29 Sep Beeson & Associates, Inc. Celebrating 25 Years of Excellence

By: Alex Norton

A quarter century.

That’s how long Beeson & Associates, Inc. has been helping clients manage the tumultuous waters of commodity purchasing. For the last 25 years, we have walked with owners, managers, presidents, CFO’s, buyers, and plant managers through difficult coverage decisions, volatile markets, and changing business dynamics. Through it all, Beeson & Associates, Inc. has been consistent and steady, simplifying the complexities of the agriculture and energy markets as we partner with clients to achieve their goals.

In 1995, Matt Beeson started the company after several years managing the ingredient purchasing for KFC in Louisville, Kentucky. Previous experience at Brach’s Candy (Jacobs Suchard) and Pillsbury had given him knowledge of a broad range of commodities, from grains and oilseeds, to meat and dairy, and softs (sugar and cocoa). Through managing the purchasing and risk management of those ingredients, the groundwork was set for his own consulting business. The goal was to help companies with a large commodity exposure that needed a plan, support, training, and strategy for managing risk. In the summer of 1995, Beeson & Associates, Inc. was created to meet that goal.

Early on, Matt worked out of the basement of his home in Crestwood, Kentucky. Connections locally led to a partnership with DDW, the Color House and the growing Summit Energy company (now owned by Schneider Electric). In the years that followed, his reputation and hard work helped grow the business to the point that he needed help.

In 2008, he hired Alex Norton (and thankfully, moved out of the basement office), enabling the business to expand its offerings for agricultural commodity risk management. Then in 2011, James Stewart joined the company and officially made Beeson & Associates, Inc. a one-stop-shop for commodity risk management by adding an energy division. Matt’s son Philip Beeson also joined in 2011 and helped pilot a proprietary cost reporting software developed to track commodity positions and risk. The expanded team helped the company continue to excel.

The last 25 years have taken Matt and the team from the fields of Iowa, to factories in New York, and to clients in Brazil, Canada, Australia, France, and more. Beeson & Associates, Inc. has had the pleasure of helping small, family-owned companies with one facility to multi-national restaurant empires and feed producers. There have been droughts, wars, technology changes, recessions, elections, and now a pandemic that we have helped our clients navigate. Through it all, there has been an unwavering commitment to helping clients succeed in the uncertain world of commodity purchasing.

That commitment is just as strong today as it was in 1995, and will be for another 25 years.