What NAO does

NAO, Inc. (formerly National AirOil Burner Company) is a Philadelphia-based, family-owned industrial equipment manufacturer founded in 1912 that designs and builds custom-engineered combustion, pollution control, and safety equipment for the energy and process industries. The company serves oil and gas majors, refiners, LNG/LPG operators, chemical and petrochemical producers, pulp and paper manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, power generators, and government and municipal facilities. Its product portfolio centers on flare systems (fluidic, enclosed NPAC, air-assisted, steam-assisted, sonic, staged, gas-assisted, horizontal pit, and utility), industrial burners, thermal oxidizers, UL-listed control panels, flame arrestors, pilots and ignitors, knock-out drums, vent tips, CO2 snuffing systems, refractories, atomizers, mixers, and air heaters. Equipment is engineered exclusively to each customer's specifications, with turnkey services covering design, manufacturing, installation, commissioning, and operator training.

The company's technology base rests on proprietary innovations developed over more than five decades, including the patented Multi Baffle Fluidic Seal introduced in 1972 with over 15,000 units installed, Direct Pilot Ignition (HEI) technology rated for 250 MPH winds, the NAO Vapor Control Unit (NVCU) achieving greater than 99% destruction efficiency, and UL 525 listed flame arrestors. Manufacturing and engineering occur at the Philadelphia headquarters and a Plantersville, Texas testing facility capable of full-scale flame and detonation arrestor testing with wind simulation up to 150 MPH. Quality and regulatory credentials include ISO 9001:2015, UL 508A panel certification, UL 525 listing, USCG detonation arrestor certification, ASME Section IX welding, API-521 pilot compliance, and Canadian CRN registration.

NAO generates revenue primarily through one-time sales of custom-engineered equipment to enterprise customers, supplemented by aftermarket parts and service, a rental fleet billed as the world's largest inventory of portable pollution solutions, and engineering and R&D services. All equipment is quote-based with no public pricing, and contracts are typically multi-year. The company maintains a global footprint via trained local sales representatives and field service technicians, with direct enterprise sales as the dominant go-to-market motion. Ownership has remained within the founding family for four generations, with no institutional investors, subsidiaries, or M&A activity identified.

Name

NAO

Legal name

NAO, Inc.

Website

https://naoinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1912

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

NAO, Inc. is a family-owned Philadelphia manufacturer, founded 1912, that designs custom combustion, pollution control, and safety equipment — including flares, burners, thermal oxidizers, and flame arrestors — for oil & gas, petrochemical, and process industry customers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Combustion Equipment

NAICS

Air-Conditioning and Warm Air Heating Equipment and Commercial and Industrial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing (333415), Ventilation, Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing (3334), Industrial and Commercial Fan and Blower and Air Purification Equipment Manufacturing (333413)

SIC

Air-Cond & Warm Air Heatg Equip & Comm & Indl Refrig Equip (3585), Industrial Process Furnaces & Ovens (3567), Industrial & Commercial Fans & Blowers & Air Purifing Equip (3564)

akta.pro primary industry

HVAC & Industrial Ventilation (Chillers, AHUs, Exhaust, Filtration) (EUAEAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Ventilation, Ducting & Air Distribution Equipment (IMAHAKAG)

Keywords

• Industrial flare systems
• Combustion equipment
• Pollution control systems
• Thermal oxidizers
• Flame arrestors

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Engineered Equipment Sales: NAO designs and manufactures custom combustion, pollution control, and safety equipment to customer specifications. Products include flares, burners, thermal oxidizers, flame arrestors, control panels, drums, and other combustion equipment. Equipment is engineered exclusively to each customer's requirements, with design, manufacturing, and installation services included in project delivery.
2. Parts and Aftermarket Services: NAO provides spare parts, aftermarket parts, and same-day shipping for expedited stock orders. Extensive inventory supports quick turnarounds. Services include maintenance, refurbishment, repairs, and replacement of equipment including support for competitors' products and units dating back to the 1940s.
3. Rental Equipment: NAO maintains the world's largest fleet of portable pollution solutions including very large capacity temporary flares and self-contained, trailer-mounted flares. Rentals address emergency leaks and spills, sludge/oil remediation, plant turnaround, and backup pollution solutions.
4. Engineering and R&D Services: Engineering support for evaluating specifications and compliance requirements, custom design of equipment, installation support, retrofits, commissioning assistance, and technical training. R&D and testing services utilizing cutting-edge tools for product improvement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

