In 1904, John C. Koenig founded a hardware and farm equipment dealership to serve his friends and neighbors. Committed to the long-term, he handled only quality products; he offered them at a fair price; he maintained convenient hours; and he supported his merchandise with application information, a good parts stock, and responsive repair and maintenance. He always greeted his customers as friends and made sure transactions were of mutual advantage.

Those high objectives were maintained at the Botkins Hardware Company by his sons; John, Bill, and Emerson. To their work they added specialization and teamwork. They continued to refuse the slipshod, the merely expedient.

As the Botkins Hardware Company grew into Koenig Equipment, Inc., Emerson's children (Ray, Ken, JoAnn, Jack and Greg) enriched the family business legacy while achieving unprecedented sales growth and geographic expansion.  They accomplished this by striving to provide industry leadership in new services and programs, to respond to an evolving market and to build a professional dealership staff committed to those ideals.