Karl E. grew up in Herkimer, NY, the son of recent German immigrants. He studied industrial design at Syracuse University, sculpted and painted in his spare time, and in 1970 left a comfortable position at Xerox to start something of his own — naming the firm after his initials, K.E.K.

Starting out of his home in Rochester, he built KEK Associates from the ground up through sheer determination. By 1987 the firm had grown to 14 people, serving clients like Kodak, McDonald's, and Xerox.

"KEK Associates is always looking for a challenge"

Karl E. passed away on December 1, 2021, at the age of 92 — a man of a different era, who never owned a cell phone or sent an email, and lived exactly on his own terms.

Karl D. joined his father in 1987, leaving a position at McDonnell Douglas in California and road-tripping cross-country to Rochester. He wrote "KEK or Bust" on the back window of his Toyota — a motto that became the heartbeat of the company.

His impact was immediate. He expanded the customer base, broke ground on KEK's 16,000 sq ft facility at 100 Josons Drive in 1997, and led the firm through its peak years — 35 employees strong, serving Fisher-Price, LeapFrog, Kodak, Xerox, and many others.

Karl D. passed away from brain cancer in March of 2025 with his family by his side. Over 100 people attended his celebration of life — friends, golfing buddies, customers, colleagues, family, and employees — a testament to the kind and generous person he was.

Alex returned to Rochester at the start of COVID in 2020, drawn back by family and a growing sense that KEK's next chapter was waiting to be written. After seven years in technology sales at FareHarbor, he officially joined KEK full-time in September 2023 — weeks before his father's diagnosis changed everything.

He took ownership of KEK Design in January 2025, carrying forward two generations of problem-solving, client relationships, and the relentless standard his grandfather set in 1970. In 2025, KEK expanded its team, welcomed back longtime Design Director Paul Klock, and set its sights firmly on growth.

As American manufacturing enters a new era of reindustrialization, KEK is ready. The model shop remains irreplaceable — giving the team the ability to create physical solutions in real-time. The mission remains unchanged: identify what users need, and deliver designed and engineered solutions that delight them.