NAO Inc. designs and manufactures custom-engineered combustion, pollution control, and safety equipment for the energy industry. Its product line includes flares (Fluidic, Enclosed, Air Assisted, Steam Assisted, Sonic, Staged, Gas Assisted, Horizontal Pit, Utility), industrial burners, thermal oxidizers, flame arrestors, knock-out drums, UL Listed control panels, pilots and ignitors, snuffing systems, refractories, and air heaters. Equipment is designed exclusively to each customer's specifications, with turnkey services covering design, manufacturing, installation, and operator training.

Product overview

NAO Inc. (originally National AirOil Burner Company, founded 1912) is a family-owned industrial equipment manufacturer offering a comprehensive portfolio of combustion, pollution control, and safety solutions. The core product line centers on flare systems—including Fluidic Flare, Enclosed Flares (NPAC), Air Assisted, Steam Assisted, Sonic, Staged, Gas Assisted, Horizontal Pit, and Utility Flares—alongside complementary equipment including burners, UL Listed control panels, flame arrestors, pilots and ignitors (HEI, Flame Front Generator, Dual Ignited), knock-out drums, thermal oxidizers (Vapor Control Units, Enclosed Combustors), atomizers, sprayers, refractories, mixers, portable ignitors, vent tips with fluidic seals, snuffing systems (CO2 fire suppression), fire simulation systems, and air heaters. NAO also provides modular units, refurbish/repair services, rental equipment (world's largest portable pollution fleet), and engineering/R&D support with full-scale testing capabilities. Products are designed, manufactured, installed, and serviced to ISO-9001 quality standards with turnkey services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fluidic Flare with Fluidic Seal Patented multi-baffle fluidic seal flare burner that minimizes purge gas consumption while preventing internal combustion and extending flare life. Features a solid conical wind/flame shield for flame lick protection and pilot burner protection, designed for enterprise customers in the energy industry.
• Enclosed Flares (NPAC - NAO Populated Area Combustors) Ground-level enclosed flare systems that destroy hydrocarbons, VOCs, and odors with thermal oxidation efficiency better than 99.99%. Features no visible flame, no smoke, no odor, and no noise; designed for use near populated areas and populated industrial zones.
• Air Assisted Flares Smokeless combustion flares using motor-driven blowers to force air into the burner, mixing with waste gas. Available in six burner configurations (NFF-AA, NFAV, NMEC-AA, NJM-AA, NMJM-AA, NVCF) with VFD blower control enabling 10:1 turndown ratios.
• Steam Assisted Flares Smokeless flare systems using steam injection for air entrainment and complete combustion. Available in NFF-SR (single steam ring), NFF-RC-SSI (steam ring & center injection), and NFF-RC (ring & center steam) configurations.
• Sonic Flares High-pressure sonic flares for offshore applications with high exit velocities. Includes NJM (NAO Jet Mix), NMJM (NAO Multi Jet Mix), and NMEC (NAO Multi External Coanda) burner types.
• Staged Flares Multi-tip flare systems (NMJM staged flares) designed for wide flow-rate changes, sequenced on/off based on relief load. Includes Non-Assisted and Air Assisted (NMJM-AA or NMEC-AA) configurations.
• Gas Assisted Flares Flare burners with gas assist ring or internal gas injection nozzles to support and stabilize low-BTU waste gases. Includes Flame Enhancement/Stability Shroud Assembly option.
• Horizontal Flare Pits Pit flares positioned horizontally through fire brick walls or earthen barriers. Includes NIFO smokeless, steam injection, water spray, and forced air blower options.
• Utility Flares Basic low-pressure flare systems for long-term operations with minimum operating cost and maintenance. Features solid conical windshield, top-located multi-baffled fluidic seal, and vortex swirl vanes.
• NAO Vapor Control Unit (NVCU) / NAO Vapor Destruction Unit (NVDU) Automated systems for safe destruction of hydrocarbon vapors including gasoline, methanol, and ethanol from truck, rail, barge loading and storage facilities. Achieves 99%+ destruction efficiency, designed for operators where vapor recovery is not cost-effective.
• Enclosed Combustor Biogas vapor destruction systems for landfills and digestors with multi-point burner assembly and UL listed control panel. Designed for biogas destruction in municipal and industrial applications.
• Modular Units Bolted/enclosed combustion systems designed for easy transportation and relocation. Shipped in freight containers for projects requiring mobile or modular configurations.
