Adaptive Materials, Inc. (AMI)

Jordan Komoto, HR lead with Ann Arbor-based fuel cell manufacturer Adaptive Materials, kicks off our new "Hired" series.

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Filed under: Adaptive Materials, Inc. (AMI) | Ann Arbor, MI

Jordan Komoto, HR lead with Ann Arbor-based fuel cell manufacturer Adaptive Materials, kicks off our new "Hired" series.  In his role at Adaptive Materials, Komoto is charged with interviewing candidates for open positions and has some pretty good insider's knowledge on the do's and don'ts of the process. 

Our Q&A with Komoto:

Q. Tell us a little bit about Adaptive Materials

A. Adaptive Materials is the leader in portable fuel cell power. Our systems power a variety of military and commercial applications and run off readily available propane. Our core values of attitude, empowerment, innovation, and growth signify a commitment to cool thinking, organizational and personal advancement, and creative freedom.

Q. What types of positions has your company filled within last year?

A. Mechanical Engineer, Test Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer, Controls Engineer

Q. What are the types of skills required of these positions?
A. Demonstrated experience as a successful product design, process improvement, or test and validation engineer. We look for individuals who have had proven success as an individual contributor in a collaborative environment. We don’t look for followers; we want people who have demonstrated the ability to provide leadership in their field of expertise, without necessarily having served as a manager. As a small organization, we look for individuals who will fit into the small company culture—people who are always willing to lend a hand outside of their job description and break down or simply go around barriers to get the project done.

Q. What's the top thing you look for in a new hire?
A. Confidence, competence, and a willingness to learn. A person may not be the best interviewer, but as long as they can demonstrate they are competent, willing to learn, and confident they can be successful, it will show through in an interview.

Q. What's one thing that HR managers look for in a new hire that job seekers should focus on in interviews, resumes, etc.?
A. Concise results from your previous employment. Don’t just tell us what was in
your job description; we want to know what you were able to accomplish in your
previous position(s).

Aaron Crumm intends to make major strides marketing AMI's fuel cells in the next twelve months.

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Filed under: Aaron Crumm | Adaptive Materials, Inc. (AMI) | Ann Arbor, MI | Defining New Markets | Energy | Twelve Month Goals

In this brief two minute segment (download iPod compatible, 8MB), Aaron Crumm, CEO of Adaptive Materials, Inc. describes what he would like to see AMI achieve in the next year. First, they will move to their new production facility. They also expect to make some big partner announcements along with demonstrating successful product demonstrations for new markets. He is particularly excited about opening real paths to markets because that has been missing in the fuel cell industry to date.

Aaron Crumm describes AMI's go-to-market strategy.

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Filed under: Aaron Crumm | Adaptive Materials, Inc. (AMI) | Ann Arbor, MI | Defining New Markets | Energy | Making Substitutes

In this nine and a half minute segment (download iPod compatible, 50MB), Aaron Crumm describes how Adaptive Materials, Inc. (AMI) builds its business by bootstrapping. He uses electronics as an example. In electronics, the adoptions cycles are rapid, offering the opportunity to introduce fuel cells multiple times in a given year. Further, there are customers with acute energy needs who are willing to pay substantial premiums.

AMI's original funding source, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), was one such customer. DARPA funds high risk, high reward projects. AMI was fortunately able to hit its milestones and pitch additional rounds after the initial funding. Currently, they are at the stage of doing evaluations and field tries for actual use.

For most markets, however, AMI is now pursuing partnering strategies with firms who know those markets and their needs.

Manufacturing and production play a central role in AMI's business plan. AMI's CEO, Aaron Crumm, explains why he believes they can successfully produce the first commercially viable, small form factor fuel cell.

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Filed under: Aaron Crumm | Adaptive Materials, Inc. (AMI) | Ann Arbor, MI | Defining New Markets | Energy | Making Substitutes

In this 10 minute segment (download iPod compatible, 53MB), Aaron Crumm discusses the central role of manufacturing and production in AMI's business plan. He starts off by noting that, in spite of all of the hype about fuel cells, no one can actually buy one. The big challenge has been manufacturing. AMI has patented a process for miniaturizing solid oxide fuel cells and has already begun piloting production with plans to soon move into a 40,000 square foot facility.

The key benefit of the solid oxide fuel cell is that it uses inexpensive, readily available materials: ceramic and propane or butane. The challenge is in forming the ceramic in the small sizes required. Aaron expects that the new facility will allow AMI to move into orders for thousands of units. However, given the size of the current battery market, he believes that producing millions of units is not an unreasonable expectation.