Grease Warehouse

Grease Warehouse

What It Does: Heavy machinery grease vendor
Founder: Scott Adams, 23
Web Site: www.greasewarehouse.com
Based: Highland, Ind.

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, by adding copper and graphite so they could withstand hotter temperatures, for example. He raised $50,000 from an angel investor to start Grease Warehouse, and 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.