New direction for Billiou’s
Long-time Porterville business merges with Sacramento partner
Billiou’s Incorporated announced the merging of its business operations with Cantrell Turf Equipment (CTE) of Sacramento in a ceremony at their warehouse on Friday morning. The event was attended by representatives from local business and government, as well as current and former employees, friends and business partners.
The move allows the Billiou family to transition into retirement after 70 years of continuous operation in Porterville, while retaining jobs and a local business presence for its employees.
Under the terms of the merger, CTE will lease Billiou’s warehouse facility, hire all of its staff, convert
all of its inventory and assume operations. The business will be referred to as CTE Plus in the future.
Owner John Billiou described the event as “quite a moment for the Billiou family,” as he summarized the history of the family business and explained the transition process to attendees.
The business was founded by Lawrence and Jean Billiou on April 1,1946 in a 280 square-foot building that served as a bicycle and baby buggy repair shop.
Over the decades, the family relocated, expanded and modified their products and services to suit the needs of the local economy. They moved to their current location on south Main Street in 1996, a 30,000 square-foot warehouse that distributes outdoor power equipment parts and supplies to dealerships throughout the Western United States.
The company has received many accolades over the years for their contribution to the local economy and their role within the community. In 1996, Billiou’s was awarded the Porterville Area Business Association Business of the Year, and in 2001 they were recognized by the California State Senate for excellence in business. They have also been recognized by Porterville schools for creating opportunities for workplace learning for local students.
John Billiou in turn credits the community for their success over the years, saying, “It was largely because of the support from the community and efforts from the City of Porterville, which is one of the reasons why this is such a great town, and also why we’ll never leave it.”
One of Billiou’s stipulations of the merger was that current employees and staff would remain in place under the new ownership.
“Without them, we wouldn’t be able to do what we’ve done,” John Billiou said. “This is not a one man job — it’s a team effort involving a lot of hard work, and we cannot betray that loyalty.”
Current Billiou’s employees are optimistic about the new business plan, and are confident in CTE management.
“They (CTE) came down from Sacramento to see us. They like what we’re doing and how we work, so I think it’s going to be a smooth transition,” said Robert Roman, Billiou’s warehouse employee.
John Billiou assumed operations of the family business in 1989 with a “big appetite” for success. He describes his final move as head of operations as mutually beneficial for both Billiou’s and CTE. CTE’S operations are enhanced by Billiou’s line of products, and Billiou’s benefits from CTE’S sales force.
“When you have that kind of success in the discussion and everyone wins, you’ve got to take advantage of it,” said Billiou.
Founded by Bruce Cantrell in 1984, CTE is a distributor of outdoor power equipment products. They supply lawn and garden equipment to dealerships, hardware stores and rental yards in California, Nevada, and Utah. Like Billiou’s, they are a familyowned business.
In addition to continuing to provide products and services to Billiou’s existing customers, CTE plans to use the site as a new distribution point for their signature products, including the American-made Walker power mowers.
“We are very excited about the opportunities this presents because our products really complement each other and our business strategies work well together,” said Bruce Cantrell, owner of CTE.
John Billiou and his wife Brenda plan to spend their future time and energy on projects around their ranch, as well as spending time relaxing on the Central Coast. They also intend to stay very involved within the community.
“I’m looking forward to not being the tip of the spear,” said Billiou.