Our Company

After graduating from MIT and serving in World War II, Richard M. Armstrong Sr. founded The Richard M. Armstrong Company (RMACO) in 1946. The company initially operated in West Chester, PA from a barn on a former dairy farm, focusing on manufacturing heat transfer equipment. Eventually, RMACO evolved into Armstrong Engineering Associates, Inc., now a global leader in specialized process heat transfer equipment and systems.

By 1965, the company expanded internationally, establishing Chemtec NV in The Netherlands and Chemtec UK Limited in Scotland. In the mid-1970s, Armstrong founded Chemtec Pte. Ltd. in Singapore.

Armstrong’s early and extensive involvement with Heat Transfer Research, Inc. (HTRI) and his commitment to research and development fueled groundbreaking innovations, including vaporizers and double-pipe heat exchangers, scraped surface double-pipe heat exchangers, and, eventually, electric heat exchangers in the 1970s. The 1980 acquisition of California-based HESCO (Heat Engineering and Supply Company) marked the company’s entry into designing and manufacturing explosion-proof electric immersion heaters, radiant furnaces, and impedance heaters, keeping it at the forefront of supercritical fluid heating technology.

In 1998, leadership passed to Armstrong’s sons, A Joseph Armstrong III and Richard M Armstrong Jr. A transformative moment came in 2010 when the employees purchased the company, converting it into an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). Today, Armstrong Chemtec Group, with its headquarters in Coatesville, PA, and operations across the USA, Scotland, and Singapore, continues its legacy of innovation and excellence.