What Cleveland Gear Company does

Cleveland Gear Company, Inc. is a U.S.-based industrial manufacturer specializing in open worm gearing and enclosed gear drives, founded in 1912 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The company designs and produces a broad portfolio of power transmission equipment ranging from small modular speed reducers (1.35" to 5.25" center distance, up to 16 HP) to large custom enclosed drives (10 to 10,000 HP, up to 7.5 million inch pounds of output torque). Core products include open worm gearsets (3" to 54" center distance, the broadest range in the industry with 1,500+ stock gear hobs), modular reducers (M, WG, S stainless, RM helical ratio multiplier series), enclosed drives (Millennium, AF & RF, helical shaft mount, parallel shaft), and custom-engineered drive solutions. Manufacturing is centered at a single 150,000 square foot facility and incorporates CNC gear hobbing, flame and case hardening, precision grinding, and standardized centrifugally cast bronze alloy selection. A proprietary Master Worm System ensures repeatability of original gear tooth geometry for replacement parts, enabling the company to serve a long-life installed base across steel mills, material handling, mining, food & beverage, pulp & paper, transportation infrastructure, and construction/infrastructure applications.

The company operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Industrial Manufacturing Company (IMC/IMCI), a diversified industrial group acquired in 1980 with over 30 worldwide manufacturing, sales and distribution facilities. Revenue is generated through a B2B direct sales model with dedicated sales contacts for Core Products and Modular Products (separate divisions), quote-based pricing with no public price disclosure, and a field service network for in-field and in-factory drive refurbishment. The refurbishment business restores drives to 'same as new' specifications at 20-30% below replacement cost and serves both Cleveland Gear and third-party drives, creating an aftermarket service revenue stream. The go-to-market approach emphasizes technical sales support, dedicated product managers, and engineering consultation rather than digital or self-serve channels, though a website-based Product Configurator with 3DContentCentral integration has been deployed for product specification. The company holds ISO 9001:2015 quality management certification and is recognized as the first U.S. manufacturer of worm gearing for mass production.

Name

Cleveland Gear Company

Legal name

Cleveland Gear Company, Inc.

Website

https://clevelandgear.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1912

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cleveland Gear Company, founded 1912 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, designs and manufactures open worm gearing, enclosed gear drives, and custom power transmission equipment for steel, mining, material handling, food & beverage, and infrastructure industries. It operates as a subsidiary of IMC/IMCI.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Power Transmission (Worm Gearing and Enclosed Gear Drives)

NAICS

Speed Changer, Industrial High-Speed Drive, and Gear Manufacturing (333612)

SIC

General Industrial Machinery & Equipment, Nec (3569)

akta.pro primary industry

Gearmotors, Gearboxes & Speed Reducers (IMAGACAF)

Keywords

• Worm gear manufacturing
• Industrial speed reducers
• Enclosed gear drives
• Power transmission equipment
• Open gearing products

Headquarters

HQ city

Cleveland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Open Worm Gearing Products: Manufacturing and sale of open worm gearsets for industrial applications including steel mills, aluminum mills, paper mills, oil, lumber, and material handling industries. Products include mixers, fans, conveyors, cranes, pulverizers, industrial truck axles, and pumps.
2. Enclosed Drive Products: Pre-engineered worm drives including Modular M Series, Millennium Series, AF & RF Series, and helical enclosed drives. Custom enclosed drives with power ratings from 10 to 10,000 horsepower and output torques up to 7.5 million inch pounds.
3. Custom Drive Engineering: Design and production of custom enclosed drives and dimensional replacement gear drives for industrial applications including single and multiple speed drives, helical/bevel/spur/planetary/worm gear designs.
4. Field Service & Rebuilds: Refurbishment and rebuild services for Cleveland Gear drives and other manufacturers' gear drives. In-field and in-factory refurbishments, with ability to restore drives to 'same as new' condition at 20-30 percent less cost than replacement.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Cleveland Gear Company designs and manufactures open worm gearing and enclosed gear drives for industrial power transmission. Its portfolio covers standard and custom worm gear sets (3" to 54" center distance), modular worm gear speed reducers, stainless steel and helical enclosed drives, parallel shaft and shaft mount drives, and custom engineered enclosed drives from 10 to 10,000 horsepower. The company also provides field service and refurbishment/rebuild services that restore drives to "same as new" condition at 20-30% lower cost than replacement.

