Four years ago Bruce Neumiller approached me about a company he and his business partners wanted to start to remanufacture gearboxes for wind turbines. That company: Gearbox Express of Mukwonago.  At that time, I served a dual capacity as President of BizStarts and a managing partner of the Successful Entrepreneur Investors angel network. 

Some of our accredited investors decided to invest in the start-up. That included George Mosher, one of the great angel investors of the State of Wisconsin; and, Mike Malatesta, a successful entrepreneur in his own right who knew firsthand the challenges of growing a new company.

Fast-forward and today Gearbox Express is outgrowing its current facility and planning to build a plant nearly twice the size while adding additional employees.

What was the key to their success? Bruce and his business partners had extensive industry experience from the Falk Corporation and other gearbox and bearing manufacturing companies, and were able to attract the right talent to join their core team. These guys know gears and heavy machinery. That impressive background, combined with a sizeable subordinated loan commitment from Wisconsin's State Energy Program, Investor's Bank, and the SBA, were all pieces of their success.

Bruce is quick to add that this achievement could not have happened without the core team who was willing to put in a tremendous amount of work hours; persist in the face of daunting odds; endure the lows and fight off fear.

Starting a company and scaling the way they have done is never easy, and the process tests the strength and interior character of any entrepreneur.

There is no such thing as instant success. We can be proud of what Gearbox Express endured and created. Their future may be challenging but it's a walk in the park to the challenges they have overcome.

If Bruce and founding partners, Brian Halverson and Brian Hastings, keep GBX on this trajectory, they may well receive our Inspirational Entrepreneur Award given to entrepreneurs in honor of George Dalton for starting and scaling a new company that creates jobs and strengthens our economy.

Dan Steininger

President & Co-founder