About Us
THE BEGINNING
Three partners, Alfred Proschko, Alvin Wenske, and Emil Blaschke established AA&E Leathercraft in 1979. It is a company that manufactures gunslings, miscellaneous hunting accessories, and outdoor sportsman’s belts. One of the main emphases was to create a quality product with superior craftsmanship to be enjoyed by the outdoor enthusiast
The first facility was a rented out warehouse distributorship building. Around 1990 the business outgrew the rented facility so the owners decided to build in Yoakum’s Industrial Park. The factory is still at that location today, 208 Industrial Loop in Yoakum, Texas.
In the mid 90’s, Alfred Proschko was diagnosed with cancer and passed away. Milam Herchek bought Proschko’s shares out and became an owner. Then in 2000, Alvin Wenske was also diagnosed with cancer. After much discussion of how to move forward, the owners decided to sell the company as a whole to Tandy Brands Accessories. This proved to be a very good move as customers bought outdoor products as well as other products that Tandy produced and vice versa; customer relations grew as well; sales climbed and the business prospered for many years.
A new CEO was hired to run Tandy in 2008. He brought many new ideas and changes. All of the Tandy facilities, except for the outdoor manufacturing plant, were eventually shutdown in Yoakum. These new ideas seemed to hamper AA&E Leathercraft and sales began to fall off.
In February of 2011, upper management came up with a new restructuring policy – shut down the manufacturing of outdoor products and solely buy these products from other origins. After a few months of this, Tandy management abandoned the outdoor business completely and concentrated on their core products.
FOLLOWING IN DAD'S FOOTSTEPS
In 2012, Marvin Kremling and Shannon Blaschke purchased AA&E back from Tandy. Marvin had over 35 years of manufacturing experience in the belt industry, and Shannon had over 12 years experience in the outdoor industry. It was an easy transition for Shannon to go from employee to owner, having worked with leather at AA&E since he was six years old. Agreeing to be a consultant and bringing a wealth of knowledge with him was Shannon’s dad, Emil Blaschke.
“I’ve been around the leather industry my whole life. I’ve followed in my dad’s footsteps. Owning AA&E and being one of the leather owners in Yoakum is a great feeling.” – Shannon Blaschke
Customers rave about the top-notch craftsmanship. Some have shared that they are still using the leather products after 25 years. They don’t fall apart like other mass-produced products can.
AA&E doesn’t have a big crew, but each one is very talented at what they do. “We’re more like a family here. Yes, we have a job to do, but we’re not stressed out. The team is focused on the quality just as much as I am.” – Shannon Blaschke
The company tradition continues and is the legacy of AA&E Leathercraft.