Company History

Billiou's was founded on April 1st, 1946
by Lawrence & Jeanne Billiou

On April 1st, 1946 Lawrence and Jeanne Billiou placed a bet that paid off. They gambled their $600.00 life savings, opening a 280 square foot fix-it shop that cost them thirty dollars per year rent -- the taxes on the place.
	Lawrence would sharpen hand mowers for 75 cents or completely disassemble, grease, and rebuild a bike for a dollar.
Two months later, their first daughter Jackie was born. Four more children (Marilyn, Betsy, Jim, and John) followed during the next decade.
	In 1948, the couple built a 20' x 60' building on the corner of Putnam and Jaye Streets. At this location, they built their business.

"I can remember we didn't have much stock back then," says Jeanne. "We could only afford three Briggs engines at a time, so we removed them from the boxes and displayed them on top to make it look like we had more."

In 1959, Billiou's distributed their first line -- Clinton -- moving them beyond the dealer stage. Briggs, Tecumseh, and Kohler followed in 1961. By the early 60's, the building had begun to get crowded.

By then, promotions were becoming a large part of the business. Such things as antique lawn mowers (sheep) for Crazy Daze, a "guess the weight of the live pig to win it" contest, and a visit by a very attractive Miss Hawaii provided for great customer participation and rapport. These activities led to another expansion in 1968.

Service and education were always important to Lawrence who hosted his first service school in 1970 when Lawn-Boy instructors taught classes to dealers in his shop. Now, Billiou's hosts an annual school with instructors from more than a dozen companies.

An in-store log cabin was built in 1971 for a chain saw promotion. Lawrence's well-crafted display made the cover of "Oregon-izer Magazine." An interview and photo-story was the June/July issue's lead feature.

By 1974, Billiou's had grown ready to incorporate. Documentation was filed with the State of California on October 2nd of that year.

By the 70's, discount stores and mass merchants had claimed a large percentage of the new equipment sales market. Lawrence began profiting from this reality during 1975 by becoming a distributor for Murray Ohio Manufacturing. In 1976, MTD was added to the Billiou's stable.

"It was sure hard to come up with that first thousand dollar order," remembers Jim Billiou. "We had never conceived of placing that large an order for a single line." This was followed by similar orders for AMF, Gilson, Magna, Wheeler, and a host of others. The business also purchased its first computer that year -- a Triad. And with the following year came the second addition to the building.

A "Big Bertha" slot machine was rented in 1979 for a sales promotion. Hundreds of customers lined up to try winning prizes and equipment by pulling the handle. During the same year, nostalgia struck -- Lawrence moved his original shop building to the 75 North D Street location where it housed grass catchers in the summer and a service school in the fall.

John Billiou earned his B.S. degree in business administration from Cal Poly in 1980. He returned to the business as director of outside sales and, after fifteen years of on-the-job experience, now serves as General Manager.

In 1981, the building was again expanded in preparation for Murray Bike. In 1982, a second level was added to the new expansion, bringing the total to 11,000 square feet.

Marilyn Billiou earned a Bachelor's Degree from Fresno State and returned to work as office manager in 1985.

Things really began to happen in 1986, their 40th year in business. Sales were soaring. The company purchased its first fax machine. Murray Ohio presented Billiou's with the "Outstanding Central Distributor Award." It was time to upgrade the operation.

An IBM computer system and c-Systems software were purchased in 1987. Its accounting, inventory control, and direct order entry capabilities boosted production significantly. The same year a ten-phone Toshiba computer-directed telephone network was installed, completing the electronic transition.

In 1988, MTD awarded Billiou's the "Outstanding Service Award." Seven new lines were added -- it was a year of record growth. An outside sales force was introduced to Southern California in 1989, and there were plans to cover the rest of the state by 1990.

On August 1st, 1990, Billiou's was appointed as a Central Warehouse Distributor for Tecumseh Products Company, covering California and Western Nevada. With the addition of this line, the outside sales staff was increased to provide faster, more efficient coverage of dealer accounts in its territory.

Billiou's, with the addition of Tecumseh, once again felt cramped for space. By the end of 1990, outside construction was completed on a new, redesigned 21,000 square foot warehouse-office building. There was still construction going on inside that would continue for several months while the building was occupied.

In November of 1990, Billiou's hosted its first Factory Service School in its new, not-quite-finished, two-room dedicated classroom facility. Instructors from MTD, Murray Ohio, American Yard Products, Walbro, IDC/Ryan (now Ryobi), General Power Equipment, and Tecumseh participated in the week-long event. The following year's Factory Service School (Billiou's 12th such school) combined a dealer school with a Grand Opening Celebration. The building was now complete (or so it was believed).

By March of 1992, the outside sales staff had grown too unwieldy to be supervised by the General Manager in conjunction with his other duties. Bill Preuninger was appointed as Sales Manager. Bill had, at the time, over twenty five years of experience in the industry, holding various positions ranging from sales manager to general manager in geographic areas covering the east to the west coasts. Bill's most recent position before starting with Billiou's was Regional Sales Manager for Lawn-Boy. Bill was a welcome addition to the team.

On June 10, 1992, Billiou's was named as a Master Gen for Generac Generators, covering the eight Western States. In August of 1992, Billiou's was appointed as a Central Warehouse Distributor for Walbro carburetors and parts. Volume and the number of lines distributed continued to increase.

The staff of Billiou's received a great Christmas present in 1992. The building had once again grown crowded, so another expansion took place. This time, the combined warehouse and office areas grew to over 44,000 square feet, allowing for the increased staffing and inventory levels needed to properly serve the needs of western dealers.

In April of 1993, phone traffic had grown too much to be handled by the current phone system. In that month, a new NEC digital phone system was added, providing such additional features as voicemail and call accounting. More people were added to the Customer Service Staff to better field the incoming calls.

On to 1994, when Billiou's was appointed as distributor for Optimol Oil in March and for Hydro-Gear in April. By June, Coleman Powermate was added to the line-up.

In September of 1994, Billiou's gained two distributorships -- Kawasaki and Jari -- and in November added a computerized parts lookup system, purchasing cd/Image's PLUS1 Parts Lookup software and a dedicated PC to run it.

Lawrence Billiou has come far with a dream. His $600.00 gamble paid off. "But you know, you just can't start out like we did anymore," says Lawrence. "We started with nothing." So what made this business a success? "Stubbornness," says Lawrence. "Just plain, ol' stubbornness." "No, that's not quite right," quips Jeanne, "I'll have you know that I am not stubborn ...I'm DETERMINED!"

This page last updated Fri 4/25/08 8:46 AM

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