Headquarters: Brooklyn Park
Revenues, 2006: $31 million
Founded: 2001
Employees: 40
Ticker: Private
Web site: www.octanefitness.com
What it does: Makes elliptical cross-trainers for fitness centers, clubs, and sports teams worldwide



A fitness equipment insider with more than 15 years of experience, Dennis Lee always had a dream to branch out on his own and create a premium fitness-equipment product. In mid-2001, he approached Tim Porth, who was then senior business director at Life Fitness, an Illinois-based producer of cardiovascular products, about making low-impact cardiovascular elliptical cross-training machines, which provide a total body workout by mimicking the body’s running and walking motions.       

Six years later, the company the duo founded, Brooklyn Park–based Octane Fitness, boasts revenues approaching $40 million, with its machines sold across the United States and Europe. The company has experienced annual revenue growth of between 23 and 42 percent since its inception.

In the fitness industry, where companies typically seek to become larger and more diverse, Lee saw an opportunity to build a company that centers on only one product, thus making that product superior. “If we could just do one thing and do it really well, I knew it was just going to be powerful,” he says.

What distinguishes Octane’s ellipticals from its competitors’ is an emphasis on ergonomics. All five Octane models include features such as converging handlebars, which mimic the natural motions of the shoulder. Stride length can be reduced or increased as users change the direction or speed of their workouts, allowing for more natural movements. Octane’s products also provide low step-ups, which make them easier to get on and off.

Combining Lee’s sales and service expertise and Porth’s product innovation skills—along with funding pulled from equity on their homes—they launched Octane Fitness in August 2001 in Lee’s basement. Lee and Porth created their first elliptical prototype several months later in October, hired their first employee in December, attended their first trade show in August 2002, and delivered their first product to stores that November.

The company currently sells its models to fitness retailers, clubs, and sports teams worldwide.

Lee attributes part of Octane’s success to focusing on developing elliptical machines and outsourcing all other operations, such as human resources, IT, warehousing and distribution, and manufacturing. “That’s been really key to the success of executing our strategy,” he says.

North Castle Partners, a Connecticut-based private equity firm, purchased Octane in January 2005. Octane still operates independently, but North Castle’s investment is allowing Octane to expand globally. The company recently brought on an international director of sales for Asia and Latin America, and maintains several employees in its Netherlands office. “We are looking to be a global company,” Lee says. “We are setting the stage to be there.”