Aertker Company History

John J. Aertker, Jr. founded his electrical manufacturer's representative business in 1961. Mr. Aertker was a 1940 electrical engineering graduate of L. S. U. who worked for New Orleans Public Service, Inc. until the attack on Pearl Harbor.

After military service in the Second World War, Mr. Aertker joined Lighting Fixture and Electric Supply Company as a utility sales engineer in late 1945. He worked his way to Vice President of Sales in 1953 and served in that capacity until beginning his own representation company with two lines - Milbank Manufacturing Company and White Rubber Company - both of which we still represent.

The Aertker Company's territory was the State of Louisiana and the Southern half of Mississippi. We added employees and opened a second office in Lafayette, Louisiana in 1965.

John J. "Jack" Aertker, III received his E. E. degree from L. S. U. in 1968 and after a year with the Boeing Company began working for the Aertker Company in 1969 in Lafayette. Jack opened the Baton Rouge office in 1972 and ran it until 1976 when John, Jr. became ill. Jack closed both the Baton Rouge and Lafayette offices and moved the company headquarters to its present location in Kenner, Louisiana.

Stephen C. Aertker received his E. E. degree from U. S. L. in 1970. He worked for LP&L for three years as a field engineer before coming to work for the Aertker Company and opening an office in Jackson, Mississippi. Steve covered Mississippi Power & Light and all the R. E. A.'s in Southern Mississippi.

Erick L. Aertker graduated from U. S. L. in 1973 with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Math. He worked for the Middle South Utilities Company (now Entergy) as a computer programmer before joining the Aertker Company in 1976.

Stephen Aertker formed his own agency in 1989 when he was offered the opportunity to represent A. B. B. to the industrial-contractor market in Louisiana and Southern Mississippi.

Middle South Utilities was the holding company for LP&L, NOPSI, Arkansas Power & Light, and Mississippi Power and Light. It allowed each of these utilities to operate autonomously. However, times were changing. Gulf States Utilities Company was purchased in the early 90's and the new holding company became Entergy - for enterprise, energy, and synergy.

The Aertker Company chose to conform to this new environment by opening an office in Little Rock, Arkansas. We were fortunate to hire Mr. Darrell Hawthorne to run this branch office. Darrell had worked for AP&L for thirty-two (32) years - the last twelve as a purchasing agent. Darrell covers Entergy-AP&L.

In 1995 we acquired the R. M. Archibald agency, which had offices in Jackson and Memphis. Our new territory was Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Western Tennessee, and the East Texas properties of Gulf States Utilities.

Mr. Jerry Doolittle ran the Jackson office until his retirement on October 31, 2006.

Ms. Diane Stolz is the office manager at the headquarters in Kenner. She has twenty-five (25) years in the electrical supply industry - the last sixteen (16) with the Aertker Company.

Mr. Mike McBeth started working for the company in 1980. He has held many different jobs in the organization. Presently, Mike is the inside salesman for the Commercial and Industrial Distributors.

Mr. Mark Moulder was hired in 1994 as an outside salesman. He is responsible for sales to the Commercial and Industrial Distributors in the Aertker Company's territory.

Mr. Blaine Gremillion started with the Aertker Co. in June of 2000. Blaine graduated from Louisiana Tech with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Prior to working with Aertker Co., Blaine worked for Cooper Power Systems for two (2) years as a District Salesman for Louisiana and East Texas. Blaine worked for Entergy in Operations and Distribution Standards for seventeen (17) years.

Mr. E. C. Aertker started with the Aertker Co. in July of 2000. E.C. graduated in May of 2000 with a degree in Electrical Engineering from Christian Brothers University in Memphis.

Mr. Dave Laschober started with the Aertker Co. in June of 2001. Dave graduated with a degree in Marketing from St. Louis University. Dave was a Regional Sales Manager for Aluma Form/Dixie for the prior ten years. Dave covers MLG&W, distributors, co-ops, and municipals in Arkansas and Western Tennessee.

As the evolution of the electric utility industry from regulated to de-regulation proceeds, our agency has been flexible and adjusted to better serve our manufacturers.

Today, Erick covers the Entergy headquarters in New Orleans. He coordinates all strategy and procedures for this large, complex, and diverse customer. Erick constantly communicates with the other offices on the various situations and opportunities at Entergy.

Mr. Blaine Gremillion covers Cleco, REA's, and municipalities in Louisiana, and the outlying properties of Entergy - Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Beaumont, and the Woodlands - Conroe area.

The John J. Aertker, Jr., Co., Inc. has fourteen (14) employees and four (4) offices. The Kenner headquarters has 2,500 square feet of office space and 9,600 square feet of warehouse with a truck well.

We are well staffed and positioned to grow as a leading manufacturers' representative company in the electric industry.