Little has changed at Jim Bancroft's small business the past 51 years, but that's a good thing. Learn why.
Walking into Pumps and Equipment brings up nostalgic feelings of times gone by: when all business was done face to face and there were no such thing as text messages and Facebook alerts to interrupt conversation. Tucked away in a sleepy neighborhood on the north side of Madison, the non-descriptive building looks more like a hockey rink than a warehouse, and you have to look hard to find the name of the family business in the small, dusty window filled with stacks of binders, scales and old pictures frames.
Pumps and Equipment has been operating out of this Madison building since 1953.
The Bancroft’s don’t need a flashy sign and have never heavily relied on advertising. They specialize as a wholesale dealer for pipes and pumps, but in their small shop/office in front of the warehouse, they sell all sorts of things: batteries and nut drivers, gorilla glue and paint, locks and scotch tape. When you walk in, Kaia and Digger, the family’s two Australian cattle dogs, greet you with a sniff and a bark. A few seconds later there’s a jovial “hello” from second- and third-generation business owners Jim and his son David. The two, alongside David’s wife Stephanie, run the operation largely the same way it was run when they moved into the building back in 1953.
A holiday card circa 1950’s from Pumps and Equipment. Founder Maurice Bancroft is fourth from left wearing a fedora and overcoat. Son Jim Bancroft is to his right.
There are old typewriters on dusty desks and stacks and stacks of file folders filled with lists of all the equipment and parts the company sells. David enjoys looking up and ordering inventory by hand and his wife calculates bills with one of those retro, wonky desk calculators. David admits that upgrading some of their technology would save him time, but he likes the feel of the paper in his hand and loathes bright computer screens. He also doesn’t mind if it means a little more work. He’s used to that. In addition to running Pumps and Equipment, his family also keeps 150 cows and grows sweet corn. His day starts off bright and early attending to the herd, continues with selling pipes and pumps, then ends with chores on the farm. Growing up, the family’s motto was “figure it out.”
Jim Bancroft walks a customer through his invoice at Pumps and Equipment.
There’s a reason that Pumps and Equipment is the longest active member of NFIB in Dane County at 51 years: when faced with a challenge, the Bancroft’s tackle it head on. David’s grandfather, Maurice Bancroft, started a dairy with his brother in 1919. After 12 years, he sold that business to start Wisconsin Foundry and Machine Company. Decades later, there’s still stacks of evidence at Pumps and Equipment: Jim disappears in the back for a few moments and returns with dusty and weathered books. Hundreds and hundreds of pages of part descriptions, prices, and sketches. There’s no date inside, but they’re at least 70 years old, printed before 1949 when Maurice left the Foundry to start his own small business: Pumps and Equipment.
Jim, far left, and son David, far right post at Pumps and Equipment in 1995.
The business looks and feels very much the same more than seven decades later. You could likely find parts from the 1950’s still in the back of the warehouse. David says you never know who will call asking for a single wire standard cast copper terminal from 1954. That’s the reason this family business is still in business. David says sure, the internet has taken a bite into their bottom line. You can buy just about anything on Amazon these days, however there’s one thing Amazon can’t do that the Bancroft’s specialize in: advise on how to install that decades old copper terminal based off decades of experience in the business.
Jim flips through his dad’s old inventory book.
When Jim retires, David will take over and he doesn’t plan to change a thing. In a world where you can get practically anything delivered right to your front door, it’s comforting to know there’s still small business owners like Jim and David Bancroft, who will not only sell you a garden hose, but walk it to your car, put it in your trunk, and shut the lid before smiling and waving as you drive away.
Kaia waits patiently to greet customers at Pumps and Equipment.
