While growing up in Ft. Atkinson, Wisconsin, Tom Schemm looked forward every afternoon to the last stop on his paper route.

     This wasn't because he was itching to get home, it was because the last stop was a bowling center where he could hang out, bowl, and watch the automatic pinsetters do their magic. "I was always mechanically inclined and the machines fascinated me," he says.

     The proprietor gave Schemm a job as pin chaser for 75 cents per hour and all the free bowling he wanted. He loved working close to the machines and quickly learned how they worked and how to repair them. After high school, he attended the Brunswick Pinsetter School and became a mechanic for a 16-lane and a 20-lane center.

     Not long after this, he began a part-time business "Central Bowling Equipment Service" to help Wisconsin-area proprietors with pinsetter maintenance and service problems.

     His detail-oriented work was appreciated by his customers and the business became a full-time endeavor in 1980. He also changed the name to Schemm Bowling Service and regularly worked with seven centers.

     Schemm took an interest in the parts business and began supplying Brunswick with new and re-built gearboxes and sub-assemblies. In 1989, he began selling parts to his regular service customers as well as other bowling centers. The parts business was booming and Schemm had two full-time employees providing pinsetter service to 20 centers. He didn't think it could get much better. Then, in 1992, Bob Schmidt of Watertown Bowl in Watertown, Wisconsin, called him with a proposal.

     "He was looking to replace 12 of his 18 lane beds and replace the surface ball returns with underground returns," says Schemm. "Then he surprised me by asking me to bid on the job. I told him I didn't want to do it. I sold parts and serviced equipment, I wasn't into installing capital equipment. But Bob insisted. He said he liked my work and he knew I'd bring in good subcontractors and see that the job was done right."

     Schemm was a little leery about saying yes. "I wasn't sure I could take on a project of that size and it made me a little uncomfortable. I gave it a shot and that job put us in the capital equipment business. To this day, Bob's still very satisfied with the job."

     Schemm's wife, Judy, joined the business as office manager in 1995, and a year later, he hired his third mechanic to keep up with the demand for pinsetter maintenance. Today, Schemm employs eight full-time and two part-time employees. More than 50 percent of his business comes from selling pinsetter parts nationwide, while the rest is from equipment maintenance and installing capital equipment.

     Today the company, now known as Schemm Bowling Incorporated (SBI) continues to supply the industry with re-built gearboxes and sub-assemblies. They're also involved in capital equipment/remodeling projects in centers in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and Tennessee. Recently, Schemm purchased the marking and manufacturing rights for the Tuf-Devil Pit Board, which he supplies under the SBI name.

     Schemm pays particular attention to customer service, especially with his parts business. "When customers call us for parts they're talking to one of our mechanics, which is a big advantage," he says. "We service more than 500 machines, so we have a good idea of what works so that our customers get the right parts at the best value."

     As his company has grown over the years, Schemm has worked hard to maintain a high level of service. "I talk to our employees a lot and work on training everybody in providing great service. It's not easy all the time as your staff grows to maintain the high level, but I think we do a great job."

     Last year, SBI took a big step with the construction of a 14,000-square foot facility in Deerfield, Wisconsin. "Before our move, we were crammed into a 4,000-square foot building and leased extra warehouse space at a couple of different locations. Now that we're in one spot, we're not spending as much time driving."

     Bowling is a part of the Schemm's life even outside of work. "When we get away, it's usually to a trade show or some other bowling event," he says. "We're very focused on both the business and the game."

     SBI has three vans for his mechanics to use while making service calls and they're easy to spot on the Wisconsin highways. They're the white vans with a large decal of a pin splash and the slogan: "Bowling, America's Family Sport" on the sides.

     "I once saw a van owned by Warner Resurfacing that had a slogan promoting league bowling," says Schemm. "I thought, 'What if every vehicle that was operating for the bowling industry promoted the game in that way?' Since then we've tried to do our part."

     The Schemms have been active in charitable organizations, bowling and otherwise. They sponsor an annual golf event that attracts more than 100 participants and raises funds for the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame and for cancer research at the University of Wisconsin. "We've been able to raise more than $11,000 for these causes. I feel that doing this as well as sponsoring bowling teams and tournaments is a way to give back to an industry that's a part of my life," he says.