Amarillo Gear Company

What Amarillo Gear Company does

Amarillo Gear Company, founded in 1917 in Amarillo, Texas (originally as Amarillo Welding and Machine Works) and manufacturing gearboxes since 1934, designs and produces industrial gearboxes, spiral bevel and helical gears, and pump drives for cooling tower, power generation, agricultural irrigation, fire protection, HVAC, and petrochemical/industrial applications. The product portfolio is purpose-built rather than adapted from generic industrial gearing, with rated power from 5 HP to 3,000 HP across right-angle and parallel-shaft configurations; flagship lines include the cooling tower 1712/GEN II series, Quantum Q500 (with a patented dry well design for Air-Cooled Condensers), the Global double reduction gearbox for international wet cooling, the Amarillo Endurance pump drive, and an in-house open gearing range spanning spiral bevel gears up to 100" pitch diameter and helical gears up to 31.5" pitch diameter at AGMA Q12+ quality. The company operates three manufacturing sites (Amarillo, TX; Monterrey, Mexico via the Reductores de Mexico JV established in 1978 with the Elizondo Family; and Changzhou, China via Amarillo Gear (Jiangsu) Co. established in 2018), all certified to ISO 9001:2015, and runs what it describes as the only complete gear drive testing facility in the industry capable of noise, temperature, and vibration certification under full thrust and power loading up to 500 HP.

The business model is a privately held, sales-led B2B operation selling custom, quote-based industrial gearboxes and open gearing direct to enterprise customers across multiple verticals, with fire water pump drives carrying Factory Mutual listing and NFPA compliance as a regulatory moat. Revenue is generated primarily through one-time new equipment sales, supplemented by a formal aftermarket segment, Amarillo Gear Service (created 2014), that handles replacement parts, gearbox renewals, and oil management for the installed base. Marketing is concentrated in trade shows (e.g., Power-Gen Asia), technical documentation and CAD downloads on its website, and industry affiliations (AGMA member since 1950, CTI, National Ground Water Association, ASHRAE). Amarillo Gear has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Marmon Water (and thus part of Berkshire Hathaway) since 2008, following Marmon's 1964 acquisition of the Johnson family's original company and a subsequent 2014 buyout of minority partners, and it is operated alongside subsidiaries including Amarillo Gear Service and Amarillo Wind Machine (acquired 1989).

Name

Amarillo Gear Company

Legal name

Amarillo Gear Company

Website

https://amarillogear.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1917

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Amarillo Gear Company, founded in 1917 in Amarillo, Texas and privately held by Marmon Water/Berkshire Hathaway, designs and manufactures purpose-built industrial gearboxes, spiral bevel and helical gears, and pump drives (5-3,000 HP) for cooling tower, power, irrigation, fire protection, and petrochemical customers across the U.S., Mexico, and China.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Amarillo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Industrial Gearbox Sales: Designs and manufactures purpose-built gearboxes and drives for cooling towers, pumping applications, and open gearing. Products are sold directly to industrial customers across power, agricultural, HVAC, and petrochemical sectors worldwide.
2. Aftermarket Parts and Service: Segments of Amarillo Gear's aftermarket business (Amarillo Gear Service) focus on service and repairs for the installed base of gearboxes, including replacement parts, gearbox renewals, and oil management services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Amarillo Gear Company manufactures custom-engineered industrial gearboxes and power transmission equipment, primarily spiral bevel and helical gear drives, for heavy-duty applications including cooling towers, irrigation, fire water, air-cooled condensers, barges, and industrial pumps. The company also produces spiral bevel gears, helical gears, and drive shafts on a custom basis and supports its installed base through aftermarket parts and rebuild services.

