Our story

Our Journey

Since 1918, Lawton Tubes has grown from a Coventry specialist in copper and brass tubes into a leading UK manufacturer and supplier of copper, stainless steel and precision tube solutions for plumbing, heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, engineering and medical gas markets. 

Built on British manufacturing, family values and continuous investment, the company first served the motor trade, railway and shipbuilding industries before becoming a limited company in 1920. In 1937, Lawton Tubes relocated from central Coventry to its current site, which remains the home of the business today. 

During the Second World War, the factory came under UK Government control, producing around 100 tonnes of tube per month for the armed forces. After the war, Lawton Tubes rebuilt its customer base, doubled the size of the factory and invested in new copper tube drawing machinery, helping the business expand into construction alongside its established markets. 

From the 1980s, Lawton Tubes broadened into medical gas copper tubes, strengthening its role in specialist, highly regulated markets. The fourth Lawton generation joined in 1997, and the 2001 acquisition of Dorset Tubes, a UK copper and special alloys precision drawing company, expanded the business into electrical, automotive and solar heating industries. 

In 2007, the company was rebranded into four focused divisions: Plumbing and Heating, ACR, Engineering and Medical Gases. A year later, copper end-feed fittings and accessories were introduced to complement the copper pipe divisions. Growth continued, with turnover reaching £100 million in 2011 and a new headquarters and 60,000 sq ft warehouse built opposite the main Coventry factory in 2016. 

More recently, Lawton Tubes has continued to invest, innovate and reach new audiences. Influencer-led social media activity expanded the company’s profile in 2021, turnover reached £200 million in 2022, and annual copper tube throughout rose to 63 million metres — around one and a half times the circumference of the Earth. Copper press fittings for plumbing and heating followed in 2023. 

In 2024, Lawton Tubes acquired Wardtec (rebranded under Lawton Engineering), a UK CNC factory producing stainless steel and copper water cylinder fittings, and the fifth Lawton generation joined the business. In 2026, stainless steel tube and fittings for plumbing and heating were launched, with a turnover target of £300 million set along with selling over 30 million fittings. With a new 110,000 sq ft headquarters and warehouse planned for completion in 2027, Lawton Tubes remains proudly Coventry-based, internationally driven, family-led and focused on the future.