RIEDEL ELECTRONICS

About Us

Where do we begin? It’s hard to believe, but three generations of the Riedel family have over 100 years experience with Kearney and Trecker. My Grandfather Ted started with K&T as a painter as World War 2 began. His son, also Ted, started out of high school wiring machines in 1958. There is a pretty good chance his handwriting is in your machine. Semi-retired, Ted still works with me today. As for me, I started with K&T a year out of college (1987). My specialty? Fixing. Fixing anything whether it was made by K&T or a vendor. We fixed it at K&T and I still fix it today. For 20 years I have been on my own, fixing boards and providing tech assistance on the phone. I was proud to be with K&T, and maybe just a little more proud to have made it on my own all these years.

Why the name Riedel? I figured with all the things one can call yourself the most consistent name is my own: “Call Riedel; send it to Riedel; what was Riedel thinking,” etc.

We are located just west of Milwaukee in a tiny township called Ottawa. Our property sits at the northern tip of the Kettle Moraine state forest (southern unit). Our shop is 200 feet away from our house, a genuine 1958 Frank Lloyd Wright designed house. I love architecture and I love my house. Naturally, I had to design my workshop within the visions of Mr. Wright. I am very proud of the design and we were able to build it ourselves. Despite a low profile ceiling, the shop is open and airy. But most of all it is extremely flexible. It was designed to not only be flexible to our needs, but for the needs of a future resident (God forbid).

After over 30 years of fixing electronics, including 27 years of K&T, I still find myself energized and fascinated with my work. I don’t think a week goes by in which I don't find out something I would have thought I should have known. Repair is healthy for a person of ego as it can be quite humbling. They say it is hard to get a straight answer out of me. I guess after all these years I have come to accept that nothing is ever quite as straightforward as it appears. Always keep your eyes open, always keep thinking.