To trace the history of Lawton Tubes you would have to go back to the early part of the 20th century to a time when the First World War was still raging in Europe. Giles’ great grandfather founded the company in 1917 when he began buying up second hand copper tubing from steam engines, boilers, etc, and redrawing and cold forming it into different sizes.
This coincided with the birth of the car industry in Coventry, and a key element of the early days of the business was supplying tubing for radiators within the fledgling automotive sector. This continued for a number of years until the advent of the Second World War, when the company was requisitioned by the government.
“Our product is 100% recyclable, which puts us in a very good position. If I took a tonne of copper, smelted, remelted and reprocessed it, I would get a tonne out at the other end.”
Following cessation of hostilities Lawton Tubes was passed back into private family ownership whereby the business had to go about a rebuilding phase. Giles continued: “My grandfather, father and his two brothers then joined in the 1960s and 1970s. “We were effectively a tube redrawer where we would take basic copper tubing, and then draw it into different sizes. Our markets were mainly OEMs – companies who made heat exchangers, kettle and shower elements, etc.
We were involved with anything to do with the properties of copper e.g., heat exchange and electric conductivity.” This core of the business remained unchanged for a number of years, with fairly static growth; a number of similar businesses operating in the area meant Lawton often found themselves competing for the same customers.
A changing customer base
Giles joined the company, alongside his cousin, in the late 1990s, at a time when the sector entered a period of dramatic change. In the early part of the 21st century, UK manufacturing saw a dramatic shift towards production in the Far East. This was no different for Lawton Tubes as many of its customers began offshoring.
“The upshot of this was that production in the UK practically stopped in favour of cheaper manufactured product from China, so our customer base started to disappear at a rapid rate,” Giles added.
As such the company took the decision to diversify and extend its product range to target other markets, while also reinventing the model of the business. “We still maintained our engineering base, and some of the customers who survived,” added Giles. “But we also branched out into plumbing and created more of a distribution business.”
This grew to the point where it is now the biggest supplier of refrigeration tubing, and the second largest supplier of plumbing tubing in the UK. Lawton then began to branch out into providing copper fittings to its customers. “It was a case of trying to get a share of the wallet of what our customers were buying, and looking at what else we could supply,” Giles added.
Since the pandemic, when trade to and from China ground to a halt, many businesses have obviously started to look carefully at their supply chains and at bringing production closer to home. The economies of scale involved in manufacturing and sourcing product from the Far East no longer makes the sense it once did in many instances.
However, as Giles explained, the habit of sourcing cheaper product from further afield is still very much ingrained within the industry. “A lot of customers have looked at their supply chain – how it works, where the vulnerabilities are and how it can be stress tested,” he added. “What we try and do at Lawton is look at the products we buy in or reprocess and ask whether we can make them from scratch. Often the answer is yes. However, our economy has become so dependent on cheap material and consumer goods from China, it’s very difficult to wean people off.”
Lawton Tubes distributes all over the UK from its well-located central hub in Coventry. However, the company also won the Queens Award for Export in 2019 and the King’s Award for Enterprise and International Trade this year.
“It’s a business which now has many different sides,” added Giles. “The engineering and manufacture of tubing is still the DNA of the business, but we now also have plumbing product distribution and fittings.”
In addition, copper is also used in hospitals to supply patient services for gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and vacuum to the patients’ bedside, and so the company experienced a busy period during the COVID pandemic, supplying many of the Nightingale hospitals. The company has grown into a £250m business with four sites around the UK, employing over 150 people.
The colour of copper is green
The sustainability agenda is a key driver for the business. However, Giles explained that despite the substantial environmental impact of mass-produced plastic, much of the plumbing market, especially within new builds, lean towards plastic piping due to its low cost.
Because the plastic used in plumbing is multi-layer, the recyclability level is very low, meaning much of it ends up in landfill. However, because of its antimicrobial properties, malleability and corrosion resistance, copper is perfect for use as a means to distribute water and is 100% recyclable, as Giles commented: “If I took a tonne of copper, smelted, remelted and reprocessed it, I would get a tonne out at the other end – it’s infinitely recyclable.”
Lawton also collaborates closely with the Copper Sustainability Partnership (CuSP), to educate, inform and challenge industry leaders to learn more about the benefits of copper. An estimated 80% of all copper produced in the last 10,000 years is still in use today. Furthermore, recycling copper requires 75-80% less energy than producing it, making its reuse a viable option.
