History

History

Interior-History

MAJOR MILESTONES

1969 – Bill Weber opens Southwest Tube Manufacturing (SWT) in Sand Springs, Oklahoma as a cold drawn tubing manufacturer for the heat exchanger industry.  Being located near an inland port and several heat exchanger fabricators favorably positions SWT as a supplier of choice.

1974 – The Company begins a five-fold expansion with the purpose of market diversification. The company enters the welded specialty tubing markets.

1976 – The first weld mill is installed at SWT.

1977 – SWT enters the stainless tubing market.  These mills are located in Mannford, Oklahoma.

1979 – The company enters the mechanical tube market.

1980 – Webco Industries Inc. is founded to become the parent company for SWT. The company, however, continues to do business as Southwest Tube Manufacturing.

1983 – Webco gradually starts bypassing pressure tube distributors and begins selling directly to fabricators.

1984 – The Mannford plant is the first in the nation to successfully weld 294C tubing, a difficult high chrome alloy.

1988 – The Oil City, PA plant, formerly Van Huffel Tube, is purchased and refurbished to serve the mechanical and boiler tube markets.

1994 – Webco goes public on February 8, 1994.

1998 – Webco Industries receives the EPA Environmental Excellence Award.

1998 – In order to provide real-time material tracking and manufacturing process control, the company installs SAP software.

1998 – Construction begins on a major expansion to Webco’s Mannford stainless plant.  The expansion includes upgrades to the plant’s welding technology.  Laser welding is introduced to reduce costs, increase productivity and improve product quality.

2004 – Webco consolidates and relocates its Nederland, TX pressure tube distribution facilities to a new facility in Orange, TX.

2006 – Webco opens a new value-added facility in Reno, PA facility, near its Oil City plant, which begins supplying carbon steel and other tube products for a variety of applications.

2008 – Webco opens its newest corrosion resistant alloy plant in Kellyville, Oklahoma. This plant is designed to produce specialty nickel alloy and stainless tubing for demanding market segments, such as the steel tube umbilical market for subsea service.

2011 – Dana Weber becomes the CEO of Webco and is honored by the Journal Record with the prestigious award “Woman of the Year.”

2012 – The Star Center Tube Division plant in Sand Springs, OK officially opens on May 31, 2012. The facility is designed to incorporate Bill Weber’s founding principles of manufacturing agility and a commitment to industry leading innovation.  The expansive facility provides Webco with the ability to manufacture cold drawn mechanical tubing with aggressive weight-per-foot requirements, difficult customer specifications, and restrictive mechanical properties.

2017 – The Jeffery Watt Williams Center for Manufacturing Excellence opened at our Star Center Complex.

2017 – State-of-the-art Finishing line installed at Southwest Tube Division.

2018 – Significant expansion at the Kellyville Stainless Plant.

2018 – The Journal Record names Webco as one of the best places to work in Oklahoma.

2018 – Dana Weber appointed to Chairwoman of Webco’s Board of Directors.

2019 – Woodland Drive renamed Bill Weber Drive in honor of Webco’s founder.

2019 – Webco celebrates its 50th anniversary.

2019 – David Boyer is named as Webco’s President and appointed to Vice-Chairman of Webco’s Board of Directors.

2022 – David Boyer inducted into the OSU College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology (CEAT) Hall of Fame.