Central Mine Equipment Company sales representative, Kurt Jaeger, retired on January 15 after more than 37 years of service.

Jaeger began working with CME on Nov. 2, 1977 as a bench welder at the CME factory in Saint Louis. He worked his way to a lead man position on the manufacturing floor, and in 1983, led the crew that built the first CME-850 track drill.

In May of 1985, Jaeger left CME to pursue a career behind a drill rig. He went to work for an engineering firm in St. Louis as a member of the drill crew on a CME-45B rig. He moved on from there to a job in drilling equipment sales with Brainard-Kilman who, at the time, was an authorized distributor of CME equipment. He left there to become drill shop and fleet manager for a large engineering firm.

These experiences prepared Jaeger for his CME “homecoming.” In 1988, he returned to CME in a supportive role with the outside sales team, performing field warranty repairs and equipment upgrades. He also delivered machines and staged equipment for demonstrations and marketing efforts. Jaeger traveled all over the United States for CME during this time. His international travels for CME included Suriname, Korea, Puerto Rico, Peru, Chile, Japan, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Canada and Jamaica.

In 1998, Jaeger was given a specific sales territory that included Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Colorado and Florida. He worked Puerto Rico, Mexico and the Dominican Republic as well. He has been very successful in his sales efforts. More importantly, Jaeger made many friends and built relationships that will last well beyond his years at CME.

Jaeger is looking forward to having time for his many projects, traveling and spending time with his wife, his grandchildren, his family and friends.