TI Group plc (formerly "Tube Investments") was a holding company for specialised

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

companies. It was based in

Abingdon, Oxfordshire Abingdon-on-Thames ( ), commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish on the River Thames in the Vale of the White Horse district of Oxfordshire, England. The historic county town of Berkshire, the area was occupied f ...

and was listed on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

, at one point being a constituent of the

FTSE 100 Index The Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index, also called the FTSE 100 Index, FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie" , is the United Kingdom's best-known stock market index of the 100 most highly capitalised blue chips listed on ...

. The company was originally registered as ''Tube Investments'' in 1919, combining the seamless steel tube businesses of various companies. In 1949, the company established TI Cycles of India as a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

with the

Murugappa family The Murugappa family is an Indian Tamil Nagarathar Nagarathar (நகரத்தார்) is a Tamil caste found native in Tamil Nadu, India. The Nagarathar community was not originally a single caste, but developed from an assortment of r ...

. During 1956, it created the subsidiary ''British Cycle Corporation'', consisting of Armstrong,

Norman Cycles Norman Cycles was a British bicycle, Motorized bicycle, autocycle, moped, and motorcycle manufacturer in Ashford, Kent, England. The company and its products are remembered today by the Norman Cycles Club at Willesborough Windmill, in Willesbo ...

, Sun Cycles, Phillips Cycles, Hercules Cycles, and merged it with Raleigh Industries. During the 1980s, the company acquired Alfred Herbert Ltd, Houdaille, and Armco Inc.'s European Tubing business. In 1987, Raleigh was sold to Derby International while Creda was sold to GEC. During 1992, TI Group acquired Dowty Group, after which the business underwent heavy restructuring, making 1,500 former Dowty employees redundant and quickly disposing of seven ex-Dowty Group companies via a

management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management- and/or leveraged buyouts became noted phenomena of 19 ...

that resulted in the creation of

Ultra Electronics Ultra Electronics Holdings is a British defence and security company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index until it was acquired by Cobham, which is itself owned by Advent International. The ...

. In 1994, TI Group transferred the Dowty landing gear business into a

that it formed with

SNECMA Safran Aircraft Engines, previously Snecma (''Société nationale d'études et de construction de moteurs d'aviation'') or Snecma Moteurs, is a French aerospace engine manufacturer headquartered in Courcouronnes and a subsidiary of Safran. It d ...

, which became known as Messier-Dowty. During late 1998, TI Group opted to sell its stake in Messier-Dowty. Throughout the late 1990s, the group acquired numerous other companies, including Technoflow Tube Systems, Bundy Asia Pacific, S&H Fabricating and Engineering, Kenmore Italiana, Walbro Corporation, and Marwal. On 4 December 2000,

Smiths Industries Smiths or Smith's may refer to: Companies *Smith Electric Vehicles, or Smith's, a manufacturer of electric trucks *Smith's Food and Drug, or Smith's, an American supermarket chain ** Smith's Ballpark, a baseball stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, U. ...

merged with TI Group.

History

The company was registered as ''Tube Investments'' in 1919, combining the seamless steel tube businesses of Tubes Ltd, New Credenda Tube (later known as Creda), Simplex and Accles & Pollock. Reynolds Tube joined the group in 1928. Ivan Stedeford joined the company in 1928; he became

chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

in 1935, and

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

in 1944. The company benefitted greatly from the expansion of Britain's aviation sector, particularly amid the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1946, the company bought Swallow Coachbuilding Co. (1935) Ltd. and Hercules Cycles. In 1949, the company established TI Cycles of India as a

with the

. The British Cycle Corporation subsidiary was formed in 1956, and consisted of Armstrong,

, Sun Cycles, Phillips Cycles and Hercules Cycles (no connection with the German Hercules company). TI subsidiary Swallow Coachbuilding Co. constructed the Swallow Doretti sports car in 1954 and 1955. The 'Aluminium War' from 1958 to 1959 was a fierce, and ultimately successful, battle fought by the firm to acquire British Aluminium. Raleigh Industries were acquired in 1960, bringing the Raleigh owned brands BSA Cycles, Humber, Triumph, Rudge, New Hudson, Sunbeam Three Spires and J. B. Brooks. During 1963, the company bought kettle manufacturers

