Australian manufacturing is often discussed through the language of decline: factories closing, production moving offshore, capability disappearing. But that is only part of the story. Some manufacturers have survived by doing what good manufacturers have always done: adapting, solving practical problems, and finding new relevance as markets change.
Key Tubing & Electrical is one of those companies. Founded in South Australia in 1941 by Norman Key, the business began in copper tube manufacturing and has since evolved into a broader advanced-manufacturing company serving industries including refrigeration, HVAC-R, healthcare, electrical distribution, mining, caravans and specialised product development.
The company’s origin story has become part of its folklore. Asked to produce very fine copper tube that others could not make, Norman Key reportedly devised a drawing method using a vehicle and a gum tree behind the factory to pull the tube down to the required thickness. Whether remembered as legend, workshop improvisation or both, the story captures something enduring about the business: a willingness to work through difficult technical problems with practical ingenuity.
That mindset helped Key build a strong position supplying small-gauge copper tube to Australia’s refrigeration and whitegoods industries from the 1950s onward. Copper’s thermal conductivity, reliability and workability made it well suited to refrigeration applications, while specialist tube production demanded the sort of precision and consistency that became central to the company’s identity.
The challenge came when the market around it changed. As appliance and refrigeration manufacturing moved offshore, demand for many locally made components declined sharply. Businesses that had supplied Australia’s domestic manufacturing base had to make hard choices: shrink, close, or find a new path.
For Key Tubing & Electrical, that period became a turning point. Under the ownership of Gary Hugo and Ken Tragloan, and more recently under Managing Director Henri Hugo, the company broadened beyond its traditional refrigeration base into higher-value manufactured products, customised components and integrated solutions.
The shift did not mean abandoning the company’s copper heritage. Its tube operations remain an important part of the business, particularly where precision, cleanliness and reliability matter. KTE continues to manufacture precision-drawn copper and aluminium tube, supported by value-added processes such as coiling, cutting, bending, brazing, soldering, welding, assembly and leak testing.
In many applications, copper tube is far from a simple commodity. Refrigeration, air conditioning, industrial cooling and mining-related applications often require tight dimensional control, reliable geometry and clean internal surfaces. KTE is also Australia’s largest manufacturer of copper and copper-nickel low-finned tube for mining, air conditioning and refrigeration applications, showing how a long-standing copper capability can remain relevant when paired with specialisation and technical processing.
At the same time, the company has moved well beyond tube. KTE has developed customised plugs, terminals, connectors, heater cables, wiring assemblies and power connection solutions for sectors ranging from air conditioning and caravans through to healthcare and medical devices. These products reflect a more complex form of manufacturing, where the value lies not only in producing a part, but in understanding the customer’s application, compliance requirements and operating environment.
That problem-solving capability has become central to the company’s resilience. KTE’s engineers, technicians and toolmakers work with customers to develop, test and refine products, supported by in-house quality systems, dedicated quality assurance staff, inline testing, batch testing and ISO 9001 accreditation. For higher-risk applications, the company can also design processes around 100 percent testing and error-proofing.
This is where the broader lesson for Australian manufacturing becomes clear. Competing from Australia is rarely about being the cheapest producer of standardised goods. More often, competitiveness comes from technical knowledge, product development, quality assurance, short lead times and close customer collaboration. Manufacturers that can customise, test, improve and reliably deliver specialised components still have an important role in domestic and international supply chains.
KTE’s response during the pandemic offered a practical example of that role. The company increased production of specialised heater cable used in respirator systems over 400% at a time when global supply chains were under pressure and demand for critical medical components was shifting quickly. It was a reminder that local manufacturing capability can become strategically important when speed, reliability and technical responsiveness matter.
Key Tubing & Electricals’ story is ultimately one of continuity through change. Its history began with copper tube, but its survival depended on recognising that the real asset was deeper than any single product line. It was the knowledge of materials, the discipline of manufacturing, the ability to design around customer needