AMCOL Corporation

AMCOL Corporation Historical Perspective

AMCOL Corporation and its employees would like to welcome you and thank you for your consideration.

AMCOL was founded in the year 1902 as a small foundry supply house called the American Charcoal Company. Although the American Charcoal Company did for a short period of time make charcoal briquettes, our original business was charcoal primarily used in the foundry industry.

Through the nineteen thirties and forties the product line evolved to industrial maintenance supplies. One of the primary products became absorbent to soak oils and other liquids from the floor to improve handling and ease of disposal. We also continued to sell and service other industrial maintenance supplies.

During the late forties and early fifties, Ed “Day” Dyla provided new leadership. Ed’s background in chemistry led to a new direction for the American Charcoal Company and, in 1952, began formulating, blending, and selling industrial lubricants for the metalworking industry. The first products that the American Charcoal Company produced were water-soluble and insoluble oils used as hot mold release agents and quenches in the zinc die casting industry. These were followed by more formulations for the die casting industry and other metal forming processes. By the early sixties, American Charcoal was producing a full line of oils, synthetics, and semi-synthetic chemistries for die casting, roll forming, tube making, stamping, general machining and sawing.

In the early nineteen sixties, a small group broke off from American Charcoal and started another specialty lubricants company called the Canton Lubricants Company. American Charcoal narrowed their focus to be lubricants for roll forming, tube making, and metal stamping. Canton Lubricants centered their product line on aluminum extrusions, sawing, and die casting. Both of these companies were able to then grow within their specific markets to become recognized experts in their respective fields.

The American Charcoal Company moved from Detroit to Dearborn, Michigan in 1982 and made a much needed facilities upgrade that allowed the room to purchase the Canton Lubricants company in 1985. The two companies were consolidated into one facility, and eventually the companies merged to become AMCOL Corporation. AMCOL merged all of the knowledge and resources of Canton Lubricants with the blending, research and development, name recognition, and reputation of the American Charcoal Company to make a stronger entity with a more refined product offering.

In 1987, AMCOL began producing and marketing the first generation of the CANMIST Precision lubricants and application systems. This marked the first of a series of application equipment that have now become an industry standard. AMCOL expanded the thought of matching lubricant and application equipment for a specific use. AMCOL limits its potential customer base to allow the ability to better service our customers and allow them to rely on us for new and better ideas.

AMCOL Corporation now produces a complete line of lubricants (synthetic, semi-synthetic, and oil based), rust preventatives, coolants, cleaners, application and coolant maintenance equipment. Our primary markets are producers and fabricators of welded steel and aluminum tubing, aluminum and other non-ferrous extrusions and castings, roll formed parts, and metal stampings. AMCOL Corporation continues to develop and produce the most complete and advanced line of lubricants, application, and maintenance equipment for these industries at a cost-effective price.

AMCOL Corporation is still owned and operated by the Dyla family and is committed to developing a world class product line for world class customers. We will accomplish this goal by continuing to be a recognized expert in roll forming, tube making, and non-ferrous extrusion and casting technologies. In order to do this, we thoroughly train ourselves so that we may do the same with others. We remain active participants in industry and technology trade associations that continue to offer the most current pool of information. AMCOL Corporation will continue to be a resource to which our customers look to for thought out answers to their metalworking fluid systems challenges.

Today AMCOL Corporation develops, designs, and manufactures metalworking fluid systems. The AMCOL Approach is a method of evaluating the best way to service the overall customer need, now and in the future. We call it “metalworking fluid systems” because of a product line that not only provides technologically advanced chemicals, but also proven solutions for applying and maintaining our products. The AMCOL Approach helps our customers have the best environment for their people and products. Today’s business environment is demanding and tomorrow will be even tougher. AMCOL Corporation will be in the forefront of metalworking fluid systems technology. We believe that our future relies on the same ideas and principles that have brought us to where we are today. AMCOL Corporation will continue to build on its foundation of people, safety, quality, research, efficiency, technology, and specialization.

The people at AMCOL are a major key to our success and we are always trying to invest in their future. AMCOL Corporation trains its sales and service people to look beyond the surface to try to deliver products that will that will add value for years to come. We keep an internal library that is available to all of our people as a resource for continuous training and improvement. We make available a cross training program that allows AMCOL personnel that would not normally come in contact with customer processes to go to customer facilities and learn. This same program exposes our office personnel to our production processes. We also encourage and reward many types of further education through incentive and payback programs. This helps us to be better suited to work together to swiftly and smoothly service our customers needs.

In order to survive, safety has to be a top priority for both AMCOL and its customers. We continue to focus our efforts on chemicals that will be environmentally sound alternatives. We will refine our products and processes to make sure that our customers can rely on us to keep them up to date with current regulations and safety information. AMCOL continues to be involved in industry associations and regulatory bodies in order to have resources of knowledge for our customers and ourselves.

APQ means absolutely, positively, quality in product, service, and attitude. At AMCOL this is more than a quality auditing system, it is a way of operating daily. It is our customer’s assurance of getting the right product at a fair price with quality service to back it up. APQ is everything from how we take an order to how the customer uses the product. This interactive system between AMCOL and our customers assures that we will do the best we can at all times.

Technology, research, and efficiency go hand in hand. Without one of these, none can truly exist. AMCOL is committed to providing the best products at cost effective prices. We regularly review our products and methods to make sure that we are continuously improving, both in an orderly and organized manner, and helping our customers to reach their goals.

Specialization has always been one of our strongest tools. In the past we have taken limited industries and defined our product lines to be a full service provider to those industries. This helps us to respond to our customers needs with unmatched efficiency and accuracy. We are more than just a supplier to our customer base, we are a resource and a partner. We understand that our success is tied not only to our performance, but also to that of our customers and their industries. We will continue to limit the number of products we offer and the number of industries that we service. Our presence and involvement in these industries will remain strong. The products that we produce will be ecologically sound, based on advanced ideas and industry needs.

We look to the future with positive and open minds. Thank you again for allowing us the opportunity to introduce ourselves.