A Poole-based metal engineering specialist is marking its 25th anniversary by setting its sights on expanding its capabilities to appeal to a wider range of industries.
Lawton Engineering has been part of the British family-owned Lawton Tubes business since 2001, when the American-owned Dorset Tubes was acquired by Lawton Tubes and renamed.
Since then, it has become an important part of the wider business, supplying bespoke copper and other alloy components such as copper nickel to customers across a range of advanced manufacturing sectors.
Today, Lawton Engineering distributes around 1.2 million metal parts each month to engineering customers, producing components used within applications including automotive, marine, clean energy, distilleries and electronics.
With demand for specialist copper components continuing to grow, the business is now looking to expand its reach and is expected to open up new opportunities with HVAC manufacturers, plumbing specialists and life science suppliers, as well as other sectors where precision copper tubing plays a critical role.
Over the past 25 years, the Poole facility on Thrush Road has undergone significant transformation following the Lawton Tubes takeover. Internal processes have been modernised, including improvements to the factory workflow, the introduction of a modern enterprise resource planning system and a renewed focus on workforce development and training.
These changes have helped strengthen the site’s manufacturing capabilities while ensuring it can meet the increasingly complex requirements of engineering customers.
Derek Bond, Operations Manager at Lawton Engineering, felt the anniversary marked an important moment to reflect on how far the site had come and where it could go next.
He said: “The transformation we’ve seen here since becoming part of Lawton Tubes has been remarkable, both in how the factory operates and in how we approach serving our customers.
“We used to be ‘busy fools’, but now we’ve streamlined the flow of work through the facility, invested in systems that give us far greater visibility across production and strengthened the skills of our team.
“25 years after becoming part of Lawton, we have a great opportunity to build on that foundation allowing us to move into new markets such as HVAC, plumbing and life science manufacturing, where precision copper and other alloys components are essential.
“There’s a real sense of optimism about the future here. We’ve spent the last 25 years building a strong platform, and with new equipment and processes on the horizon, we’re confident the next 25 years can be even more successful.”
Giles Lawton, Managing Director of Operations at Lawton Tubes, said the anniversary was also an opportunity to highlight the long-term importance of the Poole operation within the wider group.
“Lawton Engineering has become an important part of our engineering capabilities over the past 25 years and it plays a key role in helping us support manufacturers who need precision copper components,” he added.
“What makes the Poole site special is the depth of experience within the team and the flexibility they bring to complex engineering projects.
“We’re excited about the potential as it will allow us to serve even more industries and support customers with increasingly sophisticated requirements.”
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