Sleek Machine lives up to its name
Photo / Lori Valigra
Josh Schlesinger, founder and owner of Sleek Machine Distro in Portland, runs a lean beer distributorship to keep costs down for client Bissell Brothers.
Josh Schlesinger says he never wanted to own a business. In fact, he'd be happy distributing for Bissell Brothers Brewing Co. in Portland as an employee.
But his new company, Sleek Machine Distro — named after lyrics from Bruce Springsteen's “Jungleland” — was born out of necessity, he says, because Bissell's rapid growth put it above the state's limit for brewers to self-distribute up to 50,000 gallons, which translates into about 1,612 barrels. By comparison, nano-breweries in neighboring New Hampshire can't exceed 2,000 barrels, according to the Brewers Association in Boulder, Colo. After that they have to hire an independent distributor.
There are nine beer distributor facilities in Maine, according to the National Beer Wholesalers Association in Alexandria, Va. They employ 1,150 people, pay $78.2 million in wages and salaries, have $908,000 in community economic development and pay $103.7 in federal, state and local taxes. Their total economic impact is $504.7 million, the association notes.
To meet state requirements, Schlesinger, who had been handling Bissell's distribution in-house, talked with owners Peter and Noah Bissell, who had hatched a plan for Schlesinger to set up Sleek Machine as a new, independent company to distribute Bissell's beers. Part of the rationale is that is one way to control the way the company's beer was delivered to the market. Another is that it is a way to trim the distribution commission if the new company is run lean.
Sleek Machine lives up to its name: it has one van, Schlesinger and one employee and Bissell currently as its only client. It works out of the run-down Building 4 warehouse at 58 Fore St.
Schlesinger, 33, who has been working in the hospitality industry and elsewhere since he was 14, also is a new father. He took time recently to show Mainebiz his barebones digs and talk beer distribution. An edited transcript follows.
Mainebiz: When did Sleek Machine Distro form?
Josh Schlesinger: Bissell Brothers was above the 1,600 barrels in 2014, and the state gave it a window to sign with a distributor by December 2016. I started in August. I follow the same rules as Nappi and other large distributors that distribute dozens of brands of beers. The only difference is my size.
MB: How do you keep costs down?
JS: I have one employee, Emerson Trimble, and we split doing deliveries on the road. He is tech-savvy and built our website, plus he can fix the van. We're working on a lease for a box drop truck that will be easier to load and we can load more. We bought our van from Bissell for $5,000 and its old cooler for $7,000. We take the least amount of money from the brewery possible. Most distributors take 30%, but we are below 25%. We took the smallest cut to make the company sustainable with one employee. There will be growth when Bissell expands. Maybe at some point we'll take on another brewery. I'm an incredibly new business owner and make growth moves conservatively. Distributors and breweries are like a marriage, and I take that very seriously.
MB: So how do you like being an entrepreneur?
JS: I love it. It's a great learning experience. I have friends who started nonprofits and clothing companies so I had that pre-existing community of entrepreneurs. I also talked to SCORE. I'm insanely fortunate to have a flagship brewery for my client.
MB: How are you funded?
JS: My father gave me $5,000 seed money and I secured a loan from Norway Savings Bank that is backed by FAME. I pay interest-only for the first six months.
MB: Where do you distribute?
JS: From Kittery to Sugarloaf and Sunday River in the west and Lewiston-Auburn up to Bar Harbor. Basically the bottom half of the state.
MB: Can you make a living from lean distribution?
JS: We're now 60% over our projected numbers for the year ending Aug. 17. My wife also works at TideSmart in Falmouth.
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