The origins of Pyropel® date back to 1989 when it was established as a separate business unit within Albany International Corporation.

Initially, the company concentrated on developing engineered materials and insulation for the aerospace industry. These efforts led to Pyropel, a revolutionary rigid material with more insulating capability per pound and greater ease of use than any other commercially available insulation.

Ongoing research involving polyimide polymers and advanced processing techniques resulted in a line of polyimide materials. These materials, marketed under the Pyropel brand, range in properties from low density flexible materials to high-purity, high-performance, yet extremely low-cost, polyimide plastics. 

In 2017, after a 37-year career with Albany International, Gordon Varney, now president of Pyropel, Inc. acquired the assets of the Pyropel product line and relocated the headquarters and manufacturing facility to New Bedford, Massachusetts. Today, Pyropel is utilized worldwide in the aerospace/transportation sector, instrumentation industry, industrial process industries, and semiconductor industries among many others.

With over three decades of experience with Pyropel and the business, Gordon is the foremost authority on Pyropel and its uses.