Tubing Manufacturer Expands

Graham Thomson, VP and general manager, at the Titeflex construction site. Photo by Matthew J. Mowry

Titeflex Aerospace, a manufacturer of rigid and flexible tubing for transferring fluids—primarily fuel in airplane engines­—is expanding its Laconia plant and adding to its workforce.

A subsidiary of Smiths Group, a multinational corporation based in London, Titeflex is adding 47,000 square feet of space to its 70,000-square-foot main building, which will allow it to reconfigure operations and institute more lean manufacturing practices, says Graham Thomson, vice president and general manager.

Currently, Titeflex leases another 56,000 square feet in a building across the street from its main facility, which means workflow and staff must go back and forth between the two buildings. Once the addition is complete in June 2016, Titeflex will eventually reduce its operations at the second facility to 25,000 square feet, Thomson says. “The primary driver is to get LEAN manufacturing,” Thomson says of the expansion, which is expected to double Titeflex’s production volume in the next five years.

An increase is business is driving the expansion. Three years ago the company became a contractor for Boeing, spurring growth in production and leaving the company in tight quarters. TiteFlex, which generates about $80 million in annual revenue, also recently signed a major contract with United Technologies to provide rigid tubing. “We’re seeing a lot of interest coming in from other players in the industry,” Thomson says. The company is trying to woo Airbus as well.

Titeflex provides products that allow fluid—whether corrosive, caustic or combustible— to be transported within a system under extreme pressure, temperature and flexing conditions. The company’s primary markets include aerospace, chemical, petro-chemical, pulp and paper, petroleum equipment, heavy equipment, compressed gas, automotive, refrigeration, and transportation. With aerospace companies constantly striving to improve fuel efficiency and lower emissions, demand for Titeflex’s products has increased, Thomson says. The rise of the middle class in developing countries is also increasing demand for mid-price airline carriers, causing plane production to ramp up, he says.

Titeflex now employs about 350 and is hiring for positions ranging from manufacturing workers to engineers to a vice president of operations. “Across the board we are seeing growth,” Thomson says.

For more information, visit titeflex.com.