It all started with an idea. An idea to connect our world faster and safely.
Since 1919, Victaulic innovation has shaped the course of history and established us as the world leader in pipe-joining and flow control solutions. At the heart of it all is our customers. Our desire to solve their toughest challenges continues to inspire our future.
Early Connections
Victaulic large diameter coupling, developed in the UK in the 1920s.
From the very beginning, Victaulic recognized the importance of hands-on demonstrations and building customer relations.
From the start, and for two decades to come, Victaulic, was a sales and marketing company. Early sales associates took to the streets.
Victaulic’s collaborated with the Beaver Tool Company to introduce a pioneering portable tool for grooving pipe, called the Vic-Groover tool. Now, instead of having to groove pipe in a large pipe shop, customers could cut and groove pipe on-site with a lightweight tool that orbited the pipe.
A number of new products were introduced in the 1930s to accommodate the needs of the various industries including but not limited to elbow joints, tee joints and lateral joints. One important development during this period was an improved gasket for the sleeve coupling known then as the Johnson coupling.
In the early 1920s, the oil and gas industry was quick to adopt Victaulic couplings. Roxana Petroleum Corp., a crude oil and natural gas company installed Victaulic solutions on its pipeline.
The original Victaulic pipe joint, introduced in England in 1921, was a groundbreaking advance. Consisting of a metal housing bolted in place over a resilient sealing ring, it was flexible, leakproof and far superior to the traditional options of threaded and flanged joints.
During the 1970s Victaulic began production of ductile iron products. The material, developed in the mid-1940s, was stronger, tougher and more economical than malleable iron, with a superior surface finish and shorter production time.
Leaktight and Flexible Pipe-lines photographed in 1928
During World War 1, installing the pipes that were necessary to move gases and the chemicals proved both time-consuming and dangerous. Lieutenant Ernest Tribe of the Royal Engineers, an inventor himself, realized pipes could be joined quickly and safely with mechanical coupling. On April 4, 1919, Lieutenant Tribe filed for a patent for what is now known as the Victaulic coupling across the world.
Lehigh Inc., located along the riverbank in Easton, PA, was Victaulic’s largest available iron casting supplier.
Victaulic broke ground in 1976 to construct its foundry and world headquarters office, on 84 acres of farmland in Easton, Pennsylvania.
In 1967, Victaulic bought its largest malleable iron casting supplier, Lehigh Inc., in Easton, Pennsylvania. The purchase provided cost advantages as well as steady casting supply. It also increased the company's workforce from 125 to 900 employees.
