TI Group

TI Group plc (formerly "Tube Investments") was a holding company for specialised engineering companies. It was based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire and was listed on the London Stock Exchange, at one point being a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

This article is about the British company. For the mathematical concept, see TI-group. For groups called TI, see ti (disambiguation).

TI Group
TypePublic
IndustryEngineering
Founded1919
Defunct2000
FateAcquired
SuccessorSmiths Group
HeadquartersAbingdon, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Key people
Lord Plowden (Chairman)
Websitewww.tigroup.com

The company was originally registered as Tube Investments in 1919, combining the seamless steel tube businesses of various companies.[1] In 1949, the company established TI Cycles of India as a joint venture with the Murugappa family. During 1956, the subsidiary British Cycle Corporation was created, consisting of Armstrong, Norman Cycles, Sun Cycles, Phillips Cycles, Hercules Cycles, and 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 that resulted in the creation of Ultra Electronics. In 1994, TI Group transferred the Dowty landing gear business into a joint venture that it formed with SNECMA, 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 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.[1] Reynolds Tube joined the group in 1928.[2]

Ivan Stedeford joined the company in 1928. He became chief executive in 1935, and chairman in 1944. In 1946, the company bought Swallow Coachbuilding Co. (1935) Ltd. and Hercules Cycles. In 1949, the company established TI Cycles of India as a joint venture with the Murugappa family. The British Cycle Corporation subsidiary was formed in 1956, and consisted of Armstrong, Norman Cycles, Sun Cycles, Phillips Cycles and Hercules Cycles (no connection with the German Hercules company).[3]

TI subsidiary Swallow Coachbuilding Co. constructed the Swallow Doretti sports car in 1954 and 1955.[4] The 'Aluminium War' from 1958 to 1959 was a fierce and successful battle to acquire British Aluminium.[5]

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.[6] The company bought kettle manufacturers Russell Hobbs in 1963, and Sir Ivan Stedeford retired as chairman and chief executive officer and became life president.[7]

The group bought Alfred Herbert Ltd in 1982.[8] In 1986, Tube Investments acquired Houdaille, parent of John Crane and other industrial companies from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts; the non Crane divisions were sold back to KKR as IDEX.[9] 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[10] and Creda to GEC.[11]

TI Group bought Huron Products Industries (USA) in 1991,[12] and Dowty Group in 1992,[13] 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.[14]

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 workforce; this was reportedly a consequence of the unit's performance having been beneath expectations.[15] 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 management buyout that resulted in the creation of Ultra Electronics.[16][17]

In 1994, TI Group transferred the Dowty landing gear business into a joint venture that it formed with SNECMA, which became known as Messier-Dowty.[18] 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".[19] During late 1998, TI Group opted to sell its stake in Messier-Dowty, it thus became wholly owned by the French aerospace business Safran and subsequently renamed Safran Landing Systems.[20]

During 1996, TI Group decided to sell Accles & Pollock to Hay Hall Group.[1] 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).[12]

On 4 December 2000, Smiths Industries merged with TI Group.[21][22] 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.[23]

Operations

The three major divisions were:

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: the business was sold and the factory moved from Chesterfield to Sheffield.[25]

References
  1. "Accles & Pollock: About us". Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2007.
  2. "Tube Investments". British Motorcycles. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  3. Hercules
  4. Swallow Doretti
  5. "Obituary: Lord Plowden". The Daily Telegraph. 17 February 2001.
  6. Raleigh: History
  7. Obituaries from the Times. 1971. Sir Ivan Stedeford , G.B.E., life president of Tube Investments and one of Britain's leading industrialists until his retirement in 1963, died on February 9
  8. Paragraph 879, House of Commons Debates Hansard, 25 July 1983
  9. Holland, Max (2002). From Industry to Alchemy: Burgmaster, a Machine Tool Company. Beard Books. ISBN 978-1-58798-153-1.
  10. Raleigh bicycle history
  11. GEC buys Creda business from TI Group, CBR On-Line
  12. "TI Automotive: Heritage". Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  13. British engineering merger moves forward The New York Times, 1992.
  14. "UK: Why TI Group went West". Management Today. 1 April 1993.
  15. Wilkinson, Terence (6 August 1993). "Dowty dilutes TI earnings: Aerospace and engineering group continues to underperform". The Independent.
  16. "Ultra Electronics Holdings plc Annual Report and Accounts 2005" (PDF). Ultra Electronics Holdings plc. 2005. p. 31. Retrieved 25 September 2006.
  17. Campbell, Katharine (23 September 1997). "'Pilot' with the right stuff: How three companies won acclaim in the Venturer of the Year awards". Financial Times.
  18. "Case No IV/M.368SNECMA / TI" (PDF). European Commission. 17 January 1994.
  19. "Dowty shows benefits of Eurobonding". Flight Global. 15 June 1997.
  20. "Snecma lands in full control of Messier-Dowty as TI sells out". Flight Global. 17 December 1997. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  21. "Engineering rivals to merge". BBC News. 18 September 2000. Retrieved 25 September 2006.
  22. "Smiths Industries Agrees to Acquire TI Group in $2.48 Billion Transaction". Wall Street Journal. 19 September 2000. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  23. "TI Group plans to sell off auto suppliers."
  24. "TI Group plc - Company History". fundinguniverse.com. 1997. Retrieved 26 September 2006.
  25. "MBO in 2004 from German successor to TI Chesterfield Cylinders". Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
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