Pioneer in synthetic motor oil, Al Amatuzio, recently passed away at the age of 92. News of Al’s passing hit our inbox this past Monday via a press release from AMSOIL. According to the release Al’s entrepreneurial nature emerged when he was a child. He peddled newspapers, sold magazines, collected scrap iron and devised any number of ventures to help support the family through difficult times.
Al Amatuzio, AMSOIL Founder
After high school Al attended Naval Air Corps training and serving in the Merchant Marines, the Air Force and eventually, the Duluth unit of the Air National Guard. He served 25 years as a fighter pilot and squadron commander and was twice honored as our nation’s top pilot.
Al then became inspired by a new challenge. Armed with the knowledge that every jet engine in the world could survive only with synthetic oil, he reasoned that the same performance benefits could be applied to cars, trucks and other motorized land vehicles.
Al ignored the skeptics and in 1963 began an intense period of research and development. By 1966 he had formulated his first synthetic motor oil, and throughout the sixties he continued development and sold synthetic oils under a variety of names. In 1972 AMSOIL synthetic motor oil became the world’s first synthetic motor oil to meet American Petroleum Institute service requirements. The lubricant industry had changed forever. All the major oil companies followed Al Amatuzio’s lead and developed synthetic motor oils of their own
Al was generous in all respects and had particular compassion for children, animals and military causes. He touched the lives of many and will be missed by family, friends and thousands of loyal AMSOIL employees and Dealers. A memorial service will be held at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC) Auditorium in Duluth, Minn. on Saturday, April 15 beginning at 12 p.m. with a service at 1 p.m.
Al’s family has requested that in lieu of flowers, memorials be made in Al’s name to Animal Allies of Duluth, the Douglas County Humane Society and the AMSOIL Northland Law Enforcement K-9 Foundation
