Twenty Years of POWER: Part One

 “Never once did someone say, or admit, this was going to fail. It was a given: we were going to do whatever it took to make it work.” – Dave Howey, CFO

Four friends stood in an empty building – they had just quit their jobs, emptied their savings, and maxed out their credit cards. “We stood there, looking at each other like, what were we thinking?” remembers Nick Niakan, President and CEO of aFe POWER. 

That was in 1999. That was when the former coworkers made the decision to put everything they had into creating a superior air filter. This meant leaving behind their comfortable life, barely seeing their families, balancing dozens of credit cards, and coping with no vacations and zero paychecks for close to three years.  

“It was just about believing in the 

dream,” said Dave Howey. 

HERE'S OUR STORY

“We started from scratch,” said Stuart Miyagishima, VP of Engineering.

The original team of four hand cut, oiled, packaged, and shipped out each filter – holding their work to the highest quality standards, all while on a budget with limited resources. “My proudest moment was the creation of that first filter.”

They took advantage of a small section of a local strip mall, making that home to super long working hours and a rapidly expanding business: 

advanced FLOW engineering.

They expanded to take over 

the surrounding storefronts 

including roughly 50,000 square feet of space, before making a leap to purchase

a 78,000 square foot building across the street. “The company was expanding at a rate that, at every six months, we had a new set of issues and completely different problems,” explains Dave Howey.

“We took over that building, and all of a sudden, we have a dyno, we’re making exhaust systems...” With its continued growth, the company then continued into the suspension and electronics markets to fill gaps in the industry where it 

was evident that quality parts were lacking.

“This company is so dynamic in the sense that it keeps forging forward. I expected it to grow this way – everyone did,” said Dave Howey. The immense drive that radiates from the team is still extremely evident to this day. Dave Simpson, VP of Sales, said, “You can’t beat Nick’s passion. You can’t beat Nick’s drive.” Dave Howey adds, “We’re brothers.”

 “Thank you for your continued support of aFe and for celebrating with us in our 20th year in the automotive aftermarket. This is what we do.” – Nick Niakan, President & CEO

SEMA 2005 

SEMA 2007 

PART TWO

of the story