Company History
To understand Brenner-Fiedler’s beginnings, we need to look back to the early 1940s; to a couple of college friends named
Milton Brenner and Walt Fiedler. Both graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in Electrical Engineering…
After college, Walt Fiedler served in the military for 2 years. While Walt was serving, Milton Brenner bought and ran A.J. Barbera Company, an electrical representative business started in 1923.
Walt Fiedler returned from service and joined Milton Brenner as a partner at A.J. Barbera. The company name was later changed to Brenner-Fiedler.
After Milton Brenner passed away in the early 1960s, Walt Fiedler brought in Lew Meier as a minority partner from Esterline Angus in Indianapolis, Indiana. Throughout the 1960s, Brenner-Fiedler evolved into pneumatic distribution, beginning with GAST Manufacturing, and steadily growing its offerings to over 35 manufacturers.
In 1970, Jim Kloman joined Brenner-Fiedler as the fourth employed salesman. When Lew Meier retired in 1973 at age 65, Jim Kloman purchased his stock and became Walt’s minority partner. For the next 9 years, Jim and Walt grew the company and developed even more business alliances. When Walt Fiedler retired in 1982, Jim sought a new partner. The following year, Jim welcomed Bob Schnieders as the new co-owner of Brenner-Fiedler. Jim and Bob relocated the company from Paramount, California to Cerritos.
Upon graduating from California State University, Fullerton in 1989, Jim’s son, Ken Kloman, joined Brenner-Fiedler as a Customer Service Representative before transitioning to outside sales. Business continued to grow and Brenner-Fiedler established a second location in Tempe, Arizona in 1992. By 1999, Bob Schnieders was ready to retire. He negotiated to be bought out by Jim Kloman and by the early 2000s, Jim became the sole proprietor and operator.
With 20 years of experience in Business Development and Strategic Planning, Jim’s daughter, Deborah Kloman-Lichter, brought her talents to Brenner-Fiedler in 2001. Two years later, Ken Kloman took on factory relations and sales management while Deborah Kloman-Lichter took over day-to-day operations. Ken and Deborah joined Jim as co-owners of Brenner-Fiedler in 2005. The family business continued to expand and continued to increase its offerings in response to customer needs.
By 2007, Brenner-Fiedler had grown to 30 employees and began working towards ISO 9001:2008 Certification, which was achieved in 2009. Brenner-Fiedler expanded their product line offerings to include Automation Control Products in 2008.
By 2010, Brenner-Fiedler had grown to more than 35 active employees. The following year, the company acquired Automation Controls & Components (ACCI).
In 2022, Brenner-Fiedler was recognized as one of the region’s Top Workplaces in a national awards program based solely on employee feedback. It’s an honor the firm has now received seven times within nine years.
Later that Fall, Brenner-Fiedler acquired the assets of Deken Power, Inc., a leading distributor of fluid power components in Southern California since 1972. Product categories include hydraulics, pneumatics, safety, and fencing.
In its 75th year, Brenner-Fiedler has a staff of about 54 people and proudly stands as a leading supplier of industrial automation and pneumatic systems. The crew continues to offer outstanding customer service, as well as an expert collection of value-add solutions that save businesses time and money. Solutions include Custom Sub-Assemblies, Contract Manufacturing, OEM Control Panel Builds and Aluminum Extrusions.
Our family-owned business prides itself on a passionate pursuit of excellence, where “team is everything”, and employees are expected to be leaders in everything they do. To learn more, connect with us on LinkedIn and follow our social media channels @brennerfiedler on Facebook, X/Twitter, and Instagram.