Gene Haas
Encyclopedia
Gene Francis Haas is founder, president, and sole stockholder of Haas Automation
, one of the world's leading CNC machine tool manufacturers. He also founded a NASCAR
team, Haas CNC Racing
now known as Stewart Haas Racing.
in Accounting and Finance. He originally majored in engineering but switched to business after Lockheed
nearly went bankrupt. Ironically, after graduation he was unable to find employment in business that paid more than what he was earning at his summer machine shop job. So, for the next few years he worked as a machinist and NC programmer. In 1978, he opened Pro-turn Engineering, a small machine shop with two employees; Tony Cortez and Abel Bugarin.
In 1980, Haas noticed that it took Bugarin a long time to manually position an indexer. Haas thought building his own indexer with a stepper motor
drive would make his shop more efficient. He built one for himself and few more for other machine shops. In March 1983, he displayed his indexer at WESTEC (an industry expo). After seeing the positive reaction of attendees, he decided to form Haas Automation to mass produce them. His first commercial product, the HBI-5C (Haas Brothers Indexer), sold well because it was programmable and inexpensive. In 1986, Haas and a partner were awarded a U.S. Patent for their invention.
In 1988, after reverse-engineering a popular American machining center, Haas started production on a fully enclosed CNC machining center priced at $49,900, well below the competition. Over time, Haas machine tools became extremely popular, mostly because they are simple, very affordable, and because the in-house designed computer control is operator-friendly (no soft-keys or cryptic menus).
By 1996, Haas had outgrown its facilities in Chatsworth, California and began a search that ultimately brought it to the coastal community of Oxnard, California. In March 1997, the move was completed into the Oxnard factory, a 420000 square feet (39,019.3 m²) facility. By 2005, the factory had been expanded to 1000000 square feet (92,903 m²).
Haas Automation is now the largest machine tool manufacturer in the United States. Sales for 2008 reached a record reportedly just under $1 billion worldwide.
race team, Haas CNC Racing. After purchasing the Concord, North Carolina-based Craftsman Truck Race facility from Hendrick Motorsports
, Haas CNC Racing began work on its first entry in the Nextel Cup (now Sprint Cup) series as a single-car team. The first entry for the new team was September 30, 2002 with driver Jack Sprague who finished 35th after a crash. The team raced only three times in 2002. By 2003 the team was running full time with several driver changes over the season. By 2006 the team had relocated to a new, state-of-the-art facility in Kannapplis, North Carolina and was fielding a second full-time team. At the end of 2008, the team was still struggling with a total 6+ year average finish of just under 27th place.
driver Tony Stewart
. The new operation, named Stewart-Haas Racing, began operating in January 2009. Ryan Newman
drives for the team as well. Stewart led the points for much of 2009 with this new team,winning four times at Pocono, Daytona, Watkins Glen, and Kansas, ending up sixth in points. Stewart had a mediocre 2010 before picking up wins at Atlanta and Fontana, while Newman won at Phoenix. Tony Stewart won the 2011 Sprint Cup Championship, winning 5 of the 10 races in the final 10 chase races. This was the first time an owner/driver won the title since Alan Kulwicki in 1992.
rolling road which allows a car to be restrained in place directly on top of a massive tread mill-like machine with a 70 feet (21.3 m) by 10 feet (3 m) by 1 mm thick stainless steel belt rotating at speeds up to 180 miles per hour (289.7 km/h). The rolling road accurately simulates the dynamics of a car on the race track, unlike traditional fixed-floor tunnels. Construction of the new wind tunnel began in 2007 and was completed by year-end. After six months of commissioning, the wind tunnel opened to its first customer, a Formula One race team, in July 2008. Today the Wind Shear facility counts numerous NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula One and ALMS teams as customers. Wind Shear is owned 100% by Gene Haas.
(Cal Poly), California State University Channel Islands, and California State University Northridge.
The Gene Haas Foundation has been a major supporter of local, Ventura County-area charities in recent years. Since its formation in 1999, the Foundation has provided more than 8.5 million dollars in grants to organizations such as The United Way, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Ventura County Food Share, American Red Cross
, YMCA
, Casa Pacifica, American Cancer Society
, California State University Northridge, Rain Transitional Living Center, Salvation Army
, National MS Society, Ventura County Rescue Mission, and many more.2
In 2009, the Gene Haas Foundation published the website ghaasfoundation.org. The foundation has provided charitable donations since 2001 including Hospice Foundation, Boy Scouts of America, Los Angeles Mission, YMCA Kids Camp, NAACP, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, MS Society, and others.
agents for investigation of filing false tax returns
, witness intimidation
, and conspiracy
. Four others were indicted together with Haas.
Haas initially pled not guilty, but after all four of the co-indicted plead guilty and just before his case was to go to trial, a plea agreement was reached with Haas pleading guilty on one count.
