A business in any sector can’t exist for more than 100 years without adopting an attitude of innovation and continuous adaptation. In the industrial hose and manufacturing sectors, the rapid evolution of technology and the nature of modern industrial demands require nothing less than relentless foresight and the courage to remain nimble. Those are two traits that have helped guide TIPCO to its 133-plus-year success, and traits that will guide TIPCO for generations to come.

A little bit of history
‍Long before (like, really long before) TIPCO forged and cemented its status as the Mid-Atlantic region’s largest stocking distributor of high-quality industrial hose equipment, it planted solid roots near Baltimore, Maryland. That’s because back in 1888, TIPCO was originally founded to serve the massive demands of Bethlehem Steel, which was at the time the world’s largest steel manufacturer.

The experience that TIPCO got in helping Bethlehem Steel succeed also helped the company build its reputation for speed and service, while expanding its service footprint in the Mid-Atlantic area. Over the next several decades, TIPCO continued to grow until it reached where it is today: serving and supplying organizations and operators in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware and southern New Jersey.

Of course, all that growth required a commitment to innovation and adaptation that TIPCO maintains today. And as for the future, things already look exciting—with one especially cool connection to the past.

New technologies on a storied site
‍The original Bethlehem Steel plant that TIPCO supported was located at Sparrow’s Point in Baltimore. In its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, the mill was the largest in the world and stretched more than 4 miles long from end to end, with more than 30,000 employees.

Although Bethlehem Steel would falter in the decades to come, TIPCO kept growing and innovating to meet the needs of just about every industrial hose application and operator imaginable throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

Now TIPCO is in a position to support the next generation of steel manufacturing at Sparrow’s Point.

Recently, an organization called US Wind has proposed a new steel manufacturing facility that will create more than 500 permanent local jobs at the Sparrow’s Point site (also referred to as Tradepoint Atlantic). The steel manufactured there will also help fuel one of the future’s most pressing needs: clean energy. 

The facility will produce monopiles, which will serve as the foundations for US Wind’s offshore wind power generation projects along the East Coast. US Wind plans to complete its MarWin project in 2025, at which point it will include 22 turbines across a 17-mile area off the Maryland coast that will generate 270 megawatts of renewable electricity.

Just like it supported Bethlehem Steel for decades, TIPCO stands at the ready to support whichever industrial needs US Wind brings to the fabled Sparrow’s Point site.

“Our brand has had a remarkable ability to adapt to change over the last 133 years, and we look forward to the opportunity to service customers on that very same site for the next 133 years,” said TIPCO president Rob Lyons. 

To learn more about how TIPCO can meet the needs of virtually any industrial hose operation both today and into the future, call 410-356-0003 to speak with one of our experts.