It’s official: Amfuel is closing
MAGNOLIA – The American Fuel Cells and Coated Fabrics Company is shuttering its doors and ending over 60 years of fuel cell production in Magnolia at its site at 601 Firestone Drive just off N. Vine Street.
This morning, Magnolia Mayor Parnell Vann called it a “sad day in our city,” adding, “I hate to see it.”
Vann said he was notified Friday by email.
“Amfuel has been here for generations of families, been a great job provider,” he said. The mayor said the Magnolia Economic Development Corporation and the city have worked with Amfuel and also the Arkansas Economic Development Commisison, in an effort to keep the industry here.
“There are just things a city cannot do in business,” he said, adding “we will rebound, bring something else to town.”
“The Magnolia Economic Development Commission is saddened by the Amfuel plant news,” Cammie Hambrice, MEDC executive director, stated by email this morning. “MEDC has made itself available to the new owners since June 2015 when they purchased the plant. We have worked with plant management in a variety of ways to help make changes in the plant. MEDC, Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Entergy, the City of Magnolia, SAU Tech, Arkansas Manufacturing Solutions and other partners have worked together to make resources, training and ideas available to Amfuel. We are concerned for their employees and their families. We would encourage any employee to visit the Workforce Service Center and SAU Tech Adult Education for employment needs that they may have.”
Magnolia has a long and rich history with this manufacturing facility. According to its website, the company traces its roots back to 1917, when American Fuel Cells and Coated Fabric Company, formerly known as Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, began as a supplier of fuel cells to the United States Corp for its aviation needs.
At the end of World War II, Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. moved its operations from California to Arkansas by converting the historic Magnolia Cotton Mill, a textile mill company from N&W Industries, to a large manufacturing complex specializing in coated fabrics. The new plant was called Firestone Coated Fabrics Company, and it was a Magnolia success story, supplying the U.S. military with fuel cells and other products for many years.
To save the plant from closing or moving, a group of local investors purchased the company in 1983 and it was renamed American Fuel Cells and Coated Fabrics Company, also known throughout the industry as Amfuel. The company operated under that name for many years, until in 1995 Zodiac Aerospace, headquartered in France, purchased Amfuel and it became part of the largest manufacturer and supplier of fuel cells in the world.
This facility concentrated its efforts in the production of coated fabrics, liquid logistics, and fuel cell manufacturing for the aerospace industry. In June 2015 a group of investors led by Crosslake Investment Group purchased the company from Zodiac. At that time, the company announced that production would continue as usual at the Magnolia plant. Amfuel is located on 71 acres, with 310,000 square feet of operation area, and employs approximately 300 employees. With over 60 years of experience in the production of coated fabric products and aviation fuel cells, Amfuel set its sights on expansion of production into Wichita Falls, Texas, with additional anticipated growth of 280 jobs into the local economy there.
The purchase of the facility in Wichita Falls was the prelude to a downturn in manufacturing at the Magnolia facility. First, all the commercial contract production was moved to Wichita Falls, and now the military contract production will be moved as well, effectively ending the long history of manufacturing fuel cells at the Magnolia plant.
According to reports in the local media, the Wichita Falls Economic Development Corporation, Wichita County and the State of Texas approved an incentive proposal last year for the company that included an $800,000 no-interest, forgivable loan, up to $844,740 in Cash for Jobs, and $336,000 in training funds if a Skills Development Training Grant could not be secured from the State of Texas. That economic package and other benefits, including a newer building and upgraded facilities, contributed greatly to the decision to move all production to the Wichita Falls plant.