G" in G&H — died in 2021. Gazalski, son of company co-founder John Gazalski, was still running the business until the day he died, his obituary said.

G&H entered the decoy business by using a process similar to paper mache in 1934 when the federal government outlawed the use of tethered live ducks as decoys. The company eventually switched over to plastics and Henryetta became known as the duck decoy capital of the world. Prior to G&H's formation, duck decoys were commonly made from materials such as wood, cork or paper. Egyptians also were known for using clay decoys as far back as 2500 B.C.

With Gazalski's passing, the company was sold to a firm called the Great American Decoy Co., which later filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy court protection in February 2024. Five Rivers purchased the business, which had closed, through the court in July. Production resumed just temporarily in Henryetta where long-time workers showed the new owners the ropes.

Sawyer comes to Five Rivers with experience making duck decoys while owning Blue Collar Decoys from 2015 to 2017. That company went out of business after the damage caused by a pair of major floods was too much to overcome, he said.

"Because of his [Hansen's] background and mine we've been talking ideas and schemes and trying to figure out how to get back in the industry for a while. So when G&H came available it was like the dream we've been waiting for. I mean it's the granddaddy and has a lot of name brand equity," Sawyer said.

"G&H decoy was the very first [plastic] decoy in the whole world. It's been 90 years. We want to continue that brand and that history," he said.

The company is currently installing 17 machines in Corning, including six blow molders, five thermoformers, two injection molding units, and four grinders, he said. Part of the decision to move from Oklahoma to Arkansas was to allow the company to be closer to new ownership, Sawyer explained. The previous owners also had sold the company's building and was leasing back the space, but rent was too high for the new owners, Sawyer said.

Sawyer, as general manager, said he wants to make sure G&H succeeds, but in a controlled manner. "If anything, the stress is not letting our customers push us too fast and taking our time and going at the right speed so we do it right, he said.

Sawyer estimates Five Rivers will spend $2.1 million to reestablish operations, including $475,000 the new owners paid to acquire the firm out of bankruptcy court.

The project even attracted the attention of Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. "Arkansas is the duck hunting capital of the world, so we are thrilled to welcome one of our nation's best duck hunting outfitters to our state," she said in a statement. "Their relocation to Corning and additional investment in Northeast Arkansas will power economic growth in the region."

Corning Mayor Greg Ahrent said the project is a big deal for his small community of about 3,000 residents. "The revitalization of the long-vacant Walmart building, along with the creation of new jobs, represents a significant boost to our local economy," he said in a statement.

Sawyer, for his part, said his company wants to make a difference and stressed the importance of keeping production on domestic soil.

"We are committed to 100 percent American-made product. That has been a major, major point of loyalty for customers, major sales points for customers. Something we believe in, and we are committed to continue," he said.