Ted Alvarado (left) observes as Evan van Ommeren helps guide a gearbox into place for repairs at Gearbox Express in Mukwonago. Credit: Sharon Vanorny

SHARE A remanufactured gearbox from Gearbox Express is installed last year at a wind farm in Wyoming. Gearbox Express

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After doubling the size of its factory, a Mukwonago-based supplier to the wind energy sector may need to expand again within two years, its CEO says.

"This place is already full," CEO Bruce Neumiller of Gearbox Express said as his company opened its $10 million headquarters and factory in Mukwonago.

The company, founded in 2011, specializes in repairing and remanufacturing wind turbine gearboxes that need replacing every five to 10 years.

"There are more than 50,000 active turbines in the United States, with more being added every day," said Neumiller. "We started Gearbox Express knowing that those gearboxes will need replacement in their lifetime."

The nation's wind power capacity grew by 13% in 2015 and is forecast to increase by 8% in 2016 and by 9% in 2017, the federal Energy Information Administration said last month.

"Our business is growing very quickly," said Neumiller, attributing the growth to a combination of Gearbox Express' value proposition and the gearbox failure rates for turbines built over the past 15 years across the country.

The 75,000-square-foot facility is twice the size of the former office for the company. Because of strong demand, the company may need to pursue a 30,000-square-foot addition within two years, Neumiller said.

Supported by venture capital as well as a $3.4 million low-interest loan from the Wisconsin State Energy Program, Gearbox Express was founded as a one-stop shop for remanufacturing of gearboxes, but its focus has broadened. The company keeps an inventory of remanufactured gearboxes and its own gearbox product at the ready for immediate swap-outs of gearboxes as they're removed from a turbine.

In a statement, Tom Kiernan of the American Wind Energy Association said Gearbox Express is among 500 factories in 43 states serving the wind power sector. "We've been saying all along that stable policies for clean energy will keep U.S. factory jobs and create new ones," he said.

"Two-thirds of the value of an American wind farm is made-in-the-USA. A robust U.S. supply chain, in particular a thriving operations and maintenance sector, will be critical to quadrupling American wind power to 20% of the grid by 2030, and saving consumers money while doing it," Kiernan said.

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