Company History
Nona & Richard Hataj
How many of us today would have the courage and nerve to leave a secure job and home to start a machine shop in a small rural town with no industry, while trying to raise three little girls under the age of seven, and another child on the way? Having roots in northern Wisconsin and desperate to escape the suburbs of Chicago, in 1962, Richard and Nona Hataj (pronounced HAY-tag) uprooted their family and moved to the small town of Edgerton, Wisconsin. Initially, Richard took over an aging John Deere implement shop. It wasn’t very prosperous. Nona recalls praying a farmer would come in with a breakdown and pay cash for the repair so she could buy groceries on the way home to feed her family. Within that first year, Richard realized he was a lousy mechanic. “The tractors I worked on kept coming back with the same problems. So I decided I’d be better off doing what I was good at, which was running a lathe and making gears.” This was the beginning of The Edgerton Machine and Gear Company.
For seven years, the family struggled to make ends meet. During the day, Richard would often go on the road, cold calling, trying to drum up work. If he was successful, he’d run the parts at night and during the day, Nona, with baby David strapped in, would deliver the parts in the pickup as soon as possible to demonstrate their customer service. One summer Richard helped demolish a building where the present-day Oren’s Car Wash now stands. Fortunately, they had a supportive uncle, Clifford Shaw, who believed in Richard and Nona enough to cosign on a loan, which helped them to buy Edgerton Gear’s first gear hobber and a power hacksaw. Little by little, the business grew and developed a reputation, as customers knew they could rely on the crew at Edgerton Gear to make quality components and to stand behind their work. Eventually, the business grew and moved through a succession of ever larger facilities. In 1991, the shop landed in its current home and the name was shortened to Edgerton Gear Inc. because “the letters to put on the building were too expensive, for a long name like The Edgerton Machine & Gear Company,” recalls Nona.
For seven years, the family struggled to make ends meet. During the day, Richard would often go on the road, cold calling, trying to drum up work. If he was successful, he’d run the parts at night and during the day, Nona, with baby David strapped in, would deliver the parts in the pickup as soon as possible to demonstrate their customer service. One summer Richard helped demolish a building where the present-day Oren’s Car Wash now stands. Fortunately, they had a supportive uncle, Clifford Shaw, who believed in Richard and Nona enough to cosign on a loan, which helped them to buy Edgerton Gear’s first gear hobber and a power hacksaw. Little by little, the business grew and developed a reputation, as customers knew they could rely on the crew at Edgerton Gear to make quality components and to stand behind their work. Eventually, the business grew and moved through a succession of ever larger facilities. In 1991, the shop landed in its current home and the name was shortened to Edgerton Gear Inc. because “the letters to put on the building were too expensive, for a long name like The Edgerton Machine & Gear Company,” recalls Nona.
Richard & Laddie (left to right)
Like many small businesses of its kind, Edgerton Gear does not spend money on advertising; the success of the shop is tied directly to the success and satisfaction of its customers (who have, on occasion, directed almost too much business to the shop, which is why the website has sometimes posted that the shop is not accepting new customers.) Clients “discover” Edgerton Gear, then they stay for the long haul.
But even with the shop’s steady growth and its shift to newer technologies, the Edgerton Gear workforce remains reverent to its humble beginnings. Employees are hired for their skill and character, honoring the legacy of those who came before.
But even with the shop’s steady growth and its shift to newer technologies, the Edgerton Gear workforce remains reverent to its humble beginnings. Employees are hired for their skill and character, honoring the legacy of those who came before.
Richard and Nona’s son Dave transitioned into the leadership role during the 1990s. Dick has since passed away (in 2012, just days before the shop’s 50th anniversary), while Nona continues to work in the office most days.
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Edgerton Gear, Inc.
20 Gear Drive Edgerton, WI 53534 |
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Edgerton Gear, Inc. All Rights Reserved |