Gene Haas Founder Record

Lore & Background

Haas graduated from California State University, Northridge in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and finance. He originally majored in engineering but switched to business after Lockheed nearly went bankrupt. In 1978 he hired two people to work with him in his small machine shop named Pro-turn Engineering. In 1980, Haas built his own indexer with a stepper motor drive.

In March 1983, he displayed his indexer at WESTEC and decided to form Haas Automation to mass-produce them. His first commercial product, the HBI-5C, sold well. In 1986, Haas and a partner were awarded a US patent. In 1988, Haas started production on a fully enclosed CNC machine.

By 1996, Haas had outgrown its facilities in Chatsworth, California, and moved to Oxnard, California in March 1997. By 2005, the factory had been expanded to 1,000,000 sq ft. Haas Automation is now the largest machine tool manufacturer in the United States. Sales for 2014 exceeded $1 billion worldwide.

In 2002, Haas formed a NASCAR race team, Haas CNC Racing. In 2008, Haas announced he would join forces with driver Tony Stewart, giving Stewart a 50% stake. Stewart won the 2011 Sprint Cup Championship. The team closed after the 2024 season.

Haas opened Haas Factory Team, solely owned by him, in 2025. In Formula One, Haas confirmed in January 2014 his interest in entering a team. On April 11, 2014, he was granted a license. The team delayed its debut until 2016.

In September 2014, the team took the name Haas F1 Team. In December 2014, Haas purchased major assets from the bankrupted Marussia F1 team. In 2006, planning began for a commercial wind tunnel, Wind Shear, which opened in July 2008. Wind Shear is owned 100% by Haas.

The Gene Haas Foundation was founded in 1999. On June 19, 2006, Haas was arrested by IRS agents on suspicion of filing false tax returns, witness intimidation, and conspiracy. He pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy to commit tax evasion. He was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay $75 million in restitution. Haas was incarcerated beginning January 2008 and was released on probation on May 7, 2009, after serving 16 months.

Did You Know?

• Haas built his first indexer in 1980 because an employee took too long to manually position one.
• Haas joined a select club of owners who have won in all three national NASCAR touring series.
• The Gene Haas Foundation provided more than $27 million in grants in 2022.