Steelhead Composites

In 2015 we shipped our first international product and manufactured our 1,000th vessel. While the hydraulic hybrid market did not materialize in great numbers, Steelhead took the composite bladder accumulators to solve problem in other industries where the light weight and corrosion resistance were important, such as oil platforms.

In 2016 we were approached independently by F1 race teams and robotics manufacturers requesting smaller components, in particular 0.5L and 2.0L diaphragm accumulators. We quickly produced and validated units and shipped them by the end of the year. Simultaneously, the mobile machinery market demanded that we brought light-weighting to piston accumulators and hydraulic cylinders; our piston patent was granted in Q3 2016 and we had a working prototype by the end of the year.

In 2017 we took our fully digital shop floor, advanced manufacturing process and design capabilities and extended our product offerings to manufacturing other pressure vessels where weight is critical, such as compressed natural gas (CNG) vessels, gaseous hydrogen storage vessels for fuel cell cars and industrial gas transportation cylinders. To better serve the aerospace market, we achieved our AS 9100-Rev D aerospace quality system certification at the end of 2017. This year also marked an increase in our ability to better serve the automotive market with products perfectly suited for active hydraulic suspensions.

In 2018 we continued to grow as Steelhead ended the year with 75 customers and products everywhere from outer space to the ocean floor. We shipped our first 700 bar hydrogen cylinders, demonstrated linerless vessel manufacturing capabilities and validated/began production of plastic lined composite wrapped pressure vessels. As a testament to our commitment to the environment, we completed our ISO 14001 environmental management system.