Swagelok at 65: ‘Pride of perfection’ in fluid-system products pays off

The early days

Silicon Valley is famous for companies that were born in someone’s garage. Swagelok’s began along similar lines in a Cleveland apartment.

Founder Fred A. Lennon got together with design engineer Cullen Crawford in 1947 to market a new tube fitting that Crawford had created. It used two ferrules to form -- or “swage” -- the tube and lock the fitting into place. On a $500 investment they formed Crawford Fitting Co. to make and sell the new Swagelok product line.

Liftoff

Sixty-five years later, the original Swagelok fitting is still the company’s best-selling product in a line that includes ball valves, check valves, needle valves, quick connects, regulators and other products. Through the decades, Swagelok stayed away from “me too” products, preferring to rely on its own research and development. In the 1950s, ‘60s and '70s, Swagelok developed new fittings for ultrahigh-vacuum applications, for petrochemical refineries, for the nuclear industry and for semiconductors. Today Swagelok files about 75 patent applications each year.

The company began doing international business before it was 10 years old. Today the original two-person operation has grown into a multibillion-dollar, worldwide corporation.

Swagelok products have even gone into space on NASA missions to the Moon and Mars.

Early ads express Lennon's vision

Commitment to quality has always been the foundation of Swagelok’s success. As Fred Lennon was quoted in early company advertising, “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”

Swagelok leadership constantly improved the service side of the business as well. As early as 1949 Fred Lennon began a network of distributorships so that customers would always have a nimble sales and support team nearby.

Swagelok Northern California has operated under a few names over the years, such as Van Dyke & Co., and Sunnyvale Valve & Fitting. What hasn’t changed is the commitment to quality in Swagelok products and services. The local site has been around since the start of the semiconductor industry. Today Swagelok Northern California has an $8 million local inventory ready to ship, and access to a worldwide distribution system.

Talking shop

Now Swagelok is also offering assembly solutions, extending the tradition of service to our customers.

The dedication to quality extends to employees as well as products. In the mid-1970s the company created a comprehensive learning course for employees operating ever-more complex machinery. “Shop talks” became a company staple, updating employees on products, technology and business issues, helping them remain the best in the business.

In 65 years, Swagelok has never laid off a single employee.

Fred Lennon lived to see his tiny start-up become the industry giant before his death in 1998 at age 92. In the following years Swagelok has continued the founder’s legacy of “pride of perfection.”

Respecting our heritage - while creating our future

When you deal with Swagelok, you are dealing with a corporate culture that emphasizes power to the customer. It’s a formula that has stood the tests of time, and points the way to a strong future.