Written by Ainsley Jacobs
Photography courtesy of the manufacturer
A classic inventor's drive paired with a strong business mindset enabled brothers Dan and Ken Jones to transform the centrifugal supercharger into a completely new power adder the ProCharger. The first to offer a complete, intercooled supercharger system and billet impellers, ProCharger developed more than 40 patents, securing the company's position as innovators in the industry.
Growing up in the Kansas City area, the brothers were always involved in various forms of racing.
Almost 30 years ago, automotive turbos made big power gains thanks to intercooling, but had significant lag and major heat issues, recalled Ken Jones, CEO of ProCharger, the supercharger division of Accessible Technologies, Inc. We looked at the gains superchargers were producing and they weren't impressive to us, and we thought we could raise the bar.
Believing they could build a better product and utilize insights from precision manufacturing as well as aerospace and industrial turbo technology, the brothers embarked on their journey in December of 1993. Dan put together a ProCharger prototype while Ken raised the funds, ultimately leaving his full-time consulting job in London to focus on his brother's project. With relentless commitment and an inherent understanding of their customers, the men began selling their supercharger in the spring of 1994.
Originally, ProCharger operated out of a leased property in Lenexa, Kansas, and offered supercharger systems for 5.0 Mustangs and carbureted Chevrolet applications. By 1998, the company grew so much that the men had a build-to-suit property developed, which expanded a second time in 2004. In 2010, ProCharger acquired more space by way of an adjacent building and, in 2015, expanded its offices to the San Francisco area as well. Now, ProCharger proudly boasts one of the largest engineering and customer support teams in the industry.
Thanks to the aerospace technology that helped contribute to ProCharger's high-performance success, the company also expanded to include an industrial products division. A contract with the US Air Force in 98 ultimately led to the creation of ATI's I ovair division.
When you design products to run continuously, 24/7 for 20 years, you can use that technology to help you build the best superchargers, too, noted Ken of the synergy between the segments. That's part of how we became the first and only NHRA-legal centrifugal supercharger in Pro Mod.
ProCharger's partnership with companies like Pro Line Racing, PTP Performance, Xtreme Racing Engines, and others helped recently propel its products to a whole new level of prosperity and performance in Pro Mod, although the company already made its mark in NHRA Top Dragster and Top Sportsman.
We sell everything from pure bolt-on, intercooled and street-legal systems with self-contained oiling to top-level power adders for NMRA, NMCA, NHRA, PDRA, and other sanctioning bodies, Ken proudly stated.
Many racers earned championships with ProCharger's products, including the 2020 NMCA VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod champion, Eric Gustafson, as well as the back-to-back 2019 and 2020 PDRA Pro Boost champions, Kevin Rivenbark and John Strickland of the GALOT Motorsports team, and more.
Over the years, ProCharger's superchargers evolved, and improved, but the original design was so cutting edge when it first came to market that the company hasn't discontinued any of its street products.
Its commitment to Made in America quality hasn't changed, either, and ProCharger's internal investments including engine and chassis dynos along with vehicles for testing and development have only served to push the bar even higher. Service comes before sales at ProCharger, and customers can trust they'll be working with a team who truly knows and understands their performance needs.
Believing they could build a better product and utilize insights from precision manufacturing as well as aerospace and industrial turbo technology, the brothers embarked on their journey in December of 1993. Dan put together a ProCharger prototype while Ken raised the funds, ultimately leaving his full-time consulting job in London to focus on his brother's project. With relentless commitment and an inherent understanding of their customers, the men began selling their supercharger in the spring of 1994.
Originally, ProCharger operated out of a leased property in Lenexa, Kansas, and offered supercharger systems for 5.0 Mustangs and carbureted Chevrolet applications. By 1998, the company grew so much that the men had a build-to-suit property developed, which expanded a second time in 2004. In 2010, ProCharger acquired more space by way of an adjacent building and, in 2015, expanded its offices to the San Francisco area as well. Now, ProCharger proudly boasts one of the largest engineering and customer support teams in the industry.
Thanks to the aerospace technology that helped contribute to ProCharger's high-performance success, the company also expanded to include an industrial products division. A contract with the US Air Force in 98 ultimately led to the creation of ATI's I ovair division.
When you design products to run continuously, 24/7 for 20 years, you can use that technology to help you build the best superchargers, too, noted Ken of the synergy between the segments. That's part of how we became the first and only NHRA-legal centrifugal supercharger in Pro Mod.
ProCharger's partnership with companies like Pro Line Racing, PTP Performance, Xtreme Racing Engines, and others helped recently propel its products to a whole new level of prosperity and performance in Pro Mod, although the company already made its mark in NHRA Top Dragster and Top Sportsman.
We sell everything from pure bolt-on, intercooled and street-legal systems with self-contained oiling to top-level power adders for NMRA, NMCA, NHRA, PDRA, and other sanctioning bodies, Ken proudly stated.
Many racers earned championships with ProCharger's products, including the 2020 NMCA VP Racing Lubricants Xtreme Pro Mod champion, Eric Gustafson, as well as the back-to-back 2019 and 2020 PDRA Pro Boost champions, Kevin Rivenbark and John Strickland of the GALOT Motorsports team, and more.
Over the years, ProCharger's superchargers evolved, and improved, but the original design was so cutting edge when it first came to market that the company hasn't discontinued any of its street products.
Its commitment to Made in America quality hasn't changed, either, and ProCharger's internal investments including engine and chassis dynos along with vehicles for testing and development have only served to push the bar even higher. Service comes before sales at ProCharger, and customers can trust they'll be working with a team who truly knows and understands their performance needs.