Russell Hobbs Russell Hobbs is a British manufacturer of Home appliance, household appliances. Formed in 1952 by William Russell and Peter Hobbs (engineer), Peter Hobbs, it became the primary kettle maker in the United Kingdom marketplace in the 1960s. Subj ...

in 1963; that same year, Sir Ivan Stedeford retired as

and chief executive officer and became life president. The group bought Alfred Herbert Ltd in 1982. In 1986, Tube Investments acquired Houdaille, parent of John Crane and other industrial companies from

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global private-equity and investment company. , the firm had completed private-equity investments in portfolio companies with approximately $710 billion of total ...

; the non Crane divisions were sold back to KKR as IDEX. Tube Investments acquired Armco Inc.'s European Tubing business – Fulton (UK) and Bundy Corporation (USA) in 1987; Raleigh was sold that year to Derby International and Creda to GEC. TI Group bought Huron Products Industries (USA) in 1991, and Dowty Group in 1992, Reportedly, Dowty had been regarded by TI's chairman, Sir Christopher Lewinton, as his number-one target and had made substantial preparations towards its acquisition, although the bid was not regarded as being a hostile one despite Dowty's board initially having spurned the proposition. Following the completion of the Dowty acquisition, TI Group became the second largest engineering concern in the UK. Considerable restructuring of the company occurred during the early-to-mid 1990s. By August 1993, TI Group had made 1,500 of ex-Dowty workforce redundant since the acquisition, equivalent to 20 per cent of the total workforce; this move was reportedly a consequence of the unit's performance having been beneath expectations. During 1993, TI Group decided to dispose of seven former Dowty Group companies engaged in the manufacture of electronic equipment; this was achieved in the form of a

that resulted in the creation of

. In 1994, TI Group transferred the Dowty landing gear business into a

that it formed with

, which became known as Messier-Dowty. According to Tony Edwards, the chief executive and chairman of the merged entity, while acknowledging there having been some difficulties due to a lack of preparation, he regarded it as being: "a successful example of European integration that works". At one point, TI Group had ambitious to wholly own Messier-Dowty, however the French government made any such deal impossible. Accordingly, during late 1998, TI Group opted to sell its stake in Messier-Dowty, it thus became wholly owned by the French aerospace business

Safran Safran S.A. () is a French Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace, defence industry, defence and computer security, security corporation headquartered in Paris. It designs, develops and manufactures both commercial and military airc ...

and subsequently renamed Safran Landing Systems. During 1996, TI Group decided to sell Accles & Pollock to Hay Hall Group. Throughout the late 1990s, various companies were acquired by TI Group, including Technoflow Tube Systems (Germany), Bundy Asia Pacific, S&H Fabricating and Engineering (USA), Kenmore Italiana (Italy), Walbro Corporation (USA), and Marwal (France). On 4 December 2000,

merged with TI Group. Shortly after the merger was completed, Smiths Group transferred its newly acquired automotive business into a separate corporate entity, creating TI Automotive, and promptly disposed of it.

Operations

The three major divisions were: * John Crane International, manufacturer of mechanical seals, * Bundy Corporation, a tubing manufacturer and supplier to the refrigeration and automotive industries, * Dowty Group, an

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astron ...

company. The group also owned TI Creda, a manufacturer of domestic cookers, and owned TI Chesterfield Cylinders, a manufacturer of pressurised gas cylinders for companies such as BOC and

Air Products and Chemicals Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. is a U.S.-based international corporation whose principal business is selling gases and chemicals for industrial use. Air Products is headquartered in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of east ...

: the business was sold and the factory moved from Chesterfield to

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

References

External links

History of the TI Group, from the company's former website on the Internet Archive
{{Authority control Defunct companies of the United Kingdom Engineering companies of the United Kingdom Cycle manufacturers of the United Kingdom Holding companies established in 1919 Companies based in Oxfordshire Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Steel companies of the United Kingdom Technology companies established in 1919 1919 establishments in England Technology companies disestablished in 2000 2000 disestablishments in England Holding companies disestablished in 2000