Photo Courtesy of AMSOIL

Entrepreneur and founder of AMSOIL, Al Amatuzio passed away at is home on March 31st. Born on May 6th, 1924 in Duluth, Minnesota, Al’s knack for business was evident even as a child. He had multiple jobs as he grew up, which lead to the creation of many endeavors as an adult. Following high school, attended the Naval Air Corps training, served as in the Merchant Marines, served in the Air Force, and finally the Air National Guard.

According to AMSOIL, during his 25-years 0f service, he was a fighter pilot, a squadron commander, and awarded as the nation’s top pilot not once, but twice. After his many accomplishments in service of the United States, he was ready for a new endeavor. Using his years of experience as a fighter pilot combined with his experience with airplanes, he wanted to develop a new product that would benefit jet engines along with other engines.

Lt. Col. Al Amatuzio. Photo from pao-oils.com

This new concept that Al began to work on was synthetic oil. In 1963, despite being told that this was a pipe dream, he proved he was correct after completing plenty of research and testing. However, Al proved that he was correct and in 1966, when he created the first synthetic motor oil. Once his creation received accreditation from the American Petroleum Institute for meeting their stringent requirements, the other major oil companies began to follow the trail blazed by Al.

In the modern ear, we think very little about the beginnings of synthetic oil, but without his pioneering spirit advances in jet engines, race engines, and modern cars may have taken much longer. This entrepreneur will be missed by those who worked with him, as well as friends and family. Thanks to his success, he was able to help out charities for children, animals, and the military. For those touched by his spirit, the family is requesting that donations are made Animal Allies of Duluth (his home town), the Douglas County Humane Society, or the AMSOIL Northland Law Enforcement K-9 Foundation.