Product overview

Amarillo Gear Company manufactures and ships an unparalleled line of industrial gearboxes and gears worldwide since 1934. The product portfolio consists of purpose-built right angle gear drives designed for cooling tower, pumping, and open gearing applications. Core product lines include Cooling Tower Fan Drive Gearboxes (including Model 65A, 85, 110, 135, 155, 175, 1008, 1110, 1311, 1712, 1712.5, 1713A, 1713W, 1814, 2016, GT1712, and A-Series models), Right Angle Pump Drives for irrigation, fire water protection, barge transfer, and industrial/flood control applications, and Open Gearing products including Spiral Bevel Gears (standard 3.5"-24" and large diameter up to 100") and Helical Gears (up to 31.5" pitch diameter). The company also offers specialized product lines including the Quantum Q500 for air-cooled condensers with patented dry well design, the Global Gearbox Series for international markets, the Amarillo GEN II series for cooling towers, and the Endurance series for pump drives. Rated power ranges from 5 HP (3.7 kW) to 3,000 HP (2,237 kW). The company maintains in-house manufacturing capabilities with all gear processes controlled under ISO 9001:2015 certified quality systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cooling Tower Gearboxes (AVF, AVFI, AVD, AVA series) Right-angle spiral bevel gearboxes designed to drive cooling tower fans from horizontal motors, available in multiple shaft configurations for new builds and retrofits. Targeted at power plants, process plants, and HVAC operators.
• Irrigation Pump Drives Right-angle gear drives engineered to connect horizontal motors to vertical irrigation pumps, with custom shaft lengths and right-angle housings for agricultural and municipal irrigation.
• Fire Water Pump Drives Gear drives built for fire water pump service in power generation, petrochemical, and industrial facilities, with ratings documentation required for fire protection skids.
• Air-Cooled Condenser Gearboxes Gear drives for air-cooled condenser fans in utility-scale power plants, engineered for continuous-duty outdoor service.
• Barge Pump Drives Custom-engineered gear drives for barge-mounted pumps used in marine terminal and petrochemical transfer operations.
• Industrial Pump Drives Right-angle gear drives for industrial pump applications including process water, petrochemical, and general industrial pumping.
• Spiral Bevel Gears Custom-manufactured spiral bevel gear sets cut and finished in-house for use in Amarillo's own gearboxes and for OEM and replacement customers.
• Helical Gears Custom helical gears manufactured in-house as parallel-shaft speed reducers and as components for OEM customers.
• Drive Shafts Custom drive shafts produced to integrate with Amarillo's gearboxes and to support OEM and aftermarket requirements.
• Aftermarket Parts and Rebuild Services Replacement parts, inspection, and rebuild services for Amarillo-built gearboxes, supporting multi-decade operating life across the installed base.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered regional.

• Amarillo Gear (Jiangsu) Co.regionalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Formation of Amarillo Gear (Jiangsu) Co. with manufacturing operations starting in July 2018 in Changzhou, Jiangsu, China. Supports production of Global double reduction gearboxes for wet cooling towers. Received ISO 9001:2015 certification.
• Reductores de Mexico S.A.regionalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1978Joint venture established in 1978 in Monterrey, Mexico with the Elizondo Family, creating Reductores de Mexico S.A. This partnership expanded Amarillo Gear's manufacturing presence in North America.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SEW-EURODRIVE: SEW-EURODRIVE is a global manufacturer of gear motors, electronic drives, and mechatronic systems serving industrial and process industries. Direct peer in industrial gearboxes, though broader in scope and more focused on standard modular gear drives.
• Hansen Industrial Transmissions (Sumitomo Heavy Industries): Hansen produces industrial gear drives and gearboxes for cooling towers, power generation, and heavy industrial applications. Highly comparable to Amarillo's cooling tower and right-angle drive portfolio with global distribution.
• NORD DRIVESYSTEMS: NORD manufactures gear units, motors, and drive electronics for industrial applications. Comparable to Amarillo Gear in industrial gearbox manufacturing, with overlap in pump and cooling tower drive markets globally.
• Bonfiglioli: Bonfiglioli designs, manufactures, and distributes gearmotors, drive systems, and inverters for industrial automation, mobile machinery, and renewable energy. Direct competitor to Amarillo in right-angle and helical gearboxes.
• Sumitomo Drive Technologies: Sumitomo produces industrial gearboxes including helical, bevel-helical, and planetary configurations for power transmission applications. Directly comparable to Amarillo in gear drive manufacturing for industrial and cooling tower use cases.
• David Brown (Clyde Blowers Capital portfolio): David Brown manufactures gear systems for heavy industrial applications including mining, cement, and power generation. Direct peer in custom-engineered gear drives for demanding industrial environments similar to Amarillo's cooling tower and pump drive portfolio.
• Cone Drive (a Timken brand): Cone Drive manufactures precision spiral bevel gearboxes and speed reducers used in similar industrial applications, including cooling tower and heavy-duty drive systems. It is one of the closest direct competitors to Amarillo Gear in spiral bevel technology and target verticals.
• Philadelphia Gear (a TimkenPower Systems brand): Philadelphia Gear designs and manufactures custom-engineered gear drives for industrial applications including cooling towers, pumps, and process industries. Directly comparable to Amarillo Gear in target markets, custom engineering approach, and aftermarket service focus.

Broad incumbents

• Rexnord (Falk brand): Rexnord's Falk brand manufactures gear drives, speed reducers, and couplings for industrial applications including cooling towers, material handling, and power transmission. A broader incumbent with wider product portfolio but significant overlap with Amarillo's core offerings.
• Regal Rexnord (Dodge brand): Regal Rexnord's Dodge brand produces mounted bearings, gear drives, and power transmission components for industrial applications. Broader incumbent with comparable gear drive products and overlap in pump and cooling tower markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AmarilloGear
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCJ0XD9FyQvwrOXgVJPiL87Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/AmarilloGearCompany
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/amarillo-gear-company

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries4 records

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 Amarillo Gear Company