Our team

John Strong has literally been the man most responsible for building IER! Since joining the company in 2007, John has been the primary IER Manager responsible for the design and construction of IER’s manufacturing plants, including the Centralia WA plant which he currently manages. No one within IER knows more about the day-to-day operations of IER’s facilities than John, and he has been a tremendous resource for training new IER Plant Managers and Operators.

As a teen, John started working for a family plumbing business, where he obtained his welding certificate and learned the ins and outs of the industry. From there, he went on to own and run a cattle ranch in Oregon, while at the same time learning to install satellite TV systems. He decided to leave the ranch behind and moved up to Coeur d’Alene to install satellite TV’s and hot tubs, where he developed a strong understanding of electronics.

In 2007, John brought his overall handyman skills to IER were his foundational knowledge and experiences gave him the ability to lead the building of IER’s new manufacturing plants. As IER is currently undergoing another strong growth phase, John’s expertise is again being called into action as we look to expand our product and service offerings to new locales.

Outside of work, John enjoys spending time woodworking and upgrading his old Chevy’s (71’ Nova and 80’ El Camino).

Karen Kurle previously worked as an international account manager, assisted the trade show manager for an electronics firm, and assisted the safety director for a truck brokerage company.

Since joining IER in 2005, Karen has contributed to the health and wellbeing of the company, her teammates, and our customers by taking on numerous responsibilities including customer service, bookkeeping, purchasing, scheduling, dispatching, inventory control, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and maintaining DOT and driver records.

Today Karen is IER’s Customer Service Manager and her priority is to ensure every customer’s request is researched and answered in a timely and professional manner. If you call IER, Karen will always be there with a smile and her full attention.

Outside of work, Karen enjoy spending time with my family.

Kevin Kohler chose to serve his nation directly after leaving high school, joining the US Marine Corps, where he served as a mechanic, receiving extensive training in various areas of maintenance. He received numerous awards and commendations and served on several overseas deployments.

Kevin joined IER in 2009, and has held various positions including Plant Manager, Regional Manager, and now Project Engineer. With tremendous work ethic and inherent curiosity, Kevin has gained invaluable experience in product development and automated chemical feed and control systems. To further assist IER’s clients, Kevin has completed numerous wastewater treatment courses and earned several certificates while progressing towards an engineering degree.

He resides in Walla Walla, WA, with his wife and daughter. Outside of work, Kevin enjoys the great outdoors, especially hunting and fishing.

Talon joined IER in 2017, after working several years working as a nuisance wildlife control specialist and arborist.Talon drives from our Centralia plant to our customer sites and has been an important part of the team over the last few years. His role and responsibilities go well beyond delivery, as he provides installation support to our customers, and also assists the plant manager when needed.

Born and raised in the Olympia, WA area (20 mins north of Centralia), Talon now lives in Rochester, WA, where he enjoys hiking, gardening, remote control hobbies and spending time with his two beautiful children.