Saving the World at AMTI

Because Larry Hatch started his own business a few years ago, American soldiers in Iraq are safer as they drive through the streets of Baghdad.

Miners in underground shafts are safer as they dig for ore.

And citizens all across America are better protected from the threat of chemical and biological terrorism.

Hearing all this, you might think Hatch is some kind of secret agent.

He’s not. He’s an entrepreneur, which is just a fancy French name for “someone who started his own business.”

Hatch’s team is a Lynchburg-based company called Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Inc., or AMTI. A lot of what AMTI does is making the electronics that go inside stuff that other people make, in other words, they put the “smart” in a lot of smart products.

What kind of products?

Well, we can’t tell you much, because a lot of what AMTI does is classified, top-secret information, but this much we can share:

The company makes super high-tech sensors and communication equipment that can detect and signal the presence of roadside bombs in Iraq, dangerous gas build-ups in underground mines, or potentially harmful biological agents that might be released into our air by enemy aggressors.

“It’s exciting to know that we do is helping to save lives,” Hatch says. “We get jazzed up working with cool products that have a positive impact on society.”

Students take note: AMTI did hire two college interns this past year, giving them some practical hands-on experience in the exciting field of electronic engineering.

Nathan May, a junior at Liberty University, is one of the interns. What’s his role there? “I’ve been helping AMTI develop its data reporting instructions,” Nathan says. “These help us review our work, so we can identify ways to do things better.”