From Tube TVs to Clean Tech: How Endera is recharging Ohio’s manufacturing renaissance

In just three years, Endera has grown production 15x, achieved a 215% average annual growth rate, and become the fastest growing specialty bus manufacturer in the United States — all from Ottawa, Ohio, a town of 4,500 people. Now, with new investment from The O.H.I.O. Fund, the partnership is accelerating Ohio's leadership in clean transportation while creating high-paying jobs and serving the nation's most vulnerable populations.

Why Endera is winning

Mark Kvamme who reconnected with Endera after leaving Columbus venture firm Drive Capital, was drawn by execution. "They actually did what they said they were going to do," he says. For John Walsh, Founder and CEO Endera, The O.H.I.O. Fund offered strategic access to Ohio's public and private-sector networks that could unlock regional opportunities.

Endera's unique market position: it's the only manufacturer offering customers a choice between electric and traditional engines on the same platform. In an industry where over 50% of sales remain gas and diesel, this flexibility lets customers decide based on their needs without technology lock-in.

"We're the only company with a vertically integrated electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing operation and a profitable legacy business," Walsh explains. "That makes us able to adapt to the adoption curve." When he founded the company seven years ago, buying an electric bus meant coordinating with multiple vendors. Endera brought manufacturing and technology under one roof — higher quality, lower costs, with customer confidence backed by a profitable legacy business.

The results: 15x production growth since 2021, 90% customer retention, and serving over 100 transit agencies and 100 school districts nationwide — from San Diego Airport to Amazon's Ohio facility to Cleveland Regional Transit Authority.

"We're moving some of the most vulnerable people in society, low-income transit riders and special needs students," Walsh says. "We have a responsibility to make premium products for those people." Electric buses mean children don't breathe diesel smoke, with lower operating costs for routes of 50 to 150 miles per day.

Economic Impact: Revitalizing Ohio manufacturing

The economic impact is substantial: 65% of Endera's supply chain is sourced in Ohio, creating ripple effects for vehicles valued at $100,000 to $200,000 each. The company plans to double its workforce over the next 24 to 36 months.

The Ottawa facility tells the story. Philips Manufacturing produced tube TVs there from the 1970s through the early 2000s, then abruptly offshored, leaving 3,000 people unemployed. In 2021, Endera acquired the facility and began scaling production. Workers who built TVs there 20 years ago, including the Vice President of Operations, are back. Entire families work there now, earning stock options, 401(k)s, with four-ten schedules and three-day weekends.

"There are people on the line who can now afford to buy a house because they got a job at Endera," Walsh says. "We're bringing back manufacturing jobs that were decimated by offshoring, with clean technology."

What's next Endera

With The O.H.I.O. Fund partnership, Endera is targeting Ohio markets through the Department of Transportation bid process and special needs transportation. The fund's legislative and regulatory connections provide crucial visibility. "There's no reason why we shouldn't get a fair shot at business over a non-Ohio company," Walsh says. With 90% customer retention rates, the product speaks for itself—Ohio decision-makers just need to know it exists.

For Walsh, success means accelerating clean mobility while creating American jobs. For Kvamme, it's about backing competitive, innovative companies in a region where capital is scarce. "They're competing worldwide," Kvamme says. "We like to be that capital partner."

In a former TV factory in a town of 4,500 people, Endera is proving that Ohio manufacturing can lead America's clean transportation future. With The O.H.I.O. Fund backing that vision, the road ahead looks increasingly electric.