Applied Chemical Technology, Inc. was founded in June 1981 by A. Ray Shirley, Jr. as an engineering firm providing consulting service to the chemical industry. Demand for ACT services immediately grew, and ACT now employs a team of professional engineers, designers, laboratory and computer technicians, and master craftsmen, as well as business and support staff. Applied Chemical Technology specializes in the design and construction of large and small scale production plants for innovative chemical products and processes. Fabrication services were added in 1984, and have since grown to include custom laboratory apparatus as well as production equipment. Today, Applied Chemical Technology occupies a complex located in the Florence-Lauderdale Industrial Park in Florence, Alabama, with 20,000 square feet of office and laboratory space, and 33,000 square feet for fabrication and pilot plant facilities.