Traeger Pellet Grill Distributor Receives Business Honor

A regional distributor of Traeger wood pellet grills has been named Business of the Year by the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce. The annual award is based on crtieria including growth, sustainability, innovativeness and community involvement.

Boise, ID (PRWEB) June 16, 2009 -- Great Western Barbecue Supply, LLC, a regional wholesale distributor of Traeger wood pellet smoker grills, was recently named 2009 Small Business of the Year by the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce. The Boise-based company, owned by Sherman and Anne Leibow, serves 220 independent retail dealers within Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming and Eastern Washington. Great Western warehouses inventory for its dealers in Boise, Salt Lake City and Spokane. The company also serves as the sales and marketing arm for the manufacturer's line of commercial smoker grills.

Criteria for the annual award include company growth in revenue and employees, staying power, community involvement, response to adversity and innovativeness of product or service. The company will receive the award at the Boise Chamber's annual Small Business Celebration Luncheon, June 25. Great Western, one of two winners, receives the award in the category of 1-10 employees.

Founded in April 2006 with General Manager Sherman Leibow as the sole employee, the company now employs six. "We've grown quickly but we've managed it well," says Leibow, adding that "the company has strong financials and no long-term debt."

Leibow credits hard work and innovation to his company's being Traeger's fastest-growing distributor, explaining that the company tries to go beyond the traditional wholesaler functions of providing supply, transportation and credit. "We look for and create effective advertising and promotional opportunities, and we've developed our own product and sales-training modules for our dealers." The training can be delivered live or via the Internet, he says. "Anything we can feasibly do to help make our dealers more profitable is good for us, and it's good for Traeger, too."

Leibow says that community involvement also is important to his company. "We've helped several community and charitable organizations by cooking at their fundraising events or loaning them large-capacity smoker grills. We've also donated several grills as auction and raffle prizes."

Traeger grills, which use pure hardwood pellets to create both heat and flavor, represent a relatively new cooking technology that is increasing in popularity faster than any other system, Leibow says. "The number-one reason people buy our grills is because the food from a Traeger simply tastes much better. You're cooking with real wood and your food comes out tasting more natural, flavorful and not dried-out."

Other benefits described by Leibow include ease of operation and versatility. "Traeger grills are electronically controlled so you don't have to continually monitory your cooking. You can use your Traeger as a smoker, a grill or even an oven," he says, adding that steak, pulled pork and pizza are among his family's favorite items cooked at home.

Healthy eating, safety and environmental concerns also rank high on the list of reasons to use a Traeger, Leibow says. "The grills do cook with a real fire, but the heat is indirect and it's evenly distributed across the grill's cooking surface. This means that you're not exposing your food to all the carcinogens created when cooked over a direct flame," says Leibow.

Traeger Pellet Grills, LLC, headquartered in Wilsonville, Oregon, has more than 2,500 dealers in North America. The company's website, http://www.traegergrills.com, features a tool for locating nearby dealers by ZIP code.

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