Tucked in the rural Indiana community of Brownstown is a small business named Nehrwess. Tony Nehrt started the company after he sold Brownstown Quality Tool and Design, a business his father founded more than four decades earlier, to two longtime employees in 2015.
Nehrwess designs and manufactures small straps, hangers and clamps that mount underground utility distribution lines to poles. The company, with three full-time and three-part-time employees, sells its products throughout the U.S.
“It’s important for us to keep the images and data on our website up to date. It wasn’t uncommon for us to spend 15 minutes uploading a single image to the site,” Nehrt said. “We were always able to get the job done before, but it was much more frustrating.”
When Jackson County REMC introduced fiber internet service to its service area through Jackson Connect, Nehrwess was one of the company’s first internet customers.
“The fiber service from Jackson Connect now frees up our time to do other things. It’s important our small staff is efficient and now we have more productive hours,” Nehrt said.
Nehrt said he remembers when Brownstown Quality Tool couldn’t finish projects because it was impossible to transfer the large design files among vendors.
“It’s almost instantaneous now,” said Nehrt. “It has definitely had a positive effect on our company.”
Nehrwess has seen an uptick in sales through its website because the company can produce new products in a timely manner. The company has also now entered a global market with increased internet speeds available through Jackson Connect.
What’s your broadband story?
Tell us why expanding high-speed internet to all of Indiana is important.
Electric cooperatives are finding ways to help close the rural digital divide, providing all Hoosiers the same opportunities.
Affordable and reliable quality internet means life-altering improvements for rural Hoosiers in:
MODERN HEALTH CARE: including prompt access to specialists, and expanded monitoring and treatment options.
MODERN EDUCATION: options so rural students can use technology previously available only to their urban peers. Adult learners will have access to distance education options.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: opportunities mean small businesses in rural areas can enter the global marketplace. And, young families seeking a rural lifestyle can enjoy that small town sense of community with the modern conveniences of an urban area.
Tell us how having access to affordable and reliable high-speed internet could improve your family’s quality of life, or how new service options have changed the way you live. Your stories will continue to inspire our state’s leaders to do all they can to bring broadband to all of Indiana. Visit IndianaEC.org/YourBroadbandStory to share your broadband story!
