Pfadt Race Engineering is an engineering firm located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company develops, manufactures, and sells high-performance automotive components for GM lines. Its founder, Aaron Pfadt \faht\, built the company into one of the leading developers of aftermarketCorvette and Camarosuspension components. It is one of the few companies in the United States that engineers, manufactures, and assembles all of its aftermarket performance products domestically for the GM line. In 2011 it was listed as one of Utah's fastest growing companies, ranking number 16. It has also been the receiver of other awards for its rapid growth and success as a leader in the automotive industry.
History
After engineering school Aaron Pfadt headed straight to Detroit to begin his career at General Motors. Working there instilled in him a passion for design and manufacturing excellence at a level worthy of the Corvette moniker. Weekends were spent at the race track learning the apex, pushing the limits, being free of the daily race. It was then that he realized the Corvette from the factory just needed a few truly race-inspired enhancements to make it competitive with the likes of Porsche and BMW. Shortly there after, he moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, to found Pfadt Engineering. After experiencing a period of rapid growth in its core Corvette product lines the company launched new suspension lines for the Camaro and Cadillac ATS. It also launched exhaust headers for Corvette and Camaro, all manufactured in house at the Salt Lake facility. With this expansion the company sought and found a partner. Advanced FLOW Engineering, based in Corona, California, secured the company and continues to manufacture and sell the entire Pfadt product line. Under the company's new Advanced Control Engineering division and Pfadt's management, the new company continues to focus on suspension products and its advanced engineering focus.
Awards
In 2011 Pfadt Race Engineering achieved #16 on the Mountain West Capital Network's Utah 100 list of Fastest Growth Companies. The MWCN's Utah 100 rankings are determined from thousands of eligible companies throughout the state representing all industries. The rankings for 2011 were determined by the percentage of revenue increase from 2007 through 2011. In 2012 Pfadt Race Engineering achieved #59 on the Mountain West Capital Network's Utah 100 list of Fastest Growth Companies. The rankings for 2010 were determined by the percentage of revenue increase from 2006 through 2010.
Product line
Originally the GM-based track experience of owner Aaron Pfadt had a very strong influence on the initial product line. A majority of the original line was focused on C5 and C6 Corvette suspension. After quickly gaining recognition as one of the leading Corvette suspension experts, they soon diverted their efforts to expand the product line to include the fifth-generation Camaro as well. Among these changes, they have also shifted their focus to a line of power adding products such as performance exhaust headers and a turbo kit for the Cadillac ATS 2.0 L platform which is capable of producing over 450 HP.
In 2010, Aaron Pfadt and Johnny O'Connell launched a new Corvette suspension line carrying O'Connell's signature and design input. This long-term partnership continues today. As a GM Factory driver, O'Connell has a record including four wins at LaMans, and as the driver of the championship Cadillac ATS., Engineered and built by Pfadt, the parts were tested and approved by O'Connell through rigorous track testing and street driving. As an aftermarket upgrade appropriate for both street and track use, the original package included sway bars and shock absorbers. After the growth in popularity of the line continued, the two paired again to launch a track day specific package featuring adjustable coil overs and adjustable sway bars.
BMW
Upon the acquisition by Advanced Flow Engineering, the company developed and launched a series of suspension components for the BMW. The lineup includes drop springs, sway bars and coil overs, all engineered, developed, and built in Corona, California.
The company entered the Ford Mustang market with a suspension package including lowering springs and sway bars.
Transition to AFE
With the growth in sales and additional product line launches the company worked to keep up with demand and ultimately found a partner in Advanced Control Engineering. After a brief downtime as the new deal was finalized, the new company came on line in August 2014 and products began to ship again and the customer service team addressed all open inquiries. Since the transition the company has launched new products for the BMW and the new Mustang, adding to the existing line up of GM-based products. Located on the 150,000-square-foot facility of the Corona, California, headquarters, the company continues to manufacture its core suspension and exhaust header lineup.
