William Ketterer

My father, William Ketterer founded this company because he saw there were opportunities to help companies who may have had limited resources, were seeking ways to streamline product purchases, and wanted to work with someone they trusted who would be looking out for their best interests.  As we all know starting a company is not easy but perseverance and a strong commitment to achieving goals is a strong measure of those who succeed.

He did all this while raising a family, visiting customers, working trade shows, and seeking out companies that manufactured quality products he would be proud to offer to his customers. His character was beyond reproach and he strived to do the right thing for all concerned in every transaction. His life lessons were instilled in me at an early age and as I moved through my education and career positions watching him and how he treated people was indelibly imprinted on me.

His passing this year was a difficult period for me. I not only lost a father, but also a business partner, mentor, and confidante.  I cherish the time I had with him and know he is with me every day while I live his principles of kindness, generosity, and faith.

Jeff Ketterer  

This speech by Theodore Roosevelt in 1910 at the Sorbonne in Paris encapsulates my fathers outlook and spirit on life.

The Man in the Arena 

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.