About Tungum

Whatever industry you're in, Tungum can deliver a total solution for all your tubing and pipework system requirements. In addition to Tungum alloy, we manipulate and supply pipework in a wide range of materials and you can be guaranteed we'll specify the best material for the job.

Tungum tube, our original product, was launched in the early 1920’s as a decorative alloy. It was soon realised to be an excellent copper-based engineering alloy. Prior to World War 2 it was a favoured material for many applications such as military aircraft, ships, ferries, dredgers etc.

The use of Tungum in the oil and gas industry didn't start until the early 1970’s when American technology on offshore operations combined with British Process Industry knowledge to form the UK’s design base for rigs and platforms Both sources believed in stainless steel tubing - the Americans because it was traditional in their industry - the British because stainless steels are the generally accepted materials in the process industry. Efforts to have Tungum Tube installed in major hydraulics and pneumatic circuits (as distinct from process instrumentation lines) met with opposition, due to material standardisation on the platform (stainless steel tube had to be used on process lines so it would be used throughout). During the early 70’s a notable event occurred when Lloyds specified Tungum for use in oxygen lines on dive systems for safety reasons. Almost overnight, dive equipment manufacturers converted from stainles steel to Tungum on all dive system circuits e.g. oxygen, air, heliox, heating water and hydraulics. Tungum Tube was being preferentially used by major crane manufacturers such as Priestman, Clarke-Chapman, Stothert & Pitt for pedestal frame hydraulics and other hydraulically actuated auxiliaries. Maintenance-free performance of these Tungum installations were being noticed by operators who were, by now, being faced with costly replacements of stainless steel. This was occurring after as little as 5 years of an intended 30+ years of platform life.

Tungum Alloy tube is still one of our main products today. We also manufacture and bend tube to construct a vast range of components, supplying to a wide range of industry sectors. These include oil and gas, transportation, medical and marine to name a few. We can supply anything from simple straight tube and fittings, through to complex kits of pipe assemblies.