The idea for the Beach Mule, an electric beach cart, came to Will Parker on the Bald Head Island ferry. As he watched passengers lug their baggage and beach gear, he noticed an older woman struggling with her bags.

“She had this huge cart of luggage, and she was having the time of her life to get it on the ferry,” Parker said. “I was like, you know, wouldn’t it be nice if she just had something that was motorized … and she could also use on the beach while she’s there.”

After realizing there were few electric beach carts on the market, he began developing his own.
 
An engineer formerly with Hyster-Yale, a forklift manufacturer in Greenville, North Carolina, Parker knew there was also demand in the industrial sector for an electric cart to help move pallets and other materials, so he began developing an industrial-grade cart alongside the one destined for the beach.

The company began product development during the COVID-19 pandemic, sold its first carts in 2022 and launched its standard 3 feet by 2 feet beach cart last summer, said Kennedy Parker, Will’s wife, who co-owns Beach Mule.

Will Parker developed the Beach Mule in the couple’s two-car garage. But the company needed more space, so it moved into a warehouse off North Kerr Avenue in September 2023.

There, Will Parker has established a manufacturing line with areas for processing materials, fabricating the carts and shipping. Each cart’s wiring and electronics are put together on the warehouse unit’s second floor.

“I’ve tried to make it like a miniature manufacturing facility,” Will Parker said. “We only focus on a couple of products here, and that’s what this whole place is designed around.”

The company makes about 80% of the components in each Beach Mule, Will Parker said. That includes several parts made by the facility’s two tabletop 3D printers.

“The decision to do 3D printed parts was just for a more rapid prototyping experience because this was being developed as it was being sent out,” he said. “We were able to change the design very quickly and not need an entire new mold or have a whole lot of work that’s involved in changing just one little component.”

The company’s standard beach cart weighs about 35 pounds, is four-wheel drive and can carry 150 pounds for about 10 miles on a single battery charge. The beach cart is designed to be powered by a drill battery, which lightens the cart and allows customers to use batteries they might already have at home, Will Parker said. Beach Mule also makes custom orders for those wanting a larger cart bed, another color or a different carrying capacity. 

The business recently released two new products – the EZ Pull, an unmotorized beach cart model, and the Mult-E-Mule, a motorized model designed for industrial uses.

The EZ Pull is a more affordable option for users who still want the Beach Mule’s sturdy frame and beach tires but don’t need a motor. The Mult-E-Mule features removable sides, a hitch receiver, industrial rubber tires and an all-aluminum, powder-coated frame for durability.

The Mult-E-Mule is the company’s first foray into the industrial side of the business, and Will Parker said he’s looking to grow over the next year. He wants to lean into “picking applications” to help companies move products around their warehouses more easily.

“(The carts) carry 1,000 pounds for their operators, so now the operators are able to move a great amount of weight through something that is as small as a door,” Will Parker said, “and that is an application that forklifts cannot do.”

On the Beach Mule side, the Parkers want to grow their distributor partnerships to include big-name outlets like Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s along with smaller beach shops in the Wilmington area. Will Parker said he sees big potential for the company’s growth in the years to come.

“Stuff always needs to be moved in this world,” he said, “and that’s what we do: We move stuff.”