• Industrial Burners Industrial burners including Jet Mix, Oil, Gas, Low NOx, Ultra Low NOx, Hexad, Radiant wall (Glowall, Linear, Firewall), Portable Waste Burners, and Clean Burners (CB) for various industrial applications in chemical, petrochemical, pulp and paper, pharmaceutical, and basic metals process industries.
• UL Listed Control Panels UL 508A listed industrial control panels for flare systems, burners, and combustion equipment. Includes burner management systems, VFD control, and custom configurations for hazardous locations, certified with periodic unannounced UL inspections.
• Flame Arrestors UL 525 listed deflagration and detonation arrestors protecting vessels, tanks, flare systems, and process equipment from flame propagation. Custom engineered in carbon steel, stainless steel, and specialty alloys, with USCG-certified variants for marine applications.
• NAO Multi Baffle Vent Seal (NFS-VT) Patented vent tip with fluidic seal preventing air entry into vent stacks. Over 15,000 units in operation from 2" to 96". Optional temperature sensors, pressure sensors, and CO2 suppression, designed for hydrocarbon and chemical storage tanks.
• Knock-out Drums and Disentrainment Drums Liquid separation vessels to prevent liquid hydrocarbon carryover to flare tips. Includes NAO POP-TOP Liquid Seal Drum providing flashback protection and functioning as a check valve, designed for upstream, midstream, and downstream hydrocarbon facilities.
• Flare Pilots and Ignition Systems Flare ignition systems including High Energy Ignitors (HEI), Flame Front Generators, Direct Ignited Pilots, Dual Ignited Pilot Burners, and Air Eductor Pilot Burners. Tested for 250 MPH wind conditions, rainproof and windproof performance for use in extreme climates including Alaska, Canada, and Siberia.
• Portable Ignitors Self-contained ignition units up to 10 ft. customizable. Includes NPI (standard 4" flame), NPI-FB (flame burst ~30"), NPI-FB-BI (battery ignition backup), and NHEI high energy ignitor (2500V).
• Snuffing Systems (CO2 Fire Suppression) Carbon dioxide fire suppression systems NFPA-12 compliant. Suppresses fire by oxygen depletion with no residue and non-conductive, suitable for Class A, B, and C hazards in industrial facilities.
• Refractories Over 2,000 refractory molds with encased burner blocks. Standard/special shapes including refractory blocks, muffles, distribution cones. Alloy encased, downfire, and low NOx recirculation blocks for industrial combustion chambers.
• Fire Simulation Systems Training and display systems for professional firefighter proficiency. Provides real-world conflagration test situations meeting environmental regulations for smoke and emissions, designed for fire training academies and emergency response facilities.
• Air Heaters Prepackaged direct-fired air heaters. Types include duct, horizontal, down-fired, and in-line. Applications include catalytic cracking, coal driers, food-process driers, rotary driers, and stress relieving in refineries and process plants.
• Atomizers Nozzles and sprayers for burners, kilns, refineries, and petrochemical processes. Operating pressures up to 2500 PSIG using compressed air, gas, mechanical pressure, or steam for atomization.
• Sprayers Industrial sprayer tips including Type F (flat spray), Type F-53 (wide capacity turn-down), Type C (swirling conical), and Type D (finely atomized). Includes chemical process reactor feed sprayers for refineries and process industries.
• Mixers Atmospheric or high-pressure reactor ignitor and mixing tips for air, hydrocarbons, oxygen, and other stream mixing. Modular design with cast 310SS. Configurable clockwise/counter-clockwise vortex action for process reactors and burners.
• Rental Equipment Portable and temporary pollution control equipment including flares (2" to 36", up to 300' tall), enclosed ZERO flares, enclosed combustors, and portable oxidizers. World's largest fleet of portable pollution solutions for emergency leaks, spills, plant turnarounds, and backup pollution needs.
• Parts and Aftermarket Services Spare parts, aftermarket parts, and same-day shipping for expedited stock orders. Services include maintenance, refurbishment, repairs, and replacement of equipment including support for competitors' products and units dating back to the 1940s.
• Engineering Support and R&D Custom engineering design, resource and development, testing at two facilities (Philadelphia, PA and Plantersville, TX) simulating winds up to 150mph, and full-scale flame/detonation arrestor testing. Engineering support for evaluating specifications and compliance requirements.

