The story
Albert J. Amatuzio founded AMSOIL Inc. while serving as Squadron Commander of the Duluth, Minn. Air National Guard. Amatuzio was born May 6, 1924, to Italian immigrants in Duluth, Minn. Following high school in 1942, he attended Naval Air Corps training before the Navy closed the program. Amatuzio joined the Merchant Marine prior to joining the Air Force after World War II. He flew the F80 Shooting Star, America's first operational jet fighter. He returned to Duluth to run the family business after his mother had taken ill. In Duluth, Amatuzio joined the Air National Guard. During his fighter-pilot career, Amatuzio won the William Tell Air-to-Air Shootout Competition and the Earl T. Rick Competitive Shootout.
Life-Lube, Inc.
During his time as a pilot, Amatuzio began researching synthetic engine oils. Synthetic lubricants were used exclusively in jet engines due to the increased heat and stress of supersonic flight, and Amatuzio sought to apply the benefits of synthetic oil to automotive engines. He developed several different synthetic motor oil formulations and was commercially selling synthetic motor oil for automotive use by 1968. On May 23, 1969, he incorporated "Life-Lube, Inc.," through the Minnesota Department of State. By 1970, Amatuzio had renamed his company "AMZOIL," which he later changed to "AMSOIL."
API certification and network marketing
AMSOIL 10W-40 Synthetic Motor Oil became the first synthetic motor oil in the world to meet American Petroleum Institute (API) service requirements in 1972. The company created its tagline, "The First in Synthetics®," to acknowledge the achievement.
Due to widespread unawareness of synthetic motor oil and consequent slow sales, Amatuzio started the North American AMSOIL Dealer network in 1973. Using network marketing instead of traditional retail sales, AMSOIL Dealers were able to communicate the product's benefits compared to conventional motor oil directly to motorists, helping the company grow.
Recent history
In 1994, Amatuzio was inducted into the Lubricants World Hall of Fame. Into the 2000s, AMSOIL developed nanofiber materials to be used in oil filters for increased filtration and durability. Nanofiber materials were also developed for air filters, resulting in better performance than traditional cellulose fiber filters. AMSOIL has also developed gear oil for wind turbines, with sale trends increasing through the late 2010s during the increase of renewable energy investments.
Amatuzio died on April 1, 2017. Today, Amatuzio's son, Alan Amatuzio, serves as AMSOIL Chairman & CEO.
From Wikipedia’s article on Amsoil, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5