Part common sense, part mechanical marvel, an AMP Research invention tends to be one of those 'why didn’t I think of that?' Ideas that seem like total no-brainers. In fact, it’s the simple solution to complex problems that have eluded Mankind throughout history, and are the hardest answers to think up. Finding the simple, functional solution to a complex design challenge is the goal of every AMP Research innovation. As Albert Einstein said, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”
Thomas Edison remarked that invention is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. But before there’s either, there’s observation. The eyes of everyone at AMP Research are trained to look at everyday life, and envision new products that prove themselves in the marketplace.
AMP Research is a problem-solving resource to the automotive industry with an environment created to nurture innovative thinking.
The AMP Research Process:
1. Define needs
2. Assume nothing
3. Less is more
4. Use and abuse
AMP Research isn’t just a design, development and engineering center. This 55,000 square foot facility located in Tustin, California, employs flexible manufacturing and assembly lines to produce AMP products for both automotive OEM and aftermarket customers.
AMP Research received ISO 9001:2008 certification, as a supplier setting a higher standard of manufacturing quality for automotive products found on cars and trucks from Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota.
AMP Research is an American design and technology company, located in Tustin, California, that invents, builds and markets products designed to improve the function and utility of cars, light trucks and SUVs. The company’s motto, ”Innovation In Motion” captures the eclectic mix of breakthrough products AMP Research has brought to the market since its founding in 1980.
AMP Research is an original-equipment supplier of unique car and truck accessories for Ford, GM, Hyundai, Kia, Fiat, Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Suzuki and Mercedes-Benz. Automotive accessory products designed, manufactured and marketed directly by AMP Research include the AMP Research PowerStep™, BedStep™, BedXTender HD™ and Alloy Fuel Doors.
From the industry-leading 1980s four-stroke ATK motocross and off-road motorcycles that presaged today’s dominant four-stroke machines, to the unique AMP Research and Mercedes-Benz full-suspension bicycles of the 90s, to today’s pickup trucks and SUV accessories, every AMP Research product has been conceived, engineered and developed by Horst Leitner, the company’s visionary founder and owner. Born in a small town near Salzburg Austria in 1942, Leitner became a top-rank off-road motorcycle racer, competing in the F.I.M. Motocross World Championships in Europe, winning four gold medals in the grueling International Six Days Trial, as well as capturing the Austrian National Motocross Championships.
After completing his engineering studies in Graz Austria, Leitner tackled the challenge of improving the suspension function of the motorcycles he raced. His efforts resulted in the A-Trak and AMP-Link chain-torque eliminators, inventions that greatly improved the ride quality, handling and performance of on-and off-road motorcycles and, later, ATVs.
In 1998 AMP Research turned its primary focus to the automotive world. The AMP Research Bed X-Tender™ for pickup trucks is a construction of tubular aluminum and glass-reinforced resin connectors which extends the cargo area of the bed over the folded-down tailgate, letting owners fully utilize the space created with the tailgate in the horizontal positions. The AMP Research Bed X-Tender™ can be flipped forward for compartmentalized storage when the gate is up, and can also be removed for carrying larger cargo items. 2009 saw the introduction of the AMP Research Moto X-Tender®, with a unique slant-back design, which allows more room in compact pickups for motorcycles, ATVs and other longer cargo. In 2011 Amp Research introduced a newly re-designed and improved Tailgate extender and cargo enclosure, the BedXTender HD. The toughest, most durable created to date, with patented rounded-rectangle tubes and new torque-resistant composite uprights.
The AMP PowerStep™ provides a running-board/retractable truck step utilizing a patented, kinematically-engineered linkage and electric motor. The AMP PowerStep™ extends when any vehicle door is opened, and retracts under the vehicle, for added ground clearance and reduced aerodynamic drag, when the doors are closed. By 2010, over 30,000 Power Step systems had been sold, both as line-installed OEM components on Ford and GM vehicles and through multi-step distribution in the automotive aftermarket under the AMP Research brand.
To make climbing into the bed of a pickup easier, Leitner invented the BedStep™, a clever retractable truck step mounted to the bumper/frame attachments at the rear corner of the vehicle that can be extended down with the flip of a toe to facilitate climbing up into or down from the pickup bed, and which retracts under the rear bumper, nearly out of sight, after use. In Mid-2011, AMP Research began shipping BedStep2™, new side-access steps for pickup truck beds that mounts on either side, just behind the cab. providing a faster, easier and safer route to access toolboxes, equipment and cargo in the bed.