Quantifiable outcome

• Destruction efficiency exceeding 99% for vapor control units
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Cleaver-Brooks: Cleaver-Brooks is a large manufacturer of industrial boilers, burners, and combustion control systems used across process and power industries. Its burner and boiler products serve similar specifications and customer profiles to NAO's custom-engineered burner packages.
• Dürr AG: Dürr AG operates an Environmental & Industrial Solutions business line supplying air pollution control and combustion systems to process industries, with broader industrial automation scope. Comparable to NAO as a broader industrial-pollution-control incumbent rather than a focused flare/burner specialist.
• Fives Group: Fives designs industrial combustion and process equipment including burners, thermal oxidizers, and heat treatment systems for refining, steel, and chemicals. Overlaps with NAO's burner and thermal oxidizer offerings but is part of a much larger diversified industrial portfolio.

Emerging players

• Power Flame: Power Flame produces industrial burners and packaged combustion systems for process steam, heating, and pollution control applications. Its burners and burner management controls are comparable to NAO's industrial burner and UL 508A control panel offerings.
• Eclipse (in Combustion/Eclipse Engineering): Eclipse designs and manufactures industrial burners and combustion equipment for process heating, with a growing presence in low-NOx and clean-burn applications. Overlaps with NAO's burner and clean-burn product categories but focuses more on packaged heating solutions.

Direct peers

• Aereon (part of Air Products/legacy CATERPILLAR group): Aereon supplies flares, vapor combustors, and gas recovery systems for oil & gas terminals, loading, and processing. Its product portfolio, particularly enclosed ground flares and vapor destruction units, is highly comparable to NAO's NVCU/NVDU and enclosed flare lines.
• Coen Company: Coen Company designs and manufactures industrial burners, flame safety systems, and combustion packages used in refining, petrochemical, and process industries. Its burner portfolio directly overlaps with NAO's Low NOx and Ultra Low NOx burner lines.
• Callidus Technologies (Honeywell UOP): Callidus Technologies specializes in flares, thermal oxidizers, and combustion systems for refineries and petrochemical plants and is part of Honeywell UOP. Directly comparable to NAO in enclosed flares, vapor combustion, and engineered industrial burners sold into hydrocarbon processing.
• John Zink (Koch Engineered Solutions): John Zink is a leading supplier of combustion, flares, thermal oxidizers, and vapor recovery solutions used in refining, petrochemical, and gas processing. Its product breadth, certified flares, and engineered packages directly overlap with NAO's core offerings and customer verticals.
• Zeeco: Zeeco is a global designer and manufacturer of industrial combustion equipment including flares, burners, thermal oxidizers, and vapor control units for oil & gas, refining, and petrochemical operators. Directly comparable to NAO across flares, burners, and pollution control product lines and customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/NAOIncorporated
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/naoincorporated

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NAO