2021
Press
Releases
12.02.2021 – LeadAR Class Visits Amfuel Facility
MAGNOLIA, ARK. – LeadAR Class 19 paid a visit to south Arkansas today, including a stop at Amfuel. Founded in 1984, LeadAR is a program designed to help Arkansas business leaders broaden their understanding of issues and opportunities in the state and to strengthen their ability to make a difference in their organizations. President Michael Accordino and VP of Operations Faith Elliott greeted the group and shared information about Amfuel’s transformation progress to date and vision for the future. Attendees appreciated the candid discussion of issues facing Amfuel and solution approaches that can be applied to the various organizations represented by the class.
11.05.2021 – Amfuel Reports Continued Substantial Progress in its Transformation
MAGNOLIA, ARK. – Amfuel continues to execute upon its holistic production transformation vision. Michael Accordino, President, stated that, “Employees are embracing the rapid pace of change with new production equipment and are building upon early successes to continually improve efficiency and quality. Although change is not easy for many organizations, we have found employees to be receptive and appreciative of the new tooling and facility upgrades that improve their day-to-day work.”
Amfuel’s ongoing multi-million-dollar investments in Industry 4.0 and other core technologies include:
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Refurbished calendar (fabric processing)
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Dip unit (fabric processing)
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Digital presses (subassembly production)
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Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system
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Plant-wide backup generator
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New parking lot for employees
06.29.2021 – Senator John Boozman Shows Support for Amfuel
MAGNOLIA, ARK. – Arkansas Senator John Boozman made a trip to Magnolia and toured Amfuel, where he met with key officers and employees. As a critical supplier to the U.S. Department of Defense, the senator witnessed first-hand the many production innovations underway at Amfuel, including the new robotic spray facility. Amfuel President Michael Accordino informed the senator that LB Advisors, the company that purchased Amfuel and its assets out of bankruptcy late in 2018, has already invested more than $10 million into the business and created more than 100 jobs. “We now have 365 employees and tripled production in 2019.” Accordino said, adding that, “we were honored that the senator took time out of his busy schedule to pay us a visit, which had the added benefit of being quite motivational to our employees.”
06.16.2021 – Amfuel Opens New R&D and Quality Labs
MAGNOLIA, ARK. – Amfuel invested over $1M to refurbish our R&D and Quality Labs and to purchase new advanced lab equipment and 3D printers. These upgraded R&D and Quality facilities enable Amfuel to innovate new products (e.g., lighter weight and higher performing fabrics and adhesives), validate more inbound chemicals and materials, and speed in-process quality checks. The 3D printers are used extensively for prototyping and to create custom tooling to support a wide variety of production needs. Faith Elliott, VP of Operations, commented, “We are super excited about the capabilities of the new labs. They allow us to do things internally that were previously beyond our reach. We can move faster without having to rely on external resources. Even better, our engineers have been very creative in rapidly designing and printing new tools for production. The great thing is that as production aids wear, we simply print new ones as needed.” Amfuel anticipates purchasing additional 3D printers in the future due to their utility.”
05.7.2021 – Amfuel Christens New Large Autoclave for Production
MAGNOLIA, ARK. – Amfuel announces the successful installation of a new large autoclave for production. This autoclave with advanced capability and controls replaces a decades old autoclave – which will now serve as a backup. Michael Accordino, Amfuel President, commented, “We are pleased to have this modern autoclave online which cures the final product. Due to its size, it was constructed over several months onsite. We then built a structure around it to protect it from the elements.” This investment is one of many enhancements underway at Amfuel to increase production efficiency and quality, and to eliminate potential single points of failure at the plant.
03.25.2021 – Amfuel Unveils State-of-the-Art Robotic Spray Facility
MAGNOLIA, ARK. – In an exemplary public-private partnership with investment from the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), Amfuel is pleased to report that its brand new state-of-the-art robotic spray facility is now fully operational. Amfuel rose to the challenge of completing the building and advanced robotics solution during the pandemic and two hurricanes. “Amfuel is excited to bring this one-of-a-kind environmentally controlled facility online. We could not have done it without NAVAIR’s support. We are already seeing quality benefits and are well positioned to support our customers well into the future,” stated Michael Accordino, Amfuel president. “In reality this was two separate projects that seamlessly integrated as one. We constructed the new building while simultaneously designing and building the robotic spray solution offsite. After mechanical runoff offsite, we brought the robotics and automation to Amfuel on 11 semi-trailers for final integration and runoff. This was a complex project, and the results speak for themselves.”
3.18.2021 – Amfuel Named Business of the Year
MAGNOLIA, ARK. – The Magnolia-Columbia County Chamber of Commerce named Amfuel “Business/Industry of the Year” at its annual banquet. Faith Elliott, VP of Operations, graciously accepted the award commenting that “Amfuel is proud of our employees and our ongoing efforts to completely transform the company into an industry leader. We appreciate the Chamber’s recognition of significant change for the better happing at Amfuel. Stay tuned for greater things to come as we are just getting started.”
01.11.2021 - Out of Bankruptcy, Amfuel Soars
MAGNOLIA, ARK. – Amfuel’s recent success was celebrated in a feature article in this month’s issue of Arkansas Business. Down to fewer than 70 employees in 2018, today Amfuel employs more than 300. The company manufactures fuel cells as small as those to equip a drone and large enough to hold 850 gallons of fuel.
AB reporter Kyle Massey quoted Amfuel President Michael Accordino as saying, “We are the sole source for the CH-53K. That program will keep us busy for decades to come.” The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation CH-53K King Stallion is the newest heaviest lift U.S. military helicopter.
Executive Director Ellie Baker of the Magnolia Economic Development Council told AB that “It isn’t often that Magnolia is thought of in terms of the defense industry, but Amfuel is a key player in keeping our military safe. The new ownership has been able to make tremendous strides in a very short period of time. It has made a great impact on our employment rate, and I do not see it slowing down anytime soon.”
Vice President of Operations Faith Elliott, a south Arkansas native and graduate of Southern Arkansas University, told AB, “When you build a fuel cell, there’s a sense of pride, because we’re the only ones in the world that can build one for a CH-53K or a Bell H-1. When you see those helicopters flying, you’re like, ‘I touched that, that’s my fuel cell.’ Our people are very proud of that.”
1.6.2021 – Amfuel Announces Latest Capital Equipment Investments
MAGNOLIA, ARK. – Amfuel is on a roll with its integrated capital equipment upgrade plan. The latest investments include:
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A mini autoclave for production of subassemblies and quality testing
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A new machining room for tooling and repairs
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An automated chemical dispensing and mixing system to produce adhesives used in production
According to Faith Elliott, VP of Operations, “The new equipment is critical to sustain high quality production and to eliminate downtime. We especially like the machine data collected by these systems which allow us to quickly react, diagnose and resolve any issues that may arise during production.
American Fuel Cell and Coated Fabrics Company, LLC (Amfuel) is the premier manufacturer of self‐sealing and crash resistant fuel cells for aviation and defense, support services and liquid logistic solutions. Fuel cells are specialized fuel bladders for fixed wing and vertical lift aircraft, and ground vehicles. Liquid logistic bladder solutions range in size from 5,000 gallon transportable to 1,000,000 gallon embankment tanks.
Phone: +1 (870) 234-3381, +1 (870) 235-7203 (Direct Sales Office)
Email: press@amfuel.com
Location: 601 Firestone Dr. Magnolia, AR 71753