Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/999236
20 FEDA News & Views He joined B&J primarily as an investor in 1996. By then, Bill and Nancy had graduated from exclusively selling the used equipment they'd salvaged from their restaurants to wooing factories for the privilege of representing their lines. "ere was an opportunity there, way below the radar," says Pickering, who eventually stepped down as an active CEO in 1998 and became more engaged in B&J. "ose were tough years. Like many other dealers, we were just trying to stay alive, but we did fine," he says. Hunting for entry into new markets, B&J opened its second location in Joplin, Mo., in 2004 and the following year invested nearly $3.5 million in the acquisition and renovation of Peerless Restaurant Supplies' St. Louis and Columbia locations. "By 2011, 2012, we were running a solid business and were hungry for more growth," says Pickering. "AFTER BJ BELTRAM WAS FORMED, TRIVEST GAVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO BUY STOCK IN THE COMPANY," SAY BILL AND NANCY MOSBURG, THE FORMER OWNERS OF B&J FOODSERVICE EQUIPMENT. "IT WAS A GOOD DEAL FOR US, OUR SONS AND OUR FAMILY." It wasn't until three years later that he began working on a plan to find the capital needed to expand. At the time, B&J was too small to attract the attention of serious investors. ey were focused on the big fish, which meant that the Kansas City-based dealer had to be the aggressor. "It took me three or four months to do the research, look at the economics, do all the competitive analysis to finally come up with a plan," says Pickering. "We were going to have to find another partner that we could trust, and who obviously could trust us, because it was going to be a leap of faith. en, we would have to approach multiple equities in the distribution market. "No one was doing anything like this. You don't do three-way deals. You either have the money and you do the acquisition, or someone else has the money. It was unheard of for any company, let alone B&J, to have the wherewithal to find a partner and then present a combined plan." Finding a Match Named FE&S Dealer of the Year in 2004, Beltram Foodservice Group was no stranger to suitors, thanks to the tenacity and management style of its founder Dan Beltram, or Danny to his industry friends. Division by division, he built a business that valued the individuality of its team, and positioned the traditional E&S dealer as a leader in the Florida market. Beltram, now part of BJ Beltram, has five locations throughout the state and offers its customers all-encompassing solutions, which include a large inventory of new and used equipment, design-build expertise, stainless fabrication from its plant in Tarpon Springs, and custom woodwork courtesy of its division Creative Woodworking Concepts.