Haas made full restitution to the IRS and has served a fraction of a 24-month sentence in federal prison. He was released to a halfway house in November 2008. Since February 2009, he has been living at his home and working at Haas Automation.
As of January 2009, the race team was jointly owned by Gene Haas and Tony Stewart
and is named "Stewart-Haas Racing". Gene Haas was present at the first team win in May 2009 when Tony Stewart won the All-Star race. Haas also joined Tony Stewart on the podium at Homestead-Miami Raceway on November 20, 2011, as Stewart won the 400 mile race that day and claimed his third NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
Haas Automation
Founded in 1983 by Gene Haas, Haas Automation is a CNC machine tool manufacturer based in Oxnard, California. Haas Automation manufactures CNC vertical and horizontal machining centers, CNC lathes, rotary tables and 5C indexers. Sales outlets, referred to as Haas Factory Outlets are located all...
, one of the world's leading CNC machine tool manufacturers. He also founded a NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
team, Haas CNC Racing
Haas CNC Racing
Stewart-Haas Racing, formerly known as Haas CNC Racing, is a NASCAR racing team based in Kannapolis, North Carolina, which runs Chevrolet Impalas. The team is owned by Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, and runs the #14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala driven by Stewart and the #39 United States...
now known as Stewart Haas Racing.
Haas Automation
Haas graduated from California State University Northridge in 1975 with a Bachelor of ScienceBachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in Accounting and Finance. He originally majored in engineering but switched to business after Lockheed
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
nearly went bankrupt. Ironically, after graduation he was unable to find employment in business that paid more than what he was earning at his summer machine shop job. So, for the next few years he worked as a machinist and NC programmer. In 1978, he opened Pro-turn Engineering, a small machine shop with two employees; Tony Cortez and Abel Bugarin.
In 1980, Haas noticed that it took Bugarin a long time to manually position an indexer. Haas thought building his own indexer with a stepper motor
Stepper motor
A stepper motor is a brushless, electric motor that can divide a full rotation into a large number of steps. The motor's position can be controlled precisely without any feedback mechanism , as long as the motor is carefully sized to the application...
drive would make his shop more efficient. He built one for himself and few more for other machine shops. In March 1983, he displayed his indexer at WESTEC (an industry expo). After seeing the positive reaction of attendees, he decided to form Haas Automation to mass produce them. His first commercial product, the HBI-5C (Haas Brothers Indexer), sold well because it was programmable and inexpensive. In 1986, Haas and a partner were awarded a U.S. Patent for their invention.
In 1988, after reverse-engineering a popular American machining center, Haas started production on a fully enclosed CNC machining center priced at $49,900, well below the competition. Over time, Haas machine tools became extremely popular, mostly because they are simple, very affordable, and because the in-house designed computer control is operator-friendly (no soft-keys or cryptic menus).
By 1996, Haas had outgrown its facilities in Chatsworth, California and began a search that ultimately brought it to the coastal community of Oxnard, California. In March 1997, the move was completed into the Oxnard factory, a 420000 square feet (39,019.3 m²) facility. By 2005, the factory had been expanded to 1000000 square feet (92,903 m²).
Haas Automation is now the largest machine tool manufacturer in the United States. Sales for 2008 reached a record reportedly just under $1 billion worldwide.
Haas CNC Racing
In 2002, Gene Haas formed a new NASCARNASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
race team, Haas CNC Racing. After purchasing the Concord, North Carolina-based Craftsman Truck Race facility from Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports , originally named All Star Racing, is a current American auto racing team created in 1984 by Rick Hendrick. The team currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Chevrolet Impalas...
, Haas CNC Racing began work on its first entry in the Nextel Cup (now Sprint Cup) series as a single-car team. The first entry for the new team was September 30, 2002 with driver Jack Sprague who finished 35th after a crash. The team raced only three times in 2002. By 2003 the team was running full time with several driver changes over the season. By 2006 the team had relocated to a new, state-of-the-art facility in Kannapplis, North Carolina and was fielding a second full-time team. At the end of 2008, the team was still struggling with a total 6+ year average finish of just under 27th place.
Stewart-Haas Racing
Late in 2008, Gene Haas announced that he would join forces with NASCARNASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
driver Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne "Tony" Stewart is an American auto racing driver and owner. Throughout his racing career, Stewart has won titles in Indy cars and stock cars as well as midget, sprint and USAC Silver Crown cars, giving him the recognition of "one of the finest racers of his generation."Stewart...
. The new operation, named Stewart-Haas Racing, began operating in January 2009. Ryan Newman
Ryan Newman
Ryan Joseph Newman is a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He drives the #39 United States Army/Tornados/Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala for Stewart Haas Racing under crew chief Tony Gibson. Newman graduated from Purdue University in 2001 with a B.S. in vehicle structure engineering...
drives for the team as well. Stewart led the points for much of 2009 with this new team,winning four times at Pocono, Daytona, Watkins Glen, and Kansas, ending up sixth in points. Stewart had a mediocre 2010 before picking up wins at Atlanta and Fontana, while Newman won at Phoenix. Tony Stewart won the 2011 Sprint Cup Championship, winning 5 of the 10 races in the final 10 chase races. This was the first time an owner/driver won the title since Alan Kulwicki in 1992.
