Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/999236
18 FEDA News & Views The Collaborative Advantage The story behind BJ Beltram and its ascent among the top distributors. By Stacy Ward, Editor in Chief stacy@feda.com I f you go back to the beginning of the TriMark story, you'll find that there were no mega dealers there, says BJ Beltram's CEO Robert Pickering, commenting on the idea of a group of smaller dealers banding together to compete. He's right. After Bob Halpern sold United East to private equity firm Bradford Equities in 1998—the same year Strategic Equipment and QualServ were formed—the first four companies involved in the roll up were Marlin Restaurant Supply Co. in Chicago; Foodcraft Equipment Co. in Winston- Salem; Raygal Design Associates in Irvine; and RobertClark, also located in Irvine. Back then, the five operated under the umbrella of Bradford's holding company Foodserv Equipment & Supply Inc., and their combined annual sales were $175 million. TriMark became TriMark when the company changed its name in 2001. Pickering, a 30-year veteran of the digital marketing and technology industry, is intimately familiar with the world of M&A, having executed a dozen strategic acquisitions in the tech sector during his tenure as the CEO of LBi International AB, the European digital agency acquired by Publicis Group in 2013 for $540 million. He also served as a partner at Price Waterhouse and Arthur Andersen/Accenture prior to leaving that life behind and investing in the Kansas City-based dealer B&J Foodservice Equipment. It's not your typical background for an E&S exec but Pickering, an avid researcher and investor, is habitually drawn to smart people and opportunities. B&J was founded by his aunt Nancy and uncle Bill Mosburg. "I've always been fascinated with Bill and Nancy," he says. "Bill has been in foodservice, in one form or another, since he was a teenager—on the grocery side, as a fast-food operator, a dealer. He and Nancy have successfully managed and sold several concepts. ey're great entrepreneurs and I've always enjoyed talking with them about their business."