Roger G. Klement, Eng '68
Dean's AwardCollege of Engineering
Dean's Award
Roger G. Klement, Eng '68
What does an electrical engineering education have to do with sausage making? Quite a lot, actually. Just ask Roger Klement.
Roger is co-president of the eponymous family sausage company inextricably linked to Milwaukee in the public mind for more than half a century — what would a Brewers game be without those racing sausages? He's also a Marquette-trained engineer, as was his uncle John, one of the trio of Klement brothers who founded the company in 1956.
"The practical value of the engineering approach I learned at Marquette to analyzing today's business problems has provided a solid foundation for my success," Roger says.
It also equipped him with the practical knowledge to transition the company from manual to automatic record-keeping in the early 1970s, setting the stage for future growth.
Coming out of Marquette, Roger started as a systems engineer at IBM. But when his know-how was needed back at the family business, he switched course.
"It became obvious that the company could not continue to do things manually," he says.
So Roger learned the manual system, automated it with an IBM computer and introduced Klement to modern record-keeping.
"It provided the necessary sales data to allow management to better analyze the business and plan for expansion," he says.
Decades later, Roger still is discovering new ways to optimize company operations — and beginning to plan for a well-deserved retirement.
"You wouldn't think a company that calls itself the manufacturer of old-fashioned sausage would be constantly changing," he says. "But it's true."
Fun facts about Roger
Someone (past or present) he’d like to have dinner with: Mikhail Gorbachev
