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Ritter history
Ritter company history timeline
John W. Ritter started the company in 1964 with only a few trucks.
1964 – John W. Ritter Trucking, a small business with only a few trucks, is incorporated by John and his wife, Marie
Until 1967, Ritter Sport chocolate was sold almost exclusively in Germany.
In 1969, the company stopped making rectangular chocolate bars and two years later ceased the production of pralines.
During the same time period, the company's sales almost tripled, reaching DM73 million in 1970.
In 1970, the company's TV commercials reached consumers in all of West Germany for the first time.
1970: A TV advertising campaign launches Ritter Sport as a leading brand.
However, a consumer survey conducted in 1972 revealed that their new packaging was hard to open.
In 1974, the company made another bold move when it introduced a new packaging design.
The "Knick-Pack" was introduced in 1976 and became an instant hit.
1978: A third generation of the Ritter family joins the company's advisory board.
Bob Mouser joined Ritter Communications immediately following his college graduation in 1982, and he’s been with the company for his entire professional career.
Clay joined Millington Telephone Company as an Install/Repair Technician in 1984 and has spent his entire career with the company.
An initial attempt at this had failed in 1985, a year when cocoa prices climbed extremely high.
By 1987, exports accounted for over 9 percent of the company's sales.
1989 – Ritter Transport, Inc. (formerly known as Semi-Express) is created due to a high demand from loyal customers who needed dedicated freight services
1991 – Ritter becomes one of the first trucking companies to have on-board computers
His telecom career began with Alltel Communications in 1995, where he held positions ranging from Wireless and Wireline Technician to Enterprise Solutions Service Delivery Manager.
When cocoa prices rose significantly again in 2000, Ritter decided to do the opposite.
By 2000, there were fewer than 200 chocolate manufacturers in Germany and, with the exception of Ritter Sport, the industry giants dominated the market.
2000: Ritter's "higher prices for higher quality" campaign is launched.
Looking ahead, Ritter Sport aimed at winning over younger people to lower the average age of the typical Ritter Sport consumer, who was 44 years of age in 2002.
2002: Ritter Sport is the market leader in the 100-gram chocolate bar segment.
Mark Martin joined Ritter Communications in 2002.
In 2003, the company was planning to introduce its new "Active-Range," which was targeted at young people.
Another priority was the company's expansion into Eastern Europe, especially its joint venture with the Russian chocolate maker Odintsovo Confectionary Factory, where Ritter was planning to put out about 10,000 tons of Ritter Sport chocolate annually, beginning in fall 2003.
Tony came to Ritter in 2005 and spent five years as a network operations center (NOC) technician, as well as seven years of leadership in network operations.
In 2006 at age 77 he returned to the former Begium Congo after many years in Southern California to help build a hospital
Rich Busby joined Ritter in 2006 as an engineer specializing in fiber optic communications, including plant design, install supervision, testing, documentation and overall maintenance.
2007 – Ritter Transportation Systems is created to provide high-quality third party broker logistics
Immediately prior to joining Ritter, he was the principal of the Morse Consulting Group, having successfully served as President and CEO of Integrated Mobile, Inc. leading up to its 2012 acquisition.
Clay played a key role in helping with the transition process when Ritter Communications purchased Millington Telephone in 2012.
Paige began her career at Ritter Communications in 2013.
She spent her first four years in the accounting department before moving to Carrier Operations in 2014.
2014 – John W. Ritter Trucking, Ritter Transport Inc., and Ritter Transportation Systems come together to form Ritter and the new logo is unveiled
Lexanne Horton was hired as E. Ritter Company’s controller in February of 2015.
The first harvest is expected in 2017.
Clay Lavelle was promoted to Director of Technical Operations in 2017 and helps lead Ritter’s installation, repair, plant management and dispatch teams.
He served as the company's Vice President of Engineering and Products for five years, was promoted to Senior Vice President, Technology in September of 2018 and now serves as Chief Technology Officer.
Kyle Keith was named Senior Vice President/General Manager of Enterprise, Wholesale and Cloud Solutions in 2018.
He was named Director of Outside Plant Engineering in 2018, and is responsible for leading the daily execution of the Outside Plant Engineering team for projects and deliverables.
Shane Lerma joined Ritter Communications in August of 2019 and now is the Director of Solutions Engineering.
In October 2019, Lexanne was promoted to vice president/controller of Ritter Communications.
Rodney became a member of the Ritter Communications family in 2019 when he began his role as a Sr.
Heath Simpson joined Ritter Communications in March 2020 following a nationwide recruitment campaign utilizing a leading executive search firm.
Jeff Chapman joined Ritter Communications in January, 2021.
A leader on the Human Resources Team for many years, she was promoted to Director of Employee Relations in December 2021.
Jeff Flowers joined Ritter Communications as the VP of Carrier & Wholesale Services in March of 2022.
Kindergarten Registration is now OPEN for Fall 2022!
Michael Herring became a part of the Ritter Communications family in 2022 when he began his role as the Director of Quality Assurance and Compliance.
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Ritter may also be known as or be related to John W Ritter Trucking Inc, John W Ritter Trucking, Inc. and Ritter.