In 1974, K-Tube was formed by Herbert Karlinski and Brian Baldwin as a continuation of an effort by MPL, a division of Affiliated Hospital Supply, to develop a lower cost process for the manufacture of dental needle tubing. The equipment and preliminary technology was purchased by Karlinski and Baldwin (former president of MPL) and the company was located in the mild climate of San Diego, California.

• The tube mill technology was not developed for economic commercial production until 1980. At that time, the first small tube mill was designed, built, and put into production. With this small mill and the original 1973 small laser, K-Tube was now able to successfully produce dental needle tubing with wall thicknesses as small as .003" for 30 gauge tubing (.012" OD). In 1981, a second and third mill were added capable of welding heavier wall thicknesses. The process for making needle tubing had now been expanded to include the production of 14 gauge thin-wall tubing with a .008" wall thickness.

• Utilizing a laser as a welding source allowed K-Tube to produce non-mandrel drawn tube to meet the standards accepted by the needle industry. Having a small heat affected zone, or HAZ, meant that tubing could be produced quickly and efficiently with outstanding cosmetic qualities. This process was later named K-Form.

• It wasn't long after 1981 that Karlinski began developing a floating plug process to create a smoother ID surface finish. This enhanced version of the LaserWeld 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. The floating plug process had become a success by fully complementing the successful K-Form product line.

• K-Tube has continued to specialize in tubing and cutting production without adding cannula grinding which would compete with key customers. In 1996, K-Tube purchased additional cutting equipment to increase it's capacity for cut jobs and satisfy that growing market.

• In June of 1999, K-Tube built a new facility and moved its location to Poway, California. This state-of-the-art facility was designed and built with the manufacturing process in mind. Improvements in the manufacturing environment include and enclosed, climate controlled laser welding room and plant-wide environmental control systems.