4X Innovations: Off The Road Entrepreneurship

Adam Wiegmann, president of 4x Innovations 

It was a winter snowstorm in 2004 that led former UW-P student Adam Wiegmann to a key business opportunity. After totaling his truck in an auto accident, Wiegmann decided to pursue his dream of rebuilding his Toyota truck as an off-road vehicle. He was quickly challenged by finding the right parts at a reasonable price, so he began to build his own. As he posted his ideas in web forums for off-road enthusiasts, people began to ask him to build copies. 

Fast forward to 10 years later, Wiegmann has earned his degree in mechanical engineering and is president of 4x Innovations, a firm that designs, manufactures and ships off-road parts for Toyota trucks around the world. The company is in a growth mode, posting a 35% increase in sales in 2016 alone. According to Wiegmann, the path hasn’t always been easy, “Balancing the business with school was tough but I knew that I would regret it if I didn’t finish my degree. There were times when I had to recruit college friends to help on weekends.” 

Wiegmann would be the first to admit that his connection with UW-P has yielded a number of benefits. Wiegmann has sponsored senior design class projects through the engineering department. The most successful project involved a trailer hitch set into a rear bumper. UW-P students were able to design and test a prototype under the direction of Wiegmann and UW-P faculty. The combination bumper and hitch remains a top selling production item today. 

As a student, Wiegmann was part of an internal committee that helped to develop UW-P’s entrepreneur program. He is a regular participant at “Meet and Eat with an Entrepreneur”, an annual event that pairs UW-P students, faculty and entrepreneurs to work as team to form an elevator pitch for a product. An elevator pitch is a brief description that can be delivered in two minutes or less – the time you may have to spend with an executive during the course of an elevator ride. 

It was also a UW-P professor that first connected Wiegmann with the Platteville Business Incubator. The Incubator has served as the home of 4x Innovations since 2008. “The flexible space has been huge as a start-up. We weren’t forced to pay for room that we didn’t need…but the number one benefit has been the networking opportunities” noted Wiegmann. 4x Innovations has also taken advantage of the Incubator’s revolving loan fund which provides gap financing for items such as equipment and supplies.

4x Innovations is a prime example of what the Incubator is about, according to Director Ed White. “Adam was originally from Illinois but came to Platteville as a student. With our assistance, both Adam and 4x Innovations have put roots down in our community. He is exactly the type of talent we want to keep in town.” Wiegmann sees other benefits to having Platteville as a home for his business. “Manufacturing is a strength of this region and Platteville is less expensive than some of the larger cities. Since we are right in the middle of all of our suppliers, there are a lot of supply chain benefits for us.” 

As for the future of 4x Innovations, Wiegmann hopes to purchase more advanced equipment that will allow him to produce more of his parts in house. He would also like to expand his market by developing products for other truck lines. Moving out of the incubator is on the horizon as well. One thing appears to be true for now, the road may be bumpy at times but that is part of what makes it exciting.