| Sources |
- [S4] Knoxville News-Sentinel (Tennessee), 3 Nov 2001.
Tim Bible obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 4 May 2015.
KaTom among 50 fastest-growing businesses, again
Patricia Bible's business, KaTom, has been honored as one of the 50 fastest-growing women-led businesses in America.
KODAK —
For the second year in a row KaTom Restaurant Supply has been named one of the 50 fastest-growing women-led businesses in America.
The organization, which employs 94, saw sales growth of over $7 million in 2014.
KaTom, with over $61 million in sales last year, is now the 25th-largest restaurant equipment distributor in America.
The company and its CEO were recognized recently by the Women Presidents' Organization and American Express Global Corporate Payments for KaTom's successes, for the second year in a row. KaTom was included as No. 38 on the list of "trailblazing women business owners and leaders."
"It was really kind of a shock," said Patricia Bible, who's led the company since her husband Tom's death in 2001.
The Bibles started KaTom and sister company B&B Equipment and Supplies in their residential garage over a quarter-century ago. Tim's sudden and unexpected passing 14 years ago left Patricia unsure of the future, but she was prepared for the challenge, and the business has flourished.
"I wasn't even sure that I could do it," Bible said Monday. "(But I'd) been mentored, without even knowing … to sit in Tim's chair.
"I think he would be absolutely elated that he had mentored and guided me to the point that I could take the helm," she said. "I think what really would turn his head and give him such satisfaction would be to know that his children have now joined the company; and that work force that he was so endeared to at the time has grown from a meager 17 employees to where we are today. Tim always enjoyed impacting positively other people's lives, and I think that would bring him great joy — to know that fact."
Since KaTom's new distribution facility opened in the Kodak area in 2012, business has expanded. The firm has nearly doubled its work force in the three years it's been in Sevier County, from the low 50s to nearly 100 today.
Bible foresees continued growth.
New business loans through a USDA program were announced last month for the business and will allow the completion of what KaTom is calling an intelligence center at the Kodak site. The facility will be used for training and education of people in the food service industry.
The two-story center will be built in space already set aside at KaTom and will include classrooms; a full-scale commercial kitchen; mock-ups of different food service concepts, including a bar, coffee shop and ice cream parlor; and meeting and conference rooms.
"We're anticipating anywhere from 15-25 (jobs)," Bible said. "That will continue to grow and continue to develop."
This week's announcement of KaTom on the WPO and American Express list is the second time the company has been so honored.
"We at American Express are honored to support this elite group of women, who represent a wide spectrum of industries and have become leaders within the business community," American Express Global Corporate Payments President Susan Sobbott said.
The companies were ranked using a formula that considers both sales growth and percentage of growth. Nominees have to be privately held and owned and/or led by a woman.
"I never set out to be a 'trailblazing woman,' even when we started this company," Bible said. "We had no idea what we were starting back in 1987 or where it would come, and we were just doing what we could to help others like us who were starting restaurants and needed an equipment dealer with real customer service.
"This recognition from the WPO and American Express means so much to me, but it isn't just about swelling my pride," she said. "I hope it serves to show little girls growing up here in East Tennessee, just like I did, that they can be anything they want to be."
It's not the first time KaTom's growth has been recognized nationally.
It has made the Inc. 500|5000 list of America's fastest growing companies for six years running, earning it a place in the business publication's Honor Roll.
- [S144] Phone Record.
Name: Patricia Ann Bible
Also Known As: Patricia C Bible
Residence Date: 01 Mar 2005-15 Nov 2007
Residence Place: Morristown, Tennessee, United States
Birth Date: 15 Mar 1963
Phone Number: (423) 586-5727
Phone Number Recorded Date: 01 Jan 2009
Address: 5066 Copper Ridge Rd
Address Continued: Morristown, Tennessee 37814
Address Date: 01 Mar 2005-15 Nov 2007
2nd Address: 252 RR 8 Box
2nd Address Continued: Morristown, Tennessee 37814
2nd Address Date: 13 Nov 2000
3rd Address: 5070 Copper Ridge Rd
3rd Address Continued: Morristown, Tennessee 37814
3rd Address Date: 01 Aug 1993-01 Jan 2009
Possible Relatives: Charles T Bible, Dba B And Patricia Bible, Laura Lea Rader, Paul T Bible, Paula K Bible, Tim P Bible, Tim Childrens Telep Bible, Traci Lynne Rodimon
Record Number: 71630469
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1963 - (61 years)