Creating a Niche: Utah is home to unique and unexpected businesses.

• Author: Kinder, Peri
• Position: Creating a Niche

Utah's high rate of business success isn't news anymore. The state continues to lead the nation in low unemployment rates and top-notch economic development, and the number of companies bringing their organizations to the business-friendly state only continues to climb.

But with all the hoopla surrounding such accolades, sometimes the unique stories behind these companies get lost. Meet four unusual businesses in Utah at the forefront of their industries, creating products and services that are changing the world.

NIKOLA MOTOR COMPANY

History is replete with industries utterly destroyed because they didn't adapt and evolve quickly. Companies like Kodak were left behind after technology and digital images redefined how consumers took photos.

Is the trucking industry next? If Trevor Milton has his way, the trucking industry will use technology to emerge stronger and more vital than ever. Milton is the founder and CEO of Nikola Motor Company, located in Salt Lake City. His ideas are decades ahead of his competition as big companies and individual truck drivers wait to see what happens with his new semi-trucks.

The Nikola One and Nikola Two are hydrogen-powered electric semi-trucks taking the industry by storm. With absolutely zero emissions and a 1,000-mile range on a battery charge, Milton is convinced these trucks are the answer to the finite amount of fossil fuels left on the planet.

"This is the end of diesel engines," Milton says. "We have $4 billion in sales already. Hydrogen is more efficient with no emissions. Everything is included in the price of the trucks from fuel to maintenance to tires and windshield wipers. Drivers will save thousands of dollars each month in operating costs."

Milton had the idea for the trucks when he was a kid, driving locomotives with his dad who worked for Union Pacific Railroad. He saw the power in the machines and wondered why there were no locomotive semi-trucks. Years later, he started Nikola in 2012 and his vision has permeated company's workforce. In the last five years, not a single person has left the company.

His goal is to bring more than 3,000 manufacturing jobs to Utah to meet the high demand for these semi-trucks.

For the trucking industry, this new concept is a huge disrupter. Milton foresees semi-autonomous and autonomous trucks where one driver might oversee a fleet of semis.

"Things are changing across the board from the drivers to how freights is booked and tracked," he says. "While some drivers' jobs might be eliminated, jobs created in other areas will create a net positive for...