The Gear Works was founded in 1946 by Ingwald Ramberg in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood. By the 1990s, the family-owned company had grown to become one of the largest gear-manufacturing companies in North America. Its huge gears were used in wind turbines, large earth moving equipment, NASA aerospace projects, and more. The company also repaired and replaced the gear boxes in old equipment, including Seattle’s ferries and the Ballard and Fremont Bridges. In 2018, The Gear Works closed and sold its plant and equipment to its neighbor, Machinists Inc.

This 12-page brochure from The Gear Works describes and illustrates the kinds of work the company did.

Caption information source: “Seattle maker of massive gears changes hands after seven decade run”, by Dominic Gates, The Seattle Times, February 14, 2018. https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/local-maker-of-massive-gears-changes-hands-after-7-decade-run/. Consulted 2/23/24.