JZ's BZ's sprung from the mind of Jim Paysen in the 1980's, because he saw a need for quality queen rearing products made in the USA. He dedicated his life to innovation and the art of beekeeping. After an engineering career at Boeing, Jim began beekeeping full-time after watching his son's poor health improve dramatically while in the company of bees. Beekeeping had been Jim's favorite hobby since his teenage years in rural Nebraska.

As Jim's beekeeping business grew, he began to invent new products to meet his needs. In the quest to develop a queen cup with the highest acceptance rate, Jim tested the JZ's BZ's products again and again until he was satisfied. The result is the wide base cell cup, central to the JZ's BZ's product line today. Jim loved inventing and partnering with his fellow beekeepers to provide custom products. We at JZ's BZ's share that same value today and ask that you, our customers, approach us with new product ideas so that we may continue Jim's legacy.

In the early 2000's I met Jim Paysen, because we both married into the same family. My wife's grandmother and Jim had known each other in high school, but they reconnected at their 50th high school reunion after having lost their spouses. They married in 1993 and had many travel adventures connected to Jim's honey operation.

Jim eventually introduced me to the way he ran his business and allowed my help once he reached his early nineties. We traveled to beekeeping conventions together and to Texas where our products are manufactured. When we visited bee yards together, Jim never wore his hood. He was so at ease with the bees, and those memories of our times together with my children will be cherished forever. Jim was active in running the business until his passing in 2015. It is an honor to run JZ's BZ's, always remembering Jim's intent and continuing to nurture the relationships he built.