Wind Shear wind tunnel
In 2006 planning began for a commercial wind tunnel. Gene Haas commissioned California-based Triliad Development to oversee the project. The facility was designed to be the most advanced automotive wind tunnel in the world. The facility is centered around an MTSMTS Systems Corporation
MTS Systems Corporation is a testing and sensing solutions company located in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a southwest suburb of Minneapolis.MTS is a provider of mechanical test systems, material testing, fatigue testing and tensile testing services as well as motion simulation system and calibration...
rolling road which allows a car to be restrained in place directly on top of a massive tread mill-like machine with a 70 feet (21.3 m) by 10 feet (3 m) by 1 mm thick stainless steel belt rotating at speeds up to 180 miles per hour (289.7 km/h). The rolling road accurately simulates the dynamics of a car on the race track, unlike traditional fixed-floor tunnels. Construction of the new wind tunnel began in 2007 and was completed by year-end. After six months of commissioning, the wind tunnel opened to its first customer, a Formula One race team, in July 2008. Today the Wind Shear facility counts numerous NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula One and ALMS teams as customers. Wind Shear is owned 100% by Gene Haas.
Philanthropic activities
Haas has used his position as a successful businessman to share with the local community. Haas Automation and Haas were the recipient of the Roy Pinkerton Award, presented by United Way, Ventura County Chapter. Many engineering colleges have "CNC Labs" outfitted with machines he donated, including California Polytechnic State UniversityCalifornia Polytechnic State University
California Polytechnic State University, or Cal Poly, is a public university located in San Luis Obispo, California, United States. The university is one of two polytechnic campuses in the 23-member California State University system....
(Cal Poly), California State University Channel Islands, and California State University Northridge.
The Gene Haas Foundation
The Gene Haas Foundation was formed in 1999 to fund the needs of the local community and other deserving charities, at the discretion of its founder, Mr. Gene Haas. Of special importance to the Gene Haas Foundation are children’s charities and organizations that feed the poor, especially within the local community of Ventura County. In addition, the Gene Haas Foundation provides scholarship funds to Community Colleges and Vocational Schools for students entering technical training programs, especially machinist-based certificate and degree programs.The Gene Haas Foundation has been a major supporter of local, Ventura County-area charities in recent years. Since its formation in 1999, the Foundation has provided more than 8.5 million dollars in grants to organizations such as The United Way, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Ventura County Food Share, American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
, YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
, Casa Pacifica, American Cancer Society
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...
, California State University Northridge, Rain Transitional Living Center, Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
, National MS Society, Ventura County Rescue Mission, and many more.2
In 2009, the Gene Haas Foundation published the website ghaasfoundation.org. The foundation has provided charitable donations since 2001 including Hospice Foundation, Boy Scouts of America, Los Angeles Mission, YMCA Kids Camp, NAACP, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, MS Society, and others.
Criminal tax evasion
On the morning of June 19, 2006, Haas was arrested by IRSInternal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
agents for investigation of filing false tax returns
Tax avoidance and tax evasion
Tax noncompliance describes a range of activities that are unfavorable to a state's tax system. These include tax avoidance, which refers to reducing taxes by legal means, and tax evasion which refers to the criminal non-payment of tax liabilities....
, witness intimidation
Witness intimidation
Witness intimidation involves witnesses crucial to court proceedings being threatened in order to pressure or extort them not to testify. The refusal of key witnesses to testify commonly renders a case with inadequate physical evidence void in a court of law...
, and conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
. Four others were indicted together with Haas.
Haas initially pled not guilty, but after all four of the co-indicted plead guilty and just before his case was to go to trial, a plea agreement was reached with Haas pleading guilty on one count.
Haas made full restitution to the IRS and has served a fraction of a 24-month sentence in federal prison. He was released to a halfway house in November 2008. Since February 2009, he has been living at his home and working at Haas Automation.
As of January 2009, the race team was jointly owned by Gene Haas and Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart
Anthony Wayne "Tony" Stewart is an American auto racing driver and owner. Throughout his racing career, Stewart has won titles in Indy cars and stock cars as well as midget, sprint and USAC Silver Crown cars, giving him the recognition of "one of the finest racers of his generation."Stewart...
and is named "Stewart-Haas Racing". Gene Haas was present at the first team win in May 2009 when Tony Stewart won the All-Star race. Haas also joined Tony Stewart on the podium at Homestead-Miami Raceway on November 20, 2011, as Stewart won the 400 mile race that day and claimed his third NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.