About Us

K-Tube was founded in 1974 by Herb Karlinski and Brian Baldwin with the vision of introducing a lower-cost needle to the dental market. They worked together to develop the Laserweld technology that would eventually lead to a lower-cost manufacturing process. Herb Karlinski perfected the preliminary technology, purchased the needed equipment and settled into a small manufacturing site in San Diego, California.

In 1980, the first small tube mill was designed, built and put into production. This small mill, along with the original 1974 laser, enabled K-Tube to successfully produce dental needle tubing with wall thicknesses as small as .003 inch for 30 gage tubing (.012 inch OD). Two additional mills, which were capable of welding heavier wall thicknesses, were added in 1981, and the process for making needle tubing was expanded to include production of 14 gage thin wall tubing with a .008 inch wall thickness.

The use of a laser as a welding source enabled K-Tube to produce nonmandrel-drawn tube to meet the standards accepted by the needle industry. The small heat-affected zone produced by the laser meant that tubing could be manufactured quickly and efficiently with desirable cosmetic qualities. This original process was named K-Form and produces what is known in the industry as welded and drawn tube.

In 1982, Karlinski responded to the needs of the market by developing a floating plug process to provide a smoother ID surface finish. This enhanced version of the original K-Form tubing provided superior finishes for stylet and blood donor applications. By 1988, full coils of tubing, identified as Matte Draw and Brite Draw, were being manufactured in high volume. The floating plug process enabled K-Tube to become a full-service provider for a wide variety of custom tubing applications in the medical and industrial markets.

K-Tube has continued to specialize in tubing and cutting production to meet the needs of an evolving marketplace. In 1996, K-Tube purchased additional cutting equipment, which increased its capacity to satisfy the growing medical market. The growing need for laser-welded tubing meant K-Tube was growing as well, and in 1999, K-Tube built a new, state-of-the-art facility in nearby Poway, California. It was designed with a high level of manufacturing efficiency and included an enclosed, climate-controlled laser-welding room and plant-wide environmental control systems.

In 2002, K-Tube obtained the rights to manufacture stainless-steel-encased optical fiber. This technology uses a forming mill and laser to encase fiberoptic strands in stainless steel tubing. This tubing, known as armor or jacketing, is manufactured in continuous coil lengths of up to 25 km and placed on spools. Upon completion, the inner fibers are attenuation tested for signal presence and continuity. In the future, K-Tube expects to incorporate other elements, such as wire and other tube alloys, into the tubing during the welding process.

Today, K-Tube Technologies continues to provide innovative tubing solutions to the medical, industrial and automotive markets. Our engineers work to design the best tubing solutions available, and the Quality Assurance team strives to guarantee that each tube leaving our facility is manufactured to the highest standard in the industry.

About Us

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