Bourns presented Avnet with the 2025 Bourns Americas Channel Recognition — 55-Year Representative Milestone award at EDS 2026, Resorts World Las Vegas, May 20, 2026.
Pictured from left: Al Yost, President & COO, Bourns, Inc.; Gordon Bourns, CEO, Bourns, Inc.; Dennis Stepanek, President, CenTech; Rich Sartori, VP, CenTech; Jim Harrington, Sr. VP Worldwide Sales, Bourns, Inc.; and Jerry Durand, VP of Sales – Americas, Bourns, Inc.CenTech has represented Bourns to avionics, government, medical, military, and aerospace customers across four states since its founding year.
LAS VEGAS, Nevada, May 26, 2026 - Bourns has recognized CenTech, Inc. for 55 years as a Bourns manufacturer’s representative. The milestone was acknowledged during EDS 2026 at Resorts World Las Vegas as part of Bourns’ annual Americas channel recognition program, which has honored outstanding distributor and representative relationships since 2014.
CenTech was founded in 1969 to provide professional technical sales representation for electronic component manufacturers and took on Bourns as a principal in its first year of operation. The firm covers Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Southern Illinois from offices in Lee’s Summit and St. Louis, calling on avionics, government, medical, industrial, military, and aerospace accounts where component selection is specification-driven, and supplier relationships are long-term. The representative relationship, active since 1970, continues across the same four-state territory today.
“Fifty-five years is rare in this industry. CenTech has been in front of the right customers in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Southern Illinois for more than five decades. The relationship works because they know the Bourns portfolio and they know their customers — and that combination is not easy to replace.”
— Jerry Durand, Vice President of Sales – Americas, Bourns
Milestone Highlights
- Tenure — 55 consecutive years representing Bourns; the relationship began in 1970, CenTech’s first full year of operation.
- Firm founded — 1969, Lee’s Summit, Missouri.
- Territory — Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Southern Illinois, served from offices in Lee’s Summit and St. Louis.
- Bourns product lines — passive and electromechanical components across power, protection, and sensing, serving CenTech’s avionics, defense, medical, and industrial customer base.
“Fifty-five years means we’ve seen this territory through multiple cycles — the customer base has changed, the products have evolved, and the relationship has held. What makes it work is straightforward: we know the Bourns portfolio, we know our customers, and we show up. That’s been true since 1970, and it’s still true today.”
— Dennis Stepanek, President, CenTech, Inc.
About CenTech, Inc.
CenTech, Inc. is an independent manufacturers’ representative firm founded in 1969 and headquartered in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, with an additional office in St. Louis. CenTech provides professional technical sales representation for electronic component manufacturers across Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Southern Illinois. For more information, visit
centech-inc.com.