Skip to main content
University of Nebraska Omaha logo University of Nebraska Omaha
APPLY MY UNO DIRECTORY

Students Faculty Staff Community
University of Nebraska Omaha logo
College of Business Administration Nebraska Business Development Center
APPLY MY UNO DIRECTORY
Students Faculty Staff Community
  • About Backback to Main menu
    • About NBDC
    • Consultant/Staff Directory
    • NBDC News Center
    • NBDC Events
    • NBDC Business Awards
    • NBDC Annual Report
  • Business Start + Growth Backback to Main menu
    • About Nebraska SBDC
    • Plan Development
    • Financial Forecasting & Loan Packaging
    • Valuation and Succession Planning
    • Export Strategy
    • Import Resources
    • Contact a Consultant
  • Government Contracting Backback to Main menu
    • About Government Contracting
    • Take the First Steps
    • Contact a Consultant
    • Government Contracting Resources
    • Meet the Buyers Conference
    • Events
  • Innovation & Technology Backback to Main menu
    • About Innovation & Technology
    • SBIR & STTR Funding
    • Contact a Consultant
  • NU Connections
  • SourceLink Nebraska Backback to Main menu
    • About SourceLink Nebraska
    • SourceLink Nebraska Team
    • Personal Action Plan
    • Program Information
  • Enlighten Backback to Main menu
    • About Enlighten
    • Enlighten Enrollment
    • Sign up for Updates

Brehmer Manufacturing Inc.

  1. UNO
  2. College of Business Administration
  3. Nebraska Business Development Center
  4. About
  5. Success Stories
  6. Brehmer Manufacturing Inc.

  • Additional Resources

  • NBDC News Center
  • NBDC Events
  • Business Awards
  • NBDC Client Stories
  • NBDC Annual Report

Joe Brehmer, president and owner of Brehmer Manufacturing Inc. in Lyons, Neb., recalls the first time he became involved with the Nebraska Business Development Center.

“It was back in about 2000,” he says. “Renee (Held) pulled together a group of non-competing manufacturers. I think there were six of us, and the subject was Lean Manufacturing.” A 20-year member of the NBDC staff at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Held is a NIST-MEP Lean-certified consultant.

“I really enjoyed that experience,” Brehmer says. “I liked learning about Lean Manufacturing and being able to meet others like myself.”

Brehmer Manufacturing and NBDC have stayed in contact ever since, hosting on-site Lean consulting, leadership training and, most recently, participating in the Intensive Entrepreneurship Program. “We’re really fortunate in Nebraska to have a lot of programs available that help promote and grow businesses,” Brehmer says. “The big thing is finding them. That’s where NBDC’s services come in very handy.”

Founded in 1974 by Brehmer and his father, Reynard, Brehmer Manufacturing specializes in custom truck and hoist equipment as well as several other services that have helped the business expand into international markets.

“We started out in livestock equipment but we’ve always done a lot of custom building,” says Brehmer, who purchased his father’s interest in the company 15 years ago. “That’s what dad and I liked to do.”

They began the business in Oakland, Neb., and in 1983 moved to a building in Lyons. “We’ve since expanded seven times,” Brehmer says. “We started with 19,000 square feet and we’re up to 49,540 square feet and planning another expansion. Seems like whenever we get done with one we start another.”

The company employs 64 people “and we could use another four or five,” he says.

Being diversified has helped Brehmer Manufacturing survive at times when many markets were slumping. “The difference between us and others is that we like niche markets where we can do the design and manufacturing,” he says. For example, Brehmer Manufacturing designs and manufactures new products and alterations in current products for the A.J. O’Mara Group in South Dakota.

Brehmer Manufacturing also provides design, manufacturing and customer services for Eagle International, the nation’s leading provider of tire-recycling equipment. “We support nine different lines for them, from the tire pile to the grinders,” Brehmer says. “We’ve gone into 27 different countries with their products. We’re really big into recycling mining tires in Chile and South Africa.”

He says opportunities are no longer limited by location. “We just spent six months designing a new product communicating via Skype with a company in Australia,” he says.

Held, NBDC’s consultant, recently referred an inventor to work with Brehmer Manufacturing and the Nebraska Department of Economic Development in an innovation prototype grant program. “She knows what we’re doing up here and that helps,” Brehmer says. “Working with NBDC is a good partnership; no doubt about it.”

Contact Us

  • Administrative Office
  • 200 Mammel Hall
  • 6708 Pine Street
  • Omaha NE 68182
  • 402.554.NBDC (6232)
  • nbdc@unomaha.edu

  • Consultant/Staff Directory

  • Mammel Hall Directions/Parking

Additional Resources

  • NBDC News Center
  • NBDC Events
  • Business Awards
  • NBDC Client Stories
  • NBDC Annual Report

Nebraska Business Development Center

Contact Us
  • Nebraska Business Development Center
  • College of Business Administration
  • 200 Mammel Hall
  • 6708 Pine Street
  • Omaha, NE 68182   map
  • 402.554.NBDC (6232)
  • nbdc@unomaha.edu
Social media
Resources
  • NBDC Staff Directory
  • Mammel Hall Parking
Photo of Mammel Hall

Next Steps

  • Visit UNO
  • Request Information
  • Apply for Admission
  • The UNO Advantage
  • Our City (Omaha)

Just For You

  • Future Students
  • Current Students
  • Work at UNO
  • Faculty and Staff
  • A-Z List

Popular Services and Resources

  • my.unomaha.edu
  • Academic Calendar
  • Campus Buildings & Maps
  • Library
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Course Catalogs
  • Internships & Career Development
  • The Maverick Store
  • MavCARD Services
  • Military-Connected Resource Center
  • Speech Center
  • Writing Center
  • Human Resources
  • Center for Faculty Excellence

Affiliates

  • University of Nebraska System
  • NU Foundation
  • Buffett Early Childhood Institute
  • Daugherty Water for Food Institute
  • National Strategic Research Institute
  • Peter Kiewit Institute
  • Rural Prosperity Nebraska
  1. University Policies
  2. Privacy Statement
  3. Accessibility
  1. 402.554.2800

University of Nebraska Omaha
University of Nebraska Omaha, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE, 68182
  • ©  
  • Emergency Information Alert
  • MavsReport

Social Media


Omaha Skyline

Our Campus. Otherwise Known as Omaha.

The University of Nebraska does not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and/or political affiliation in its education programs or activities, including admissions and employment. The University prohibits any form of retaliation taken against anyone for reporting discrimination, harassment, or retaliation for otherwise engaging in protected activity. Read the full statement.