If you need gears or gearboxes for industrial, automotive, military or agricultural applications, chances are you are familiar with Curtis Machine, a woman-owned small business located in Dodge City.

Curtis Machine is the winner of the 2017 Western Kansas Manufacturers Association New Product Award of the Year for its Curtis Machine Model 214 stainless-steel 1:1 spiral bevel gearbox in recognition of ingenuity and new product development.

The Model 214 is designed to operate in the most caustic of environments, with housing and caps designed to be corrosion-resistant to many of the applications where salt water is present or caustic wash-down chemicals are used. Using stainless steel also eliminates the need for special paint that can scratch or chip and allow corrosion to start and bacteria to grow.

The Curtis Model 214 gearbox can accommodate any ratio from 1:1 miter gearbox up to a 3:1 ratio gearbox set to be used as a speed-up or a reducer.

A 140TC motor flange is incorporated directly into the gearbox, which allows for a motor to be directly connected to the unit and eliminates the need for couplers. Curtis has special shafting or flanges to accommodate other electric and hydraulic motor sizes.

Curtis Machine, founded in 1946 as a job shop, began making gears and gearboxes as a specialty product, primarily for the agricultural industry. Under the leadership of Stuart Curtis Sr. and his wife, Janie. Curtis Machine was one of the founding members of the Western Kansas Manufacturers Association.

Today, the company is owned by Janie Curtis, who is still active in the company. John Curtis is president and general manager. Some of current product is sold into the agricultural market, but the company makes a range of gears and gearboxes for military, industrial and automotive applications. It also supplies precision machined parts to its customers.

You can visit Curtis Machine Co. at the 3i Show, which opens Oct. 12 and runs through Oct. 14 in Dodge City. More about the company can be found on the web at curtismachine.com or call 620-227-7164.