KEK or Bust: Three Generations of Kobers at KEK Design

KEK Design is entering its 56th year in operation and its third owner! Myself, my father, and my grandfather all made a decision to go “all in” on industrial design. My father wrote “KEK or BUST” on the back window of his Toyota after leaving his job at McDonnell Douglas in sunny California and road-tripping cross-country to work with his father in cloudy Rochester NY. This has been an inspiring motto and mantra for myself and employees. To understand “KEK or Bust” I want to cover a brief history of the company.

My grandfather Karl E. Kober, took the original gamble, leaving his design position at Xerox to start KEK Associates, Inc in 1970 in Rochester, NY. Not much is known about the early days of KEK; when asked why he started the firm, he always stated, “I did not want to work for someone else.”

It is possible there was deeper internal thought and inspiration, but I like this version better: the original “KEK or Bust.” My grandfather was born in Herkimer, NY in 1929 to recent German immigrants. He studied industrial design at Syracuse University and enjoyed sculpting and painting in his free time. The only true designer to run the company. He named KEK after his initials, K. E. K. I am confident he did not know at the time that “kek” is a popular phrase in Korea and on World of Warcraft.What actually happened at KEK in the ‘70s is a bit of a mystery. For years, the company was run out of his house. Based on some off hand comments from my father, business was NOT booming. Finding information on the early days is a project for another time. I did find this newspaper article from 1987, just as my dad Karl D arrived on the scene. The full article and can be viewed here.

It highlights a variety of customers including a Styrofoam carton for McDonald’s, Microfiche for Kodak, and a computer terminal for the aptly named Computer Consoles, Inc. The staff was 14 strong in 1987, and Karl E lamented that the Florida office did not work out due to distance inconvenience, but he hopes to give it another shot down the road. I plan on making a warm-weather office a reality! It’s a great article and view of the past, concluding with my grandfather stating “KEK Associates is always looking for a challenge,” which is still true today.

My dad, Karl D. Kober, joined KEK in 1987, and the general consensus is that it was much needed! My dad started in sales and worked tirelessly to expand the customer base. We broke ground on our current facility at 100 Josons Drive in 1997, a testament to his success. With 16,000+ square feet of space, it provided ample space for creatives and machinery.

The late ‘90s and ‘00s were boom years for KEK Design. Kodak, Xerox, Fisher-Price, LeapFrog, and many other companies provided a high volume of work for the team. KEK peaked at 35 employees! One employee told me, “We had so much work at the time we had no idea how we would get it all done. 80 hour weeks were not uncommon.”

Rochester was a booming city at the time, and KEK was riding the wave. Having industrial design, mechanical engineering, technical illustration, and model/prototyping under one roof differentiated KEK as an end-to-end development firm. The ability to “get physical fast” and iterate physical prototypes, breadboards, mock ups, and models provided customers with valuable insights. RIT wrote a great article on everything happening at KEK (article), including the vibrant culture. Roller hockey games in the parking lot and office-wide LAN games of Quake were common events.

The entire article is a great read - I particularly enjoyed this excerpt:

"When Kober joined the company, fax machines were unheard of and designers worked at drafting tables with pencil and paper. Today computers and the latest software allow designers and engineers to turn ideas into detailed images and quickly share them with clients via the Internet. The nature of industrial design has changed along with the technology, Kober says. “Forty years ago, the saying was ‘market makeable products vs. make marketable products.’ Today, for us, ‘user satisfaction’ is not even acceptable. We strive for user delight.” KEK clients range from large international corporations to small local companies.”

We have come a long way in the 20 years since this was written! The boom years slowly came to an end as the ‘08-’09 financial crisis unraveled. Kodak declared bankruptcy a few years later. Still, KEK persevered! While we reduced headcount, we diversified our customer base. Former employees frequently brought us work at their new gigs. Highlights include Dick’s Sporting Goods, Vuzix, L3Harris, and GE MDS. Our model shop continued to be an important part of the business. As technology changed, market conditions stagnated, and my father grew older, I think the natural roots of complacency began to take hold.

I came onto the scene under unexpected circumstances at the start of COVID in March of 2020 [Check out my other blog for more details]. This was a difficult time for everyone; and my assessment is the business needed some youthful energy and modernization. KEK had a stable of customers we did excellent work for; however, growth was not the goal. Still, KEK navigated the pandemic, and I became partially involved in the business as my current job was remote. It was great to come into an office on a daily basis and slowly learn what exactly happens at KEK.

My grandfather, the founder of KEK, passed away unexpectedly from heart failure on December 1, 2021, at the age of 92. He lived an incredible life, and I am really lucky I ended up back in Rochester and was able to spend time with him. He was a man of a different era; he did not have a cell phone, did not send emails, and did not use the internet. A lifestyle we all, at times, wish for!

I officially left my job of 7+ years in the summer of 2023. It was a difficult decision I put a lot of thought into. If you read my previous blog, you know I truly had a dream job: slinging SaaS to companies at desirable travel destinations. I joined the KEK team in September, full of energy ready to be the catalyst of growth my father was 35 years earlier. Using modern sales tech I learned at FareHarbor, I would line up the meetings while my father demonstrated our value through industry knowledge and experience.

Unfortunately, weeks later in early November of 2023, a tumor the size of a lemon was discovered in my father’s brain after a health incident. My father was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer. The tumor was removed; however, the cancer progressed as the doctors predicted and he passed away on the 6th of March of 2025. 16 months after the tumor was discovered.

I am so grateful I found myself back in Rochester and was able to spend time with father and grandfather in their final years of life. My only regret is not asking them more about their life! Over 80 people attended my father’s celebration of life—friends, family, colleagues, and employees—a testament to the person he was.

I officially took over ownership of KEK Design in January of 2025, in the final months of my dad’s life. 2024 was difficult both due to my dad’s health along with market uncertainty. As we moved into summer of 2025, things at KEK turned in a positive direction. We hired four new employees in 2025, along with an intern and a co-op.

Past clients brought us new projects while our business development rep brought us new customers. In November, we brought on a “new/old” Design Director, former long-term KEK employee Paul Klock, who has helped take our process to the next level. We have an excellent foundation, with many of our employees having 20+ years tenure at the company. As we head into 2026, I am fully on board with “KEK or Bust.” The excitement around American Dynamism and re-industrialization of the United States is underway.

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As I look to the future of KEK, the sky is the limit. AI tools are reducing administrative tasks, allowing our team to do what they do best: identify user and stakeholder requirements and deliver designed and engineered solutions. Our model and prototyping capabilities cannot be replaced by AI and are critical to delivering value to our customers.

As we move into “KEK or Bust” Gen 3, we are always looking for a challenge and striving for user delight.