BJ Mercantile, Inc. (BJM) marked a new milestone with a grand celebration of its golden anniversary at its showroom and service center in EDSA. The event highlighted the transformation of the company from an importer of used engines when it started business in 1974 to become a diversified conglomerate with interests in automotive, transport, logistics, property, petroleum and power generation.
Established by an enterprising couple, Jimmy and Belen Lim, whose initials were used to name their company, they saw an opportunity to start a business of importing used vehicles and trucks despite the economic slowdown and political turmoil in the 1970s. The business prospered and they were able to expand to include the importation and sale of new and used construction and industrial machines in their business.
BJM has embarked on other projects such as property development in 1980 with BJ Land to engage in the leasing of warehouses and other commercial and residential spaces. In 1995, they put up Meiling Development Corporation, a real estate firm which developed a 27-storey residential building in Manila and the Meiling Village in Quezon City.
As testament that BJM has mastered the ability of thriving in the face of adversity, the company established the auction in Malinta during the 1998 financial crisis. The auction served as an alternative platform to increase the value of BJM’s large inventories as well as to aid in the recovery of the industry. BJM became a household name as every auction was packed and successfully participated-in by eager and enthusiastic bidders.
BJM put up Microvan, Inc. in 2000. Headquartered in Subic Bay Freeport Zone, the firm continued the importation and trading of used construction machineries, trucks and trailers. This led to a spin-off company in 2011, Microvan Leasing, to focus on the rental of cranes to construction projects all over the country. BJM also went into the importation of fuel in 2008 under Micro Dragon Petroleum Inc. and it sailed the oceans with Royal Dragon Ocean Transport thru 10 LCT vessels that cater to the mining and construction industries.
BJM also celebrated the 10th year of Scania in the Philippines. Scania, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, appointed BJM as its exclusive dealer in 2014.
The San Simon Cold Storage, housed in San Simon, Pampanga, came into being in 2018 with a capacity of 3,400 pallets and continues to grow to this day. And when Scania decided to
discontinue its genset line in 2019, an opportunity arose to partner with AJ Power, which
manufactures a wide range of diesel generating sets from 10kVA to 4376kVA for use in various
applications.
“It has been quite a remarkable run for BJM during these past five decades and we would like to
thank all our employees, partners and customers for their continued trust and support. But we
are not yet done growing, we look forward to expanding our inventory and to entering other high
growth businesses in the coming years,” said Leilani Lim-Tan, vice president of BJ Mercantile, Inc.
As BJM moves forward to building better partnerships, it has inked a deal with Ashok-Leyland in 2023 to exclusively carry its wide range of commercial vehicles. Just a few months ago, it forged a partnership with Japanese truck and bus manufacturer Fuso and it would also like to announce its entry into the passenger car market via a partnership with Hongqi Philippines. BJM will start marketing these vehicles in 2025.
