Applied Ceramics, Inc.
Solving Tomorrow's Problems Today
Applied Ceramics (ACI) was formed in 1967 to provide primarily alumina and zirconia kiln furniture as well as special refractory shapes. Over the years, ACI expanded its offering to include saggers for calcining powders, pusher plates for continuous kilns and non-reactive setters for firing products. During this time, other materials were developed and sold within the kiln furniture and refractory industries such as tongue and groove zirconia brick and insulating zirconia bubble brick. ACI continues to serve all of these markets while continuing to search for new opportunities to solve industry or customer problems.
In 1980, ACI acquired the base technology for the manufacture of ceramic honeycomb. ACI targeted the wood stove industry with the wood stove combustor as one of the original targets for this new product line. ACI worked with many manufacturers to develop the new EPA certified catalytic wood stove as a result of the new EPA clean air standards in 1979. The first year of significant combustor usage was 1981 and Franklin Stove and Birmingham Stove were the primary manufacturers using catalytic wood stove combustors. ACI was the major supplier to both companies. Because of the history and longevity of the business, ACI is the only original manufacturer of catalytic wood stove combustors and maintains the ability to provide wood stove combustors for all catalytic wood stoves on the market.
ACI expanded this product line to manufacture ceramic substrates for the environmental control industry as well as other industries such as filters and mechanical and/or thermal supports and gas or liquid flow control. ACI currently produces thousands of cubic feet of ceramic honeycomb annually.
In 1987, ACI entered into a venture with the Hyundai group of Korea. In 1993, ACI entered into a joint venture with General Motors to produce automotive substrate internationally. Subsequent ventures have continued to expand both ACI’s manufacturing capability and its ceramic honeycomb technology.
ACI maintains a Contract R&D group to assist customers with innovative solutions to a variety of needs. It can not only toll manufacture customer directed proprietary bodies and products for a broad range of applications, but can also assist in the development of new materials or products. The company actively seeks projects that will be mutually beneficial both for ACI and its customer or partner over the long term.
Today, ACI has its headquarters in Doraville, Georgia, USA and has multiple manufacturing sites and ventures globally. At the Doraville site, the company contains its entire engineering and contract R&D services in addition to over 100,000 square feet of manufacturing space.
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