MIMEGary Kaleta earned his bachelor's in mechanical engineering from Washington State University in 1969, joining Gunderson Brothers Engineering Corporation, now Gunderson, Inc., in 1972. He performed most of the company's product development work in the railway freight car area, winning awards from the Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation in 1979. He holds various patents in the railway vehicle area. When the company became part of the Greenbrier Companies, Kaleta helped Gunderson become the recognized national leader with new, state-of-the-art intermodal and conventional freight car products. Promoted to senior vice president in 1996, he has been the engineering representative responsible for Greenbrier's freight car manufacturing plant in Canada, a joint venture with Bombadier Transportation in Mexico and the Polish facility WagonySwidnica. He is a board member of the ¾«¶«Ó°ÊÓ Metals Initiative and a member of the Mechanical Engineering Advisory Board.