Product overview

Cleveland Gear Company is a manufacturer of industrial power transmission equipment, primarily worm gearing and enclosed gear drives. The product portfolio includes: open worm gearing (3" to 54" CD) with over 1,500 stock gear hobs; modular speed reducers including the M Series (1.35"-5.25" CD), WG Series (40mm-225mm), S Series stainless steel, and RM Series helical ratio multipliers; larger enclosed drives including Millennium Series (5"-12" CD) and AF & RF Series (up to 36" CD); helical shaft mount and screw conveyor drives; parallel shaft drives; custom enclosed drives (10-10,000 HP, up to 7.5M in-lbs torque); and field service/rebuild services. The products serve industries including steel production, material handling, food & beverage, and general industrial applications. Cleveland Gear also offers stainless steel reducers for sanitary applications and speed variators for adjustable speed control.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Open Gearing Standard and custom open worm gear sets from 3\" to 54\" center distance with over 1,500 stock gear hobs available, custom hob design and production capability, and recess action hob designs and tangentially fed hobbing processes to optimize efficiency and power transmission. Targets machine designers and maintenance buyers in steel and aluminum mills, paper mills, oil, lumber, and material handling applications including mixers, fans, conveyors, cranes, pulverizers, industrial truck axles, and pumps.
• M Series Modular Speed Reducers Worm gear speed reducers with center distances from 1.35\" to 5.25\"; single reduction from 5:1 to 100:1 up to 16 HP and 4,608 in-lbs output torque; double reduction from 38:1 to 3,600:1. Served by the Modular Gear Group.
• WG Series Speed Reducers Worm gear speed reducers with center distances from 40mm to 225mm; single reduction from 5:1 to 70:1 up to 50 HP with output torque from 200 to 52,000 in-lbs; double reduction from 50:1 to 3,600:1.
• S Series Stainless Steel Worm Gear Drives Stainless steel worm gear drives with center distances of 1.75\", 2.06\", and 2.625\" and single reductions from 5:1 to 60:1, featuring cast 316 stainless steel housings for food and beverage and other sanitary applications.
• RM Series Helical Ratio Multipliers Inline helical ratio multipliers with five ratios (1.5:1, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, and 5:1), up to 14.21 HP and 1,077 in-lbs output torque, used with M and WG Series worm gear units to enable double reduction configurations.
• Millennium Series Worm Gear Speed Reducers Worm gear speed reducers with center distances from 5\" to 12\", ratios from 5:1 to 60:1, input horsepower from 3.4 to 211 HP, output torque from 5,500 to 158,000 in-lbs, available in solid and hollow output shaft arrangements.
• AF & RF Series Worm Gear Drives Worm gear drives from 3\" to 12\" center distances with ratios from 3-1/9:1 to 95:1, up to 170 input HP; helical worm models from 4\" to 12\" CD with ratios 32:1 to 394:1 and output torque up to 145,000 in-lbs; double worm models with ratios from 25:1 to 6,650:1.
• Helical Shaft Mounts and Screw Conveyor Drives Helical gear drives suitable for AGMA Class I, II, or III applications with sizes 2-10, featuring carburized case hardened gearing, belt conveyor shaft mount reducers (9:1, 15:1, 25:1 ratios), and screw conveyor reducers with CEMA output shafts.
• Parallel Shaft Drives Custom enclosed drives with up to 4.5 million inch pounds of output torque, featuring anti-friction bearings, heavy duty fabricated steel housings, and various lubrication systems.
• Custom Drives Engineered-to-order enclosed drives and dimensional replacement gear drives with single to quadruple reductions using helical, bevel, spur, planetary, or worm gear designs, from 10 to 10,000 horsepower, with output torque up to 7.5 million inch pounds.
• Field Service & Rebuilds Refurbishment and rebuild services for Cleveland Gear drives and other manufacturers' drives, including complete disassembly, inspection, reverse engineering, and reassembly to original specifications, with 20-30% cost savings versus replacement and ability to restore drives to "same as new" condition.
• Modular Cleanline Series Speed Reducers Modular Cleanline Series speed reducers designed for food processing applications where sanitation requirements apply.
• Fan-Cooled Speed Reducers Fan-cooled speed reducers including modular fan-cooled configurations for industrial applications requiring additional thermal management.
• Heavy Duty Speed Reducers Heavy duty speed reducers designed for demanding industrial applications where high torque and durability are required.
• E-Line Speed Reducers E-Line speed reducers for industrial applications within the Cleveland Gear modular product family.
• Cleveland Gear Speed Variators Mechanical speed variators for adjustable speed applications in industrial drives.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40-50 years of uninterrupted service typical for enclosed drives
• +3 more outcomes

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Nord Drivesystems: Industrial gear motor and drive manufacturer offering worm, helical, bevel, and variable frequency drives for material handling, food/beverage, and bulk handling. Closely comparable product line and customer overlap with Cleveland Gear's enclosed drive portfolio.
• Bauer Gear Motor: Manufacturer of helical, bevel, and worm gear motors and gear units for industrial applications including material handling, steel, and infrastructure. Comparable enclosed drive offerings in the same competitive set as Cleveland Gear.
• Sumitomo Drive Technologies: Manufacturer of gear reducers, gear motors, and precision drive technologies including worm, helical, and bevel gear configurations. Comparable enclosed drive and speed reducer product range serving material handling, metals, and food processing.
• Boston Gear (Altra Motion): Manufacturer of enclosed gear drives, speed reducers, bearings, and power transmission components under Altra Motion. Direct competitor in worm gear speed reducers and enclosed drives for industrial and material handling applications.
• Bonfiglioli: Italian-based manufacturer of gear motors, gear drives, and planetary gearboxes for industrial automation, material handling, and food processing. Comparable helical and worm gear enclosed drive portfolio and customer overlap in food/beverage and infrastructure.
• Winsmith (Peerless-Winsmith): Specialty manufacturer of speed reducers including worm gear, helical, and right angle drives for industrial and food/beverage applications. Closely comparable enclosed drive product line and customer overlap in food processing and material handling.
• Hub City (Regal Rexnord): Manufacturer of worm gear speed reducers, helical gear drives, and shaft mounted drives for industrial applications. Direct comparable product line to Cleveland Gear's enclosed drives and material handling reducer portfolio.

Broad incumbents

• SEW-Eurodrive: Global leader in gear motors, electronic drives, and mechatronic drive systems for industrial and materials handling applications. Overlaps directly with Cleveland Gear's worm and helical enclosed drive offerings, particularly in material handling and food/beverage verticals.
• Flender (Siemens): Siemens-owned manufacturer of mechanical drive systems including helical, bevel, planetary, and worm gear units for heavy industry. Comparable large industrial gear drive offering, particularly for steel mills, cement, and power generation.
• Regal Rexnord (Rexnord/Dodge): Large diversified power transmission and motion control manufacturer offering gear drives, speed reducers, bearings, and couplings through the Dodge and Rexnord brands. Directly comparable product overlap in enclosed gear drives and shaft mount reducers serving material handling, metals, and infrastructure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cleveland Gear Company