2 Long Island companies join in weather balloon project

Two Long Island companies have teamed up to develop a new portable weather balloon inflation system.

One of the companies is AlumiFuel Power Corp. of Hauppauge, which makes the hydrogen-producing inflation system.

The other is Kaymont Consolidated, of Huntington Station, which makes and distributes weather balloons.

In a Monday news release, the companies said they have just finished training "an unspecified military customer" on AlumiFuel's PBIS-1000 (PBIS stands for "Portable Balloon Inflation System").

The future looks bright for the collaboration, the companies say.

"The current weather balloon market is pegged at $150-$200 million per year, and encompasses military as well as civil government meteorological users worldwide," the companies said.

"Based on customer reaction, API and its path-to-market partner, Kaymont Consolidated of Long Island, New York, the world's largest distributor of weather balloons, believe the PBIS-1000 can become the field standard and product of choice." The acronym API refers to AlumiFuel Power Inc., a subsidiary of the corporation.

On its website, Kaymont says it is "the largest supplier of Totex Meteorological Balloons to U.S. government, educational, and commercial institutions."

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