VELCON FILTERS

Originally named Enfab, Inc., Velcon Filters, LLC was founded in 1953 byHarold Higbee, a Tooling Engineer, and L.W. (Lu) Taylor, an Industrial Engineer. Both had extensive experience in the fiberglass industry. The first products were fabricated fiberglass components for the 2.75 Rocket sold to the United States government. Imaginative R&D led to the creation of a proprietary fiberglass filter coalescer in 1957. This revolutionary product was initially introduced to both military and commercial ... aviation fuel markets and subsequently to pipelines and refineries. Velcon now supplies more replacement cartridges to purify jet fuel than any other company in the world. In 1979, Velcon introduced to the market its patented Aquacon® water-absorbing cartridges which remove water and dirt from industrial oils and fuels, restoring the oil or fuel to a clean, usable condition. The outer layers of filter media remove particulate contaminants, while the inner layers chemicallyretain water within the super-absorbent media. As the cartridge reaches its absorption capacity, the media expands rapidly to restrict the flow of unfiltered oil or fuel, signaling the operator to replace the cartridge. In 1991, Lu Taylor became Chairman of the Board and his son David C. Taylor assumed the position of President. Dave Taylor brought with him a broad range of technical and management experience. Velcon’s commitment to quality has been recognized through its achievement of the ISO 9001 Certification of Registration in 2000. Most recently Velcon has requalified for ISO 9001, proving its continuing achievement of quality standards. Velcon is also the first filter manufacturer to receive qualifications for all three categories of the EI 1581 5th Edition Specification. In April 2009, Velcon Filters, LLC was acquired by Sterling Group, LP, a private equity investment firm that targets controlling interests in basic manufacturing, industrial services and distribution companies. The Taylor family and members of management continue in their roles as substantial shareholders in Velcon in partnership with Sterling. “The Velcon team believes this partnership will provide significant opportunities to further develop and expand the company’s reach,” said David Taylor, who remains CEO of Velcon. In November, 2009, Velcon acquired Chemflo, a process filtration company, creating “Velcon Process,” a division of Velcon Filters, LLC. Chemflo was founded in 1998. Velcon Process works as partners with petrochemical producers, refineries, transmission companies, gas plants, food and beverage producers and other process industries to improve their overall process as it relates to filtration and separation. In 2010, in an ongoing effort to ensure quality products, Velcon constructed a diesel fuel test lab at its Colorado facility. Now Velcon is poised to verify the effectiveness of its filtration products for the rapidly expanding diesel and biodiesel market.More