A Hartley business is experiencing growing pains thanks to a widening national spotlight aided by prime TV coverage.

Keene Outdoors, which sells fully portable hunting stand platforms, has seen business nearly double in each of the six years it's existed. The operation is a family affair with Dave, Kris and son Brent Keene all playing a role.

"Today, there's nothing out on the market like it, really," said Kris.

The idea for the platforms was born out of practicality. Dave fostered the spark after years of moving hunting blinds each season, which was no easy task. If he could somehow manufacture a trailer with a lift system to elevate and support the blind, he thought other hunters would be eager to have one.

Turns out, he was right.

"I told one of our friends in southern Iowa I had this idea to make them mobile, and he basically said that if you build one, I'll buy one," Dave recalled. "It took two months for us to get the first one we built to do what we wanted it to do. A few people saw it and thought it was pretty cool, so we kind of pursued it a little farther and saw there was quite a bit of interest on it."

The Keenes have showcased their invention at outdoor trade shows across the country. They have dealers scattered throughout the Midwest and South, and are in the process of getting an Arkansas-based metal fabricator to start manufacturing the product.

Right now, transportation expenses have somewhat limited the family's ability to expand their business. Eventually, they'd like to gain territory on the East Coast and in the Northeast.

"Only a fraction of people in hunting know this thing exists, and we're trying to get where they can find us and realize what the options are," Dave said. "We get calls from all over, but it's not an easy item to ship. Until you can get enough in an area to reduce the cost, it kind of makes it tough."

The Keenes have a patent on their portable lift trailer and have sold approximately 150 so far. Some of the larger parts are made by JTV Manufacturing in Sutherland, while the rest are made and assembled in the Keenes' machine shed. Patton's Powder Coating in Hartley handles the painting.

Dave said space in the shed is getting more and more scarce. If orders continue to grow, the business will likely have to expand.

"We're limited," he said. "We're going to either have to start hiring people ourselves or hire somebody else to do it."

The recent interest in the Keenes' product has been sparked by exposure on hunting shows like The Crush with Lee & Tiffany and Drury Outdoors. One of the trailers is also a grand prize on the hunting competition Critical Mass: Evolve.

"We've been fortunate to get a lot of the hunters on the Outdoor Channel to use them, and they're like the Michael Jordans of hunting," said Dave.

Kris noted the attention is measureable.

"You can always tell when we're on a show, because our hits on the website go way up," she said. "That's probably the best advertising we've done."

The Keenes have sold approximately 50 trailers so far this year and plan to move 20 or 30 more. Each one takes about 15 hours to make, leaving them rather strapped for free time.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Brent Keene completes a weld on an Omega Lift at the Keene family's shop southeast of Hartley.

"When we're not farming, we're working on trailers," said Dave. "We don't really get to do as much hunting as we used to, either."

Though they're always busy, the Keenes have enjoyed seeing their product get a foothold in the competitive hunting goods market.

"It's fun and it's exciting," Dave said. "There are a lot of neat people we've met. When you watch the Outdoor Channel and shows like that, it's amazing how many of those people we've met at trade shows or actually know."