Forest City Gear is pleased to share that President Kika Young has been appointed as Chair of the AGMA Annual Meeting Committee. The Committee develops programming, curates networking opportunities, and selects future destinations for the AGMA/ABMA Annual Meeting.

After receiving Nadcap accreditation last year, Forest City Gear began providing magnetic particle inspection (MPI) on site, rather than outsourcing to a third-party provider. MPI is a nondestructive test employed to identify surface and shallow subsurface discontinuities. Offering MPI onsite has shortened order lead time significantly, most notably for customers in the aerospace industry.

On June 20th, Forest City Gear announced the hire of Jenny Howell as HR Manager. In this role, Howell deals with day-to-day HR issues, onboarding new hires, processing payroll, and managing performance evaluations. “I have a lot of involvement with employees, which I love,” says Howell.

Forest City Gear, an industry-leading manufacturer of fine and medium pitch custom gears, is proud to celebrate the retirement of Brian Getty in May. Getty served as Forest City Gear’s Maintenance Technician Lead for 10 years.

Forest City Gear is hosting a manufacturing facility tour for Rock River Valley Tooling and Machining Association (RRVTMA) on Wednesday, February 28 at 5:00 pm.  

Forest City Gear, an industry-leading manufacturer of fine and medium pitch custom gears, is proud to announce that Director of Operations Jared Lyford has been elected to the Rock River Valley Tooling & Machining Association (RRVTMA) Board of Directors.

Forest City Gear is proud to share that Mindy Young, shareholder and third daughter of Fred and Wendy Young, has been invited to join the Rockford Symphony Orchestra Foundation Board. Since 2007, the Board has been dedicated to financing and supporting the mission of the Rockford Symphony Orchestra.

Forest City Gear hosted a tour for students of the Gleason Gear School on September 20, 2023. For more than 70 years, Gleason Cutting Tools' school has led seminars in Rockford, IL on math, gear theory, and the required tooling, manufacture, and inspection of gears. 

Fred Young, 80, former president and CEO, Forest City Gear passed away on July 17, 2023. A graduate of Harlem High School, class of 1961, Young obtained his BA in English Literature from Rockford University, class of 1965, and went on to spend a year in the Navy Reserves. After spending nearly 40 years as an adventuring bachelor outdoorsman, he met the love of his life, Wendy Nutter, marrying her on the banks of the Wolf River on June 6, 1981. Fred’s greatest joys were his three daughters, whom he taught to always seek adventure, bestow kindness and generosity, treasure friendship, and work hard and play hard. Fred took over the family business, Forest City Gear, in 1967. Founded by his parents in 1955, Fred took the small mom-and-pop shop to a global level, leading the company to manufacture some of the world’s most difficult gearing for amazing end uses from NASA’s Martian rovers and space station to robotic arms and racing yachts.

It is with great sadness that Forest City Gear announces the death of Fred Young, former president and CEO. Fred took over the family business, Forest City Gear, in 1967. Founded by his parents in 1955, Fred took the small mom-and-pop shop to a global level, leading the company to manufacture some of the world's most difficult gearing for amazing end uses from NASA's Martian rovers and space station to robotic arms and racing yachts.