RockShield Rubber's blueprint for success leads to exponential growth

MILLTOWN, Wis.—Custom rubber wear manufacturer RockShield Rubber Co. will nearly double the size of its Wisconsin-based operation with the opening of a $4 million, 42,000-sq.-ft. facility expected sometime in 2024, according to Founder and President Gabe Feuerhelm.

RockShield, established in 2015, outgrew its current 23,000-sq.-ft. space in the village of Milltown by 2020. That left the firm with no other options but to grow right along with the customer base.

Before adding space, the team considered other options for its new factory in and around Wisconsin, eventually settling on a 4-acre parcel in the newly developed Polk County Industrial Park, a few miles from its existing site. RockShield has the first right of refusal to purchase an adjacent four-acre plot in the park as well to support expected future growth.

The custom manufacturer specializes in designing and building application-specific screen media and wear components for two main sectors: mining, and construction and building materials. Most of RockShield's customers require rubber wear components for mineral processing; rock, concrete and building material work; and different types of roads and infrastructure construction for both the commercial and residential sectors.

"We've grown by leaps and bounds," Feuerhelm said. "Our team has earned a reputation of custom wear media that has a long-life span and can hold up to (challenging) work environments."

RockShield would have benefited from a larger facility for the last three years, he said, but the pandemic made immediate investments difficult even as growth continued.

Feuerhelm declined to provide revenue or specific growth numbers, calling the company's expansion "extensive."

Although he purchased parts of a former manufacturing business when he started RockShield in 2015, Feuerhelm started his business from scratch, hiring several employees from the former business. Many of those team members are still with him today, and they are one of the biggest reasons the company still is headquartered in Milltown, rather than closer to Feuerhelm's hometown of Ellsworth about 75 minutes away.

"I looked for land (for the new headquarters) in multiple communities, but this works out well because many of our employees live only a few minutes from here," Feuerhelm said. "Plus, (Milltown) has been great to work with and is very accommodating whenever we have a need."

RockShield is the first tenant in the Polk County Industrial Park, although Feuerhelm has heard there is interest in other sites from industrial entities. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation awarded a grant of over $232,000 to assist with building roadways leading in and out of the park. Funding also supports upgraded water main infrastructure for future tenants and the community.

Much of RockShield 's sales comes from working with distribution partners throughout the U.S. and Canada, although it does have a sales team comprised of two professionals in the Midwest and one in Texas, Feuerhelm said. He is confident that growth will continue as RockShield captures additional market within its target industries. Eventually, he would like to expand globally within mining and construction.

"I guess you can say we want to be the best at what we do now and don't want to spread ourselves too thin. There are great opportunities right where we are," he said.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin's mechanical design program, Feuerhelm worked in field application and project management before becoming an entrepreneur eight years ago. He admits the timing of when RockShield started was ideal because it was able to capture upon specific industry needs for an underserved customer base.

Feuerhelm expects to hire 10-20 more employees once RockShield moves into its planned new facility in 2024, with many of those new positions needed for press operations, welding, metal fabrication, plasma table operation and other skilled trade specialties.

Construction of the new facility is delayed longer than Feuerhelm would like because of supply chain delays, but he expects ground to break later this year. From there, it may take another six to nine months for the new facility to be operational.

"We've had to keep reinventing ourselves over the years and have done a great job keeping our best people," Feuerhelm said. "The credit goes to our team because I am pretty certain I have the best group of professionals around."