What Airtex Products makes

Airtex, which operates today as Airtex-ASC, makes fuel and water pumps for cars, trucks, fleet, and specialty vehicles. Fuel delivery is the flagship line: mechanical and electric fuel pumps, in-tank pump modules, sending units, and fuel delivery components. The company says its catalog runs to more than 2,100 SKUs and covers over 250 million vehicles in operation, and it claims that one of every three fuel pumps sold in the automotive aftermarket is an Airtex fuel pump.

The water pump side comes from ASC Industries, which has built water pumps at North Canton, Ohio since 1976 and merged with Airtex under common ownership. The combined line covers mechanical water pumps, water pump timing kits, and electric and auxiliary water pumps. The company has extended electric water pump coverage to popular OEM nameplates including BMW, Toyota, Lexus, Volkswagen, Audi, Ford, and Lincoln, aimed partly at the auxiliary pumps that cool batteries and power electronics in hybrid and electric vehicles. Airtex-ASC also markets water pump timing kits it says cover 93 percent of vehicles on the road with its top 80 kits, a coverage-density claim rather than an audited figure.

Airtex sells into two channels at once. It supplies the automotive aftermarket, where it is one of the larger fuel pump brands by unit volume, and it develops customized pumps directly for OE programs. The company names Ford, GM, and Mazda as OE customers it works with on application-specific pump designs.

Ownership and history

Benjamin Frankel founded the company in 1935 as Chefford Master Manufacturing Company, and its first products were replacement fuel pump repair kits for Ford and Chevrolet automobiles. The brand became Airtex and spent decades headquartered around Fairfield, Illinois, where it ran a large US fuel pump plant. That plant was progressively cut back, with roughly 275 of 350 remaining jobs eliminated in 2013 and 2014 as production shifted to Mexico and China. ASC Industries, the water pump business, was founded by four engineers and has manufactured pumps in North Canton, Ohio since 1976; the two businesses were combined as Airtex-ASC.

Ownership has changed hands repeatedly. Airtex passed from UIS Inc. to a Carlyle Group buyout, then into United Components Inc. (UCI), then to New Zealand based Rank Group. In January 2019, Trico Group acquired the Performance Pumps business, ASC Industries and Airtex Products together, from UCI International Holdings for about $75 million. Trico later became part of First Brands Group, the auto-parts holding company that also owns Fram, Raybestos, Trico, Carter, and Anco.

That parent is now in bankruptcy. First Brands Group filed voluntary Chapter 11 on September 28, 2025 in the Southern District of Texas, reporting liabilities in the tens of billions and disclosing an alleged $2.3 billion in receivables that could not be accounted for. In January 2026 First Brands said it would wind down its Autolite, Brake Parts Inc., and Cardone units after failing to secure funding or complete a sale, and its founders were later indicted on federal fraud charges. Buyers evaluating Airtex should read the parent situation as a live risk to continuity of supply rather than a settled one, and weigh warranty and program support across the pump supplier tiers accordingly. The pump operations themselves continued to run through the filing: ASC Industries in North Canton was still receiving imported pump components as of September 2026.

Certifications and quality

Airtex-ASC states that its quality management system complies with ISO/TS 16949, the automotive quality standard that preceded IATF 16949, and with ISO 14001 for environmental management. These are reported as company claims; certificate scopes and current cycle dates are not posted publicly, so the certification tile is marked as claimed rather than date-verified. The company describes validation testing and application engineering as part of how it develops OE-specific pumps, consistent with the PPAP discipline expected of a direct pump supplier.

Sourcing evidence

The clearest live signal on Airtex is its water pump arm's import record. ASC Industries in North Canton, Ohio has 4,216 US ocean import shipments on record, with the most recent dated September 3, 2026, which places the operation as actively importing right through the parent company's bankruptcy. The supply base is concentrated in China:

ASC Tianjin appears to be a captive or affiliated supplier, the pattern of a company importing its own manufactured components rather than buying finished goods for resale. That is the signature of a real manufacturer, and it is relevant to buyers weighing nearshoring and tariff exposure on China-sourced pump components.

Coverage caveats: these are US ocean-freight records only. Air, truck, and rail movements, and any US-Mexico flows, do not appear; some records name freight intermediaries rather than manufacturers; and product categories come from declared manifest codes, which are noisy. Absence of a record is not evidence of absence, and shipment counts are not a financial-health measure on their own.

Frequently asked questions

What does Airtex Products make?

Airtex, operating as Airtex-ASC, makes fuel and water pumps for the automotive aftermarket and for OE customers. Its lines include mechanical and electric fuel pumps, in-tank fuel pump modules, mechanical and electric water pumps, and water pump timing kits. The company says it carries more than 2,100 SKUs covering over 250 million vehicles in operation.

Who owns Airtex Products?

Airtex is owned by First Brands Group, the auto-parts holding company that also owns Fram, Raybestos, Trico, Carter, and Anco. It came to First Brands through Trico Group, which bought the Performance Pumps business (ASC Industries and Airtex Products) from UCI International in January 2019 for about $75 million. First Brands Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 28, 2025.

Is Airtex still in business?

Airtex-ASC's pump operations were still running as of September 2026, and its ASC Industries water pump arm in North Canton, Ohio was actively importing components that month. However, its ultimate parent, First Brands Group, is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings that moved toward a liquidating plan in 2026, so buyers should confirm current supply and warranty status directly.

Where is Airtex located?

Airtex-ASC's water pump manufacturing and operating base is at 2100 International Parkway, North Canton, Ohio. The Airtex fuel pump brand was historically headquartered in Fairfield, Illinois, and the company also lists offices in Michigan, Mexico, Spain, and China. Much of its US pump production was moved to Mexico and China in the 2010s.

Who are Airtex Products' OE customers?

Airtex states that it develops customized pumps directly for OE customers including Ford, GM, and Mazda. Most of its volume, however, goes to the automotive aftermarket, where it is one of the larger fuel pump brands by unit sales.

What certifications does Airtex hold?

Airtex-ASC states that its quality management system complies with ISO/TS 16949, the predecessor to IATF 16949, and with ISO 14001 for environmental management. These are company claims; current certificate dates and scopes are not published, so they should be verified directly for a specific program.

Last verified September 27, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.