Originally doing business as Flow Research, Flow International was very early active in SBIR the firm having been formed by a group pf former Boeing research scientists working in the space ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) technology. Publicly traded (NASDAQ: FLOW) more or less coincident with that SBIR involvement, the firm continues in that space but in early 2014 merged with American Industry Partners. With the development in the late seventies of adding abrasives to the waterflow enabling waterjets to cut almost any material use of their technology boroadened. In 1987 the firm was thrust into the public spotlight when a system developed by Flow is used to extract "Baby Jessica" from the abandoned well into which she fell. The waterjet system dug a parallel shaft, then broke through the wall of the well. Flow International Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, markets, installs and services ultra-high-pressure (UHP) products including both standard and specialized waterjet cutting and cleaning systems, together with the Fresher Under Pressure food safety technology and isostatic and flexform press systems. The Company provides technologically advanced, environmentally sound solutions to the manufacturing, industrial, marine cleaning and food markets. Its UHP systems pressurize water from 40,000 to over 100,000 pounds per square inch (psi). This high-pressure water is the core of its product line.
