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PROFILE: SUCHART VEND BROKERAGE LLC
Headquarters Location: Overland Park, Kan.
Founded: 1983
Bought by Current Owner: 1991
Geographic Region Served: Kansas, Missouri,
western Iowa, eastern Nebraska, northeast Oklahoma, northwest Arkansas
Product Lines: Biscomerica, Buddy’s Kitchen, Cadbury Adams, ConAgra Foods, Domino Foods, Everpure, International Paper, Inventure Group, Kar’s Nuts, Kellogg, Maruchan, Monogram Meat Snacks, Mrs. Freshley’s, Nestlé Water, Otis Spunkmeyer, Promotion In Motion Companies, Schwan Food Service, Shamrock Farms, Windsor Frozen Foods, Sconza Candy, Tootsie Roll Industries
The vending industry is facing some challenges, but that doesn’t discourage Keith Bottorff. In the more than 25 years he’s been in the confections industry, Bottorff, owner of Suchart Vend Brokerage LLC, based in Overland Park, Kan., has learned that change is part of the business, and if you like the business and work hard, it’s good to you.
Bottorff, the 2009 Automatic Merchandiser Broker of the Year, spent several years on the manufacturer side of the confection industry before getting into the broker side, and he considers himself lucky to have made that move.
Bottorff got into the vending industry in the early 1990s, when many national name brand manufacturers were beginning to discover it. His brokerage was able to enjoy several years of solid growth before the recession hit.
Bottorff thinks the vending industry has a few more tough years to weather, but in the not-too-distant future, he predicts better profitability.
One thing Bottorff hopes will not change is the importance of personal relationships. This is something that has always been important in vending.
“Relationships still matter in this industry,” he said.
BEGINNING AS A CANDY MANUFACTURER SALES MANAGER
When the late Bill Suchart started his vend brokerage in 1983, Bottorff was working as a regional sales manager for Ragold Confections, a manufacturer of sugar-free mints. He was based in Kansas City, Kan., and had already worked for Topps Co. Inc., a manufacturer of bazooka gum, and Storck, a candy maker based in Berlin, Germany.
In 1983, Bill Suchart was looking to sell his candy and tobacco wholesale product brokerage to launch something that was unheard of in Kansas City: a vend product brokerage.