There are further issues with plastic piping in that there are multiple different systems that currently exist which won’t necessarily work together, whereas any piece of copper pipe will work with any copper fitting. Not only that but plastic piping can easily crack and is prone to wear and tear, meaning it will need replacing regularly. Additionally, plastic piping cannot be reused in other installations.
That being said, the cost implications have seen many opt for these plastic alternatives. Not only is cost fundamental in terms of the product itself, the method used for copper fittings – where joints are soldered and capillary action pulls the solder in to form the joint in the tube – means that installation can often be more costly.
Not only that, but many sites in the UK have restrictions around hot working, meaning no soldering can take place – a distinct problem for the installation of copper tubing. While, at the same time, the skill level required to fit copper tubing is significantly higher than it would be in a plastic system.
That being said, the sustainability agenda is starting to resonate among end users and consumers. “People are becoming more and more interested in the recyclability of the products they purchase and use, particularly with tighter environmental regulations coming in for new builds,” added Giles. “Press fittings are considerably quicker, so if you are looking for a speedy and clean installation, then it has to be copper and we see the market heading more in that direction.”
Price: ups and downs
A unique issue for Lawton Tubes is the rising, and constantly fluctuating, price of copper as a traded commodity. A recent Financial Times article predicted that the price could ultimately reach $40,000 a tonne. “We think this unlikely,” Giles added, “But we certainly hope this is not the case as this will have a significant impact on cash flow, the price of the product to the consumer and the amount of stock we have to hold.”
Such is the importance of copper price as a bell weather, the term Doctor Copper is used as market lingo for the base metal’s ability to predict turning points in the global economy. Because of copper’s widespread applications, demand is often viewed as a reliable leading indicator of economic health. This demand is reflected in the market price.
Giles added: “Price fluctuations have a huge impact and we have to be mindful. My cousin Oliver, who looks after the commercial side of the business, looks at the copper price every minute of the day – it’s as critical as that.
“When I joined the business, if the price of copper moved $10.00 a day, it would be quite a seismic event that would leave us wondering what was happening in the market. Today, we could quote a customer in the morning and by the time we get back from lunch, the price may well have changed.”
To add an additional layer of complexity, Lawton buys copper in US dollars, so exchange rates can also make a difference to price fluctuations. To deal with the situation, Lawton Tubes tend to purchase copper as and when the need arises. Many larger manufacturers hedge their bets and purchase large quantities, however, with the amount of money involved, the cost of hedging is fairly high, and it can have a distinct impact on the bottom line.
Lawton, on the other hand, will buy each day. “We know what orders are going out, how much tonnage we’re doing each day and how much we’re bringing in,” Giles added. “So, we tend to cover our need on a daily basis, and we can effectively balance this out. The only issue arises when there is a sudden drop or increase in the copper price.”
Indeed one of these fluctuations recently saw the price spike to $12,000 per tonne. This not only has an impact on Lawton’s buying power; such an expensive commodity means copper is often sought after by thieves and criminals. Lawton has experienced attempted break ins at its Coventry site and its lorry drivers have been targeted for their precious cargo at service stations all over the UK.
However, the challenges that exist are clearly not deterring Giles and the rest of the Lawton team. As a company that has evolved and pivoted many times throughout its history, it’s clear that the ethos is one where a challenge is as much of an opportunity as it is a hurdle to overcome.
Future strategy is one of growth and the company is looking closely at some major projects to expand even further. “We’re an ambitious business that is now in the fifth generation of the Lawton family; there are a number of plans around expansion,” Giles continued.
This particularly relates to a recent acquisition of a business called Wardtec, based in Redditch. A former Lawton customer, Wardtec designs, manufactures and supplies fittings and assemblies for the water management industry; an area Lawton has identified as a potential growth opportunity in the plumbing market.
“We were looking for an acquisition so it seemed a perfect fit as we continue to grow in the fitting and accessories market,” added Giles. “The acquisition allows us to diversify into a whole new product range and opens up a significant opportunity in the renewable energy market. “Our plans obviously involve a lot of capital investment and growth, but any business has to move forward; it can’t stand still, so it’s something we are looking forward to.”
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