A career built on relationships
Tony Stewart has been part of Advanced Equipment Company (AEC) since 1969. In more than five decades with AEC, he has watched the material handling industry change dramatically while helping the company grow and develop relationships with customers throughout the Carolinas.
With an engineering degree and nearly four decades of experience in outside sales, Tony brings an extensive understanding of material handling equipment and its practical applications. He was one of AEC’s top sales contributors for many years, representing the company in both the Charlotte and Greenville, South Carolina markets.
Yet for all his technical knowledge and professional accomplishments, the relationships Tony has developed are what truly distinguish his career. Many of those relationships have lasted for decades, extending beyond individual projects and becoming an important part of AEC’s history.
Building a career in outside sales
Tony joined AEC in 1969, shortly after finishing college with an engineering degree. The company was less than a decade old, and Tony began his career representing AEC in the Charlotte area, bringing a technical background to a business focused on solving material handling problems.
Later in his career, Tony moved into the Greenville, South Carolina territory, where he continued developing business for AEC. He established himself as one of the company’s top sales contributors, helping build a customer base that supported AEC’s growth over the years.
Tony’s engineering education gave him a strong foundation for understanding equipment and developing practical solutions. He could discuss the technical details of an application with confidence, while also understanding that a successful project required more than choosing the right equipment. It meant understanding how a customer’s operation worked and what they were trying to accomplish.
His years in outside sales gave him opportunities to work directly with customers as their operations changed. New equipment and technologies created different challenges, and Tony’s technical background helped him evaluate the available options. Throughout those changes, he continued to place considerable importance on the relationships behind the business.
Over time, Tony became a familiar and trusted representative of AEC. His success was not simply the result of selling equipment. It came from developing relationships that gave customers confidence they could call him again when another need arose.
The people behind the business
One of the defining characteristics of Tony’s career has been his ability to build lasting relationships. Customers he worked with throughout his years in outside sales became long-term business connections, and his relationships with equipment manufacturers helped him find solutions for the applications those customers brought to AEC.
Those connections extended inside the company as well. Tony has worked alongside generations of AEC employees, developing friendships that have become an important part of his life. For someone who has spent nearly his entire professional career with one company, the people he has worked with are inseparable from the story of his career.
Larry Abernathy was among the people who influenced Tony most. Tony joined AEC seven years before Larry purchased the company in 1976, and the two worked together through decades of growth. Tony admired Larry’s commitment to customer relationships and the personal approach to business that became a defining part of AEC’s culture.
That culture was more than a business philosophy to Tony. It was something he experienced throughout his career, both in the way employees treated one another and in the relationships they developed with customers. The company changed considerably over the years, but that sense of personal responsibility remained an important part of how AEC operated.
Putting decades of experience to work
After roughly five decades in outside sales, Tony transitioned into an inside sales support position. The move gave AEC an opportunity to put his considerable experience to work in a different way, providing knowledgeable support to customers and the company’s outside sales team.
Today, Tony serves as a Sales Support Specialist, drawing on his engineering background and years of field experience to help answer questions and keep projects moving. When clients have questions and their primary salesperson is out in the field, Tony frequently steps into active projects to provide expert answers, discuss applications, and help determine next steps.
Tony has described his role as being something of a wingman for AEC’s outside salespeople.
“Because I spent so many years doing the same work, I understand the challenges our outside salespeople face firsthand,” states Tony.
That experience allows him to provide meaningful support rather than simply passing along a message. There have even been occasions when Tony has returned to a customer’s facility on behalf of a salesperson who could not be there.
Although his responsibilities have changed, his willingness to help customers and coworkers remains much the same as it was during his years in outside sales.
Making someone’s day a little easier
One of the things Tony has always enjoyed most about his work is the opportunity to interact with customers. Moving into an office-based role changed how those conversations happened, but it didn’t change what he appreciated about them. A lengthy phone conversation with a plant manager could be just as satisfying as a visit to a customer’s facility.
As Tony explained, “I enjoy making a busy person’s life easier.”
That simple statement captures an approach to customer service that has remained consistent throughout his career.
Sometimes a customer needs technical guidance on a material handling application. Other times, they simply need an update on an existing order. Tony knows that a useful answer delivered at the right time can make a huge impact on someone trying to keep an operation running.
His engineering knowledge allows him to address complicated questions, but he has never lost sight of the importance of personal attention. Customers appreciate knowing that someone understands their concerns and is willing to help them find an answer.
Experience that spans generations
When Tony started out in this business, material handling drawings were hand-drawn on drafting tables, and getting an answer to a customer took a lot more legwork than a quick phone call or email. Over five decades, he’s watched the industry evolve from the ground up, embracing new technologies that completely changed how equipment gets designed and projects move forward.
Modern tools let AEC move faster and get clients the exact details they need without waiting days for a site visit. Though Tony appreciates how far things have come, he’s quick to point out that technology is only half the equation. At the end of the day, it still comes down to people.
That perspective is second nature to someone who has seen generations of new employees walk through AEC’s doors. Tony genuinely enjoys passing down what he’s learned, helping newer team members get their footing in an industry that has been his life’s work.
Through all the shifts in technology and process, Tony has seen that the fundamentals haven’t changed. Clients still need reliable answers, and real business relationships are built the old-fashioned way – through years of consistency and trust.
Why AEC clients rely on Tony
Tony Stewart’s career represents an important part of Advanced Equipment Company’s history. From his early years representing AEC in Charlotte to his success in the Greenville market and his continued work supporting customers today, he has made a lasting contribution to the company.
His engineering background and extensive industry experience give him the technical knowledge to understand challenging applications. His decades of success in outside sales demonstrate his ability to put that knowledge to work for customers.
What makes Tony’s career particularly meaningful, however, is the number of relationships that have endured along the way. After more than 5 decades at AEC, he continues to value the opportunity to help someone solve a problem and make their day a little easier.
For Tony, that has always been the best part of the job.
Partnering with AEC
Since 1960, AEC has remained the leading conveyor integrator in North and South Carolina, delivering elite material handling and custom engineered solutions to the entire US.
AEC’s premier status is built on a “boots on the ground” approach that transforms complex material handling challenges into streamlined, high-performance realities. By combining local expertise in the Carolinas with a robust nationwide reach, we provide the scalability of a national firm with the dedicated, responsive service of a regional partner.
Written by AEC Director of Customer Engagement, Josh Hamrick