Schaedler Bros., Inc. History

Sons of German immigrant parents, Andrew, Harry, and William Schaedler were born and raised in Steelton, PA. Prior to the establishment of Schaedler Bros., Inc., the trio worked the early part of their lives in different professions. The oldest of 5 boys and 3 girls, Andrew C. Schaedler was one of Steelton’s finest and another of this area’s bachelor philanthropists. Not unlike his contemporary, Milton S. Hershey, he was a kindly, generous, and unpretentious man. From childhood on, he had a talent for electricity that approached genius.

On November 1, 1919, Harry Schaedler, a bricklayer by trade, and William joined forces with their brother Andy, an electrician by trade, forming a partnership. It was titled, "The Schaedler Electric Store" and was located in Philadelphia. The majority of their business involved the wiring of many housing projects during World War I. Known for his knack for electricity, Andy invented a ‘vase converter’ used to convert any vase into an electric lamp. Through this, the brothers instituted "Schaedler Bros. Mfg. Co." in 1924 marking the official establishment of the Schaedler Brothers organization. They purchased fixture parts, plated them, assembled them, and sold them in addition to Andy’s vase converter.

The brothers continued to manufacture and sell various fixtures to a point where expansion became a necessity. In addition to the Philadelphia store, the brothers opened a branch in Harrisburg, located at 1520 Fulton Street. An unfortunate turn of events caused the brothers to return to the Central Pennsylvania region and close the Philadelphia store. Competition on factory-made fixtures later forced the brothers to change their business from manufacturing to wholesale distribution. They later moved to a larger facility on Briggs Street that included a showroom area. Display items at this new location included elegant fixtures, waffle irons and small electric stoves. The more parts they sold, the more they became involved in selling other electrical products. Delivery also became a big part of the business, as salesmen were required to deliver one day’s orders while soliciting orders for the next day.

By 1950 it was inevitable that the walls of the building were too small to manage the company’s growth. In 1952 it was impossible to work under the cramped conditions so the brothers pursued the current facility located at 1030 S. 13th Street.

In 1946 Harry’s son, Thomas, began working for the organization and in 1955 he was promoted to presidency.

Schaedler Brothers became an official Allen-Bradley distributor in 1954, bringing the company into a new world of distribution.

The company was officially incorporated by May 1955 under the management of Harry and Andrew Schaedler recognizing it as Schaedler Bros., Inc.

Growing once again, the facility expanded its walls in 1964 and again in 1968. Tom built efficiencies into the expansion as such lighting showroom and counter area, shipping dock for will call orders, and receiving was located at the rear of the building. The will call area was provided as a service to customers who couldn’t afford to wait in long lines at the counter. Customers could call in orders ahead of time and the supplies would be ready to go when they arrived.

Plans to remodel the face of the building were accelerated when the showroom and office area was destroyed by a vehicle accident one New Year’s Eve. The remodeled showroom was enlarged and a recessed and track light display was installed for demonstration purposes.

The third generation began when Tom’s youngest son, Jim, came to work for the business in 1972.

Hurricane Agnes brought the great flood of the Susquehanna River in 1972. In the process of Central Pennsylvania recovering from the disaster, business flourished for Schaedler Bros., Inc. In 1974 as the company celebrated its 50th anniversary, a 360-page catalog was developed for customers with phenomenal results.

A new horizon arose for the distributorship in 1979 as the first computer system was purchased. The lighting showroom was officially closed in December 1981 ending the residential fixture market for the company.

In 1982 Jim was promoted to presidency. Another son, Henry, who joined the company in 1975, was promoted to vice-president of purchasing. The completion of the third generation occurred in 1985 when Tom, Jr., came to work for the firm. Another major step was made when Allen-Bradley introduced the high tech industry to the organization. An industrial automation group was formed to meet the demands of the ever-changing market and give them the ability to expand into another aspect of the industrial business.

The business has occupied its 1030 South 13th Street location in Harrisburg since 1952 and has expanded that facility considerably through building and acquiring adjacent property. This corporate location also houses the central distribution center that delivers electrical products to businesses on a daily basis.

Schaedler Bros., Inc. opened a branch in Carlisle in 1988 as a state-of-the-art self-service facility for material pickup.

A new facility was also opened in Williamsport in 1990 to handle the stocking needs of businesses in approximately 13 counties surrounding this location. Both locations house training rooms used to educate its customers on its products.

In 1992, Schaedler Bros., Inc. purchased an adjacent building to 1030 S. 13th Street for additional office and warehousing space.

At the same time, Schaedler Bros., Inc. entered the growing data and communications market supplying everything from fiber optic cable to Cat 5 patch panels to Ethernet hubs.

Schaedler Bros., Inc. began its journey towards ISO certification in 1996 evaluating its internal procedures, systems, and training processes. ISO certification brings with it a set of disciplines that require a business to determine exactly what they are doing in the business process, follow that determination, and create records to measure and guarantee performance. After vigorous auditing performed by the Quality Certification Bureau, ISO 9002 certification was awarded to them. This brought the company its quality manual with over 400 work instructions detailing all business processes, a corrective and preventative action system, and training records for all of its employees.

In April of 1999 the company celebrated its 75th anniversary. On July 1, 1999, Schaedler Bros., Inc. merged with YESCO.