Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson Visits our New Mukwonago Facility

It was a thrill to host Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson at our new Mukwonago facility on Friday, June 24. He and some of his staff joined about 40 of our friends, family and business partners on a tour where he got to see how we are leading the charge in the wind energy industry in Wisconsin. Senator Johnson is no stranger to GBX. He first heard our story in a coffee shop in Delafield, WI, in 2010, when Gearbox Express was just a dream to three gearbox guys. Fast forward to today, and GBX is already in its second location which is twice the size of the facility we first launched in. And although we just moved in this past March, we are already at capacity due to demand for our services.

Senator Johnson saw our technicians in action as we had just received an entire gearbox mainshaft about to undergo refurbishment and then get put back into action. After his 30-minute tour, we congregated in our lobby for a 30-minute Q&A where he said, “nothing is off limits.”
He was candid about this upcoming reelection campaign, the fight on keeping Americans safe as seem from his point of view as Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee & the Subcommittee on Europe & Regional Security Cooperation. He also addressed his hopes for the renewables industry, with wind in particular, to be able to sustain on its own in the private sector. This view stays in lockstep with is current campaign slogan “We want to help people help themselves.”

Gearbox Express is full of proud Wisconsin residents and we are a proud Wisconsin-based start-up that received support with a $3.4 million low-interest, revolving loan from the Wisconsin State Energy Program. That is a loan we are paying back, along with injecting nearly $13 million into the Wisconsin economy. By working together, we both succeeded and it was great to showcase that success with Senator Ron Johnson in person.