Aer-Flo Environmental

In 2010, BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil platform had drilled a well in the Gulf of Mexico and sealed it with a cement well cap. Disaster struck as a surge of natural gas tore through the installed seal, igniting the oil rig platform and taking the lives of the workers. It left the well with a gaping wound that spewed oil into the gulf for months affecting the shoreline from Florida, all the way to Texas before it got sealed again.

The chances of similar disasters have increased with the rising oil demand, spurred by humanity’s development. Human growth can’t be contained, but its impact can be. Containing oil spills requires global effort by companies and industries to bring all hands on deck with their niche capabilities. Aer-Flo Environmental has answered the clarion call to join the effort with its decades of barrier-building expertise.

“Aer-Flo Environmental was founded in 1981 as a producer of tarps and covers for the trucking and agriculture industry. We quickly extended into the construction and environmental industrial space from there with our turbidity barriers where we are now the largest manufacturer,” clarifies Ryan Henderson, product specialist at Aer-Flo Environmental.

Aer-Flo intends to bring this expertise into the oil spill sector by optimizing its containment and fast deployable barrier tech for oil. It also doubled up its production facility, enhanced with automation to match the substantial demand.

The culmination of this effort is its oil boom, a purpose-built barrier designed and made out of vinyl while adhering to the American society for testing and materials (ASTM) standards for exclusively containing and managing oil spills. The boom has a flotation device that creates a visible barrier against petroleum products while having a skirt extending beneath the water to prevent oil from escaping underneath it. Aer-Flo’s oil boom also comes with ASTM universal connectors, allowing the booms to be linked together to form longer barriers.

“Our oil boom is a tool through which we help clients be prepared for any eventualities. We enable our clients like harbors and emergency response companies to respond at a moment’s notice to clean up and contain oil spills,” says Ryan Henderson, Product Specialist in charge at Aer-Flo Environmental.

What sets Aer-Flo apart from its contemporaries is its customer-centricity. This is exemplified by the approach it takes while addressing customer queries. A well-informed representative will answer a call instead of being redirected through an automated system. They talk with the client and quickly understand their needs to customize a solution with an estimated cost. This one-on-one connection is rare in the space.

The end goal of this approach is to ensure the client is able to respond as quickly as possible using these solutions. Furthering this objective, Aer-Flo positions itself with a ready-to-ship inventory for its clients, giving a jump on the lead times during emergencies. All it takes is a phone call to have everything they need on-site. It goes above and beyond its client commitments by maintaining an inventory at prominent places like harbors and marinas to address customers’ urgent requirements.

The client-centric approach is cemented with Aer-Flo’s free-of-charge replacement guarantee in case of a manufacturing defect. Though a customer hasn’t returned with a manufacturing complaint in its decades of barrier-building operation, when an issue arises, it is equipped to deploy its team to investigate and come to a resolution.

The company also maintains its edge in customer satisfaction by not shying away from innovation. The production floor is adjacent to the office, ensuring a direct line of communication between the departments. This fosters a collaborative spirit where designers and manufacturing staff, many with decades of experience come together to create prototypes to meet any client demands.

Aer-Flo is new to the field of oil spill management, but it has come prepared, backed by its team of veterans and its long history in manufacturing barriers and supporting customers. It is the driving force behind a prepared world where tragedies like Deepwater Horizon are relegated to the pages of history books.