Celebrating Blake & Pendleton’s 50th Anniversary!

50th Anniversary Image

History

Walter Blake

Walter Blake’s 80th Birthday Party 1995

From pumps to air compressors and bell bottoms to pleated dress pants, Blake & Pendleton has been there through it all.  And we’re ecstatic to celebrate our 50th anniversary of servicing the compressed air industry this year!

First established in 1971, Blake & Pendleton began when Walter Blake and Bob Pendleton had a vision of providing industrial supplies in their local area of Macon, Georgia.   Industrial business was on the rise in Middle Georgia and demand for reliable industrial suppliers was booming!

While Walter and Bob had an affinity for all aspects of the manufacturing sector, air compressors and vacuum pumps quickly emerged as vital pieces of equipment in the industrial world.

Two employees hired during the company’s first 5 years were later instrumental in changing the direction of Blake & Pendleton. Allen King, our current CEO, was at that time B&P’s mechanical sales engineer. Jerry Peterson was B&P’s electrical sales engineer. Allen and Jerry saw the need for quality industrial equipment specialists and service providers.  They both knew Blake & Pendleton was equipped (literally and figuratively!) for the job.  Stepping into leadership roles and guiding a clear new path, starting in 1980, Allen and Jerry led Blake & Pendleton into the era of compressor and pump experts that we continue to excel in today.

Group Photo of Blake & Pendleton employees

Group Photo 1987 – Macon, GA office

A defining moment in the growth of Blake & Pendleton was our partnership with Sullair in 1979; a partnership that has held strong for over 40 years!  Sullair’s unwavering commitment to producing quality equipment matched Blake & Pendleton’s drive for excellence from the start.

Throughout the 80s, Blake & Pendleton continued to grow; spreading our roots further through Deep South. We started with large industrial cities in Georgia (hello, Atlanta!) and expanded into sunny Florida.

The 90s and 2000s held just as much promise as the decades before as Blake & Pendleton established branches in Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, and North Carolina.

From a small company with less than 20 employees to our now booming roster of over 180, Blake & Pendleton has been blessed with tremendous growth and an amazing team!  If all of that can be accomplished in less than 50 years, we can’t wait to see where the next decades will take us!

Original Blake & Pendleton Office

Blake & Pendleton’s first office in Macon, GA.

Memory Lane

“I remember when we installed fax machines in the offices and we thought we were something!  But man, when email came and communication between offices was at our finger tips, we were big business then!

I’ve seen us track purchase orders in a notebook, write up sales orders, have a manual accounting process (ya’, know the large ledger books) and move to an ERP network that is accessed by offices in 14 cities across the Southeast and Indiana.

Little did any of us know in the 70’s and 80’s what was ahead for this company.  So happy to be part of the adventure.”

Classic Sullair compressor

Sullair compressor in the early 1990s

-Christina (Employee since 1986)

“I used to be attached to my pager and have to hunt down payphones for business calls while out on the road.  All of the salesmen wore ties and at least half of us sported a mustache back then!  What I love about this company is that we went from a small group with a family feel to a group 4 times as big but with the same family feel.”

-Wade (First came to B&P in 1987)

“The growth of Blake & Pendleton has been very rewarding to watch.  Since I’ve been here, we’ve expanded in Alabama, and added Mississippi, North Carolina, and eastern Tennessee.  The growth of the company can be attributed to the quality leadership we’ve had over the years.”

-Bill (employee since 2002)

Throwback