History

FTI has spent the last 45+ years serving the aerospace industry. What started out as a simple wire forming company in a Seattle garage has become a major player in the aerospace community by providing innovative solutions for new aircraft production and aging aircraft refurbishment.

FTI officially entered the aerospace business in 1969, when it helped pioneer the hole cold expansion process. The cold expansion process originated with The Boeing Company who invented the basic cold expansion method. Within a year, Claire Harter of Industrial Designers (the precursor to FTI) invented and put into production the first machine to manufacture the split sleeve, which made the cold expansion process possible. Development continued, and Boeing subsequently granted FTI a license for sale and distribution of the tooling used in implementing the process.

Mr. Burke Gibson, a Seattle businessman, purchased controlling interest in the company in 1973 and a year later changed the name to Industrial Wire and Metal Forming. In 1976, Louis Champoux (a consultant with the company) and Chuck Copple built one of the company's first fatigue-testing machines for further research into the split sleeve cold expansion technology.

In 1980, the company changed its name to Fatigue Technology Inc. (FTI). FTI continued to develop and advance the science of cold expansion and engineer innovative solutions and products that significantly reduce manufacturing and maintenance flow-time and costs. The company patented aerospace products like ForceMate (bushing installation system), ForceTec (rivetless nut plates), TukLoc (blind fastening system), GromEx (composite hole inserts), and FleXmate (fitting and hardware installation system). FTI's products can be found on almost every major airplane and helicopter program on the market today and it continues to push the cold expansion envelope with new and innovative products for tomorrow's advance composite air structures.

In 2008, the Gibson family sold FTI to Precision Castparts Corp. (PCC). PCC is a worldwide, diversified manufacturer of complex metal components and products and is a Fortune 500 company. It is the market leader in manufacturing large, complex structural investment castings, airfoil castings, and forged components used in jet aircraft engines and industrial gas turbines. PCC is also a leading producer of highly engineered, critical fasteners for aerospace, automotive, and other markets and supplies metal alloys and other materials to the casting and forging industry. FTI is part of PCC's Engineered Products Division.

To support its customers, FTI has offices and representatives worldwide including its 120,000 square foot engineering and manufacturing headquarters where most of its 190 employees strive everyday to provide aerospace customers with the very best products and services - a tradition it has held for over 40 years.

ISO 9001:2015/AS9100D CERTIFICATION

FTI is proud to receive accreditation to the new requirements of ISO 9001:2015/AS9100D. This re-certification of our Quality Management System was awarded by TUV USA Inc. in April of 2018. In meeting these requirements, our customers are assured that the products and services they receive from FTI will be of the highest quality and will comply with internationally accepted aerospace quality standards.

The ISO 9001:2015/AS9100D certification was established to standardize worldwide aerospace quality expectations and to achieve significant improvements in reducing costs throughout the value stream or supply chain. This includes provisions for regulatory requirements and the importance of safe reliability and maintainability. In today's marketplace, aerospace customers are putting more pressure on their suppliers to be in compliance with these standards.

FTI has always been committed to continuous improvement of our products, processes, and services. In 1996, we adopted the ISO 9001 international standard designed to provide companies and organizations with a common approach to applying a Quality Management System. In August of 2001, AS9100 was introduced to include additional quality system requirements for suppliers to the aerospace industry and is now approved by aerospace companies in Asia and Europe as well.