Our history
Since its founding in the 1940s, Fine Tubes has continuously proven its excellence in engineering.
Our timeline spans nearly seven decades in the manufacture of high quality precision tubes.
Important dates in the history of Fine Tubes
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1943
Fine Tubes Ltd. is founded in Surbiton.
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1946
Fine Tubes' first purpose-built factory in Surbiton employs 80 people.
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1957
Fine Tubes start to supply stainless steel tubing to Vickers Viscount Aircraft.
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1960
Construction of 51,000 sq ft production area in Plymouth.
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1962
Fine Tubes move into new factory in Plymouth.
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1965
Fine Tubes develop AM350 tubes for the Concorde programme.
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1977
Fine Tubes develop 20/25Nb nuclear fuel cladding tubes.
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1980
Fine Tubes’ factory is extended with three new bays and administration wings.
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1982
Fine Tubes becomes first EEC producer of seamless titanium 3Al/2.5V tubes for hydraulic systems.
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1984
Fine Tubes supply clean bore tubing to the semiconductor market.
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1998
Fine Tubes manufacture data logging tubes for the downhole oil and gas markets.
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1999
Fine Tubes supply the Eurofighter programme with titanium tubing for hydraulic systems and EJ200.
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2000
Fine Tubes develop profiled implant tubing for medical applications.
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2001
Fine Tubes are the first global manufacturer of seamless Ti 6AI4V (UNS-R56401) tubing giving the winning edge on high performance race bicycles.
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2003
Fine Tubes manufacture super pressure instrumentation tubing operating at up to 60,000 psi (4,100 bar).
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2004
Fine Tubes manufacture Ti 6Al/4V (B338 Gr5) tubing for femur and tibia bone nail implants.
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2006
Fine Tubes qualify as supplier for new generation Airbus A380 with Ti3Al2.5V tubes for hydraulic systems operating at 5,000psi (350 bar).
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2008
Fine Tubes supplies CERN with 100km cooling tubes for the Large Hadron Collider experiment.
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2010
Fine Tubes develop 0.98mm OD, 40 micron wall Inconel heat exchanger tubes for hybrid engines of the space plane Skylon.
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2011
Fine Tubes change from VOC degreasing fluids to Solveco, an environmentally friendly solution.
