On its centennial ‘Innoversary’ the company continues to develop and patent ground-breaking technologies, with a current portfolio of more than 2,000 patented solutions that transform the building and industrial construction industries, while driving new industry standards in performance and safety.
On this day in 1919, Lieutenant Ernest Tribe filed the first patent for the Victory Joint, the first mechanical bolted coupling to join grooved pipe ends.
Shortly after, Lt Tribe founded the Victory Pipe Joint Co. in London. This later became Victaulic, now a world-renowned name in the construction industry.
The firm’s original invention – and what is now known as the Victaulic coupling – enabled critical piping infrastructure to be installed more quickly, safely and cost effectively than traditional methods. While first devised for military applications, the coupling went on to revolutionise the construction industry.
Victaulic’s chairman, president and chief executive, John F Malloy, said: “For 100 years, Victaulic’s reputation has been built on customer collaboration, delivering new technologies that enable productivity, and reducing risk across the construction lifecycle.
“Our centennial ‘Innoversary’ is not only an opportunity to look back on our achievements; it’s also great motivation to make our next century even more valuable for our customers and rewarding for our employees.”
Today, one billion Victaulic solutions have been installed worldwide in some of the world’s most important, iconic and ground-breaking construction projects, including the Hoover Dam, Eiffel Tower, Beijing Olympic Stadium, Petronas Towers and Hudson Yards.
The company’s 4,000 employees are spread across 37 branches, 13 manufacturing facilities and five foundries around the world, serving customers in 120 countries and providing solutions for commercial buildings, oil, gas and chemical facilities, power generation facilities, mining operations, and municipal and clean water operations.
Victaulic has been part of Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley business community for almost 40 years, having first been headquartered in New York City.
The 100-year milestone coincides with current expansions and investments that will add close to one million square foot to Victaulic’s manufacturing operations, expanding manufacturing capacity. Set to open in 2020, a new 400,000 square foot facility manufacturing centre in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, is the result of increased domestic demand for the company’s products and a desire to manufacture its products in close proximity to its customers.
Additional global expansions include the Victaulic’s facilities in Dalian, China; Drezdenko, Poland; and Ontario, Canada.
Mr Malloy said: “Our next 100 years will include more customer-centric innovation as technology grows more rapidly than ever before and we continue to make strategic R&D investments. Our company is an exceptional place to work because of the dedication of our employees and a shared passion for customer excellence across the entire global Victaulic family.”