Grease Warehouse

(Post: English)
"Scott Adams had been working in sales at an oil company when he started getting inquiries from companies such as Caterpillar (CAT) about specialized greases - the kind of lubricants needed to maintain heavy machinery used for mining, construction, and manufacturing."

Experimenting in his basement, Adams cooked up a formula for greases that would extend the life of equipment.

He added copper and graphite into the grease so they could withstand hotter temperatures, for example.

He raised $50,000 from an angel investor to start Grease Warehouse.

As a one-man company, he outsourced the manufacturing and distribution of his greases.

Adams has about a dozen accounts with larger buyers and 50 smaller, occasional customers.

Grease Warehouse had revenue of $67,000 in 2008 and Adams expects to break half a million this year.

He plans to hire his first employee soon.

INFO:
The Company: Grease Warehouse
What It Does: Heavy machinery grease vendor
Founder: Scott Adams, 23
Based: Highland, Ind.

Source: BusinessWeek