- 8800 Grant Ave. Overland Park, KS 66212
This year, as we celebrate the 70th anniversary of Bill Barr & Company, we’re taking a moment to look back at how it all started and where we’re headed in the future. We asked our current president, Bill Barr, how his father started the company, and why innovation and strong partnerships have been key factors in the success of the business over the past seventy years.
My dad, Bradley Barr, was working as a manufacturer’s representative for a company in Kansas City. He approached the owner about purchasing the business and the owner said no. Since my dad had relationships with the manufacturers and customers, he sought their advice. They all said if you form your own company, we will join you. He did and built his business at that time.
The original office was in the Dwight Building in downtown Kansas City. This building was connected to the Board of Trade Building, and when the Board of Trade built a new building on the Plaza, Bradley moved their offices to the Plaza as well. The first companies Bradley represented, and had represented at his former company, were:
Bradley was also an early pioneer of chelated trace minerals from Arizona Feeds and soluble trace minerals for use in liquid feeds from SQM. His early customers (to name a few) were:
In the mid 1960s, IMC, the largest producer of defluorinated phosphate (DFP) for the animal feed industry, was sued by local farmers in Wales, Tennessee, and Tupelo, Mississippi, for fluorine emissions from their defluorinated phosphate plants and exited this portion of their business, closing both plants. Unfortunately, this accounted for approximately 75 percent of the company’s business at that time.
The majority of customers were poultry integrators in Missouri and Arkansas that needed DFP not only for phosphate but for the pelleting aspects of this form of phosphate. Bill Barr & Company and IMC tried for several years to convert this business to monocalcium and dicalcium phosphate, but the pelleting capabilities of these products were less efficient, and the poultry industry would not make the formulation change.
When I joined the company in 1970 after college and the service, the change in products, a recession in agriculture, and the consolidation of both feed manufacturers and food manufacturers required us to refocus and reinvent the products and services we offered.
One of the fortunate breaks we received was in late 1970, after my father passed. Ajinomoto Company, after a 15-month search, decided we would be their representatives for amino acids, declaring my father was the history of our company, but we were the future. This was beneficial for both companies, as we were early pioneers of the use of amino acids in both animal feeds as well as pet foods, and Ajinomoto was able to grow their sales enough to build multiple plants in Eddyville, Iowa, to sustain their growth.
Bill acknowledged that they were fortunate, as many companies had faith in them as suppliers and allowed them to grow. Several large companies saw the advantage of partnering with Bill Barr & Company as a means of meeting their long-term supply and growth goals. It helped define the mission of Bill Barr & Company and reinvent who the company was and how they would continue to grow. As they grew, it gave them the opportunity to give back and support the industry that supported them.
Serving as chairman of AFIA 2011-2012 was a personal milestone for me, as after many years of committee and board work, the membership had the confidence to select me to be chairman of such an important component of our industry. At the time, Bill Barr & Company was the smallest company to have a member be their chairman. Also, as a company we were very lucky to have had so many mentors and partners go out of their way to help us for no other apparent reason than goodwill — something we continually strive to do with everyone we meet along the way.
Still based in the Kansas City area, Bill Barr & Company now has 28 team members and customers located throughout the United States, as well as Canada and Mexico. Our key suppliers include:
It’s been seven decades, but we’re proud to say that our mission has never changed: exceptional customer service, knowledgeable representation for our suppliers, and quality ingredients at a fair price. However, flexibility and evolution has always been an integral part of our company, too.
We have seen success by shifting from representation to distribution, recognizing the growth opportunities in pet food and being bold enough to change suppliers, geographies and customers.
We also have, and have had, exceptional employees — we hire the right people and give them the flexibility to do their thing. The sales team are given tremendous authority to take care of our customers and our support staff makes it happen.
Because of the long-term relationships Bill Barr & Company has developed with both suppliers and customers, our commitment to innovation and our long-standing and dedicated employees, we feel that our future is unlimited. The range of products and services the company offers allows us to work with so many different aspects of our industry. And we will continue to innovate to meet the changing needs of our industry in the future.
We are planning several activities throughout the year to celebrate and we would love for you to participate, if you are available.
The future goals for Bill Barr & Company are simple. Keep taking care of customers. Keep representing suppliers. Keep valuing our employees. We can’t be sure what the transactions will look like, but we’re excited to see what the next 70 years holds!
