Happy Birthday to BTI! We are having a blast so far celebrating BTI's 75th Anniversary! We have had celebrations, given away 6 one-year leases on small tractors this year, and had lunch with hundreds of our customers and friends! As we have grown we truly could not have done it without our customers. Throughout 2019 we will be visiting customers that we have grown right alongside of over the years. It is truly the customers that have gotten us here! 

          For our first installment of our 'CEO Chats' we would like to introduce you to Lance and Drew Frederick of Frederick Harvesting and F&F Farms of Alden, Kansas! We went out to their shop in Alden, to visit them, relive some old memories, and talk about their partnership with BTI over the years. Lance Frederick started his custom harvesting business right out of college in 1983 and soon after in 1985, his brother Drew Frederick joined him. As they grew their custom harvesting business, they also worked on establishing a farm in their hometown. In 1984 is when the Frederick brothers met Kelly Estes of BTI and immediately established a positive working relationship. Kelly said of the the brothers, "Lance and Drew grew their business from the ground up. They truly grew their business by building relationships and hard work". 

Once the stories started it was hard to get these three to slow down- it is easy to see the history between this group. It is never just business- it is friendship as well. Lance talked about the first combine he bought, a 7720 John Deere. When he went to buy his second combine he was looking for something different, "Were looking for somebody that was going to have the integrity and be honest. . . we didn't feel like we got that the first time" Lance said, he continued on to say, "Frederick Harvesting and F&F Farms both has been looking to do business with a partner. The partnership we have with BTI has been a little of everything. Anybody can sell you something, competitive pricing is one thing, but the rest of it is more important to us than just the cheapest thing you can buy". Since this partnership was formed so many changes have came in harvesting and John Deere. The first combine Frederick Harvesting bought from BTI was a 8820 and the most recent has been a S670- talk about a change in technology!  In that history many milestones have come and gone- one of those being the Greensburg tornado on May 4th, 2007. The aftermath of the tornado was a true testament to BTI's customers. The next day the Estes family came to evaluate the damage done to their dealership and over 100 people had showed up to start help cleaning up, 20 of which was Lance, Drew, Zach, and Zayn Frederick with their harvest crew. Kelly recalls. "There isn't a day that doesn't go by that I don't appreciate or remember that. . . it was that special". 

For Frederick Harvesting, F&F Farms, and BTI, business has always been more than just business. You truly can see that when they talk about the next generations joining their business. Drew Frederick mention his twin sons, Zach who stays working on the farm year round and Zayn who runs a combine and crew on harvest. BTI is excited to stay around to work with the next generation and continue to grow alongside businesses like Frederick Harvesting and F&F Farms! 

View the full video here: https://youtu.be/6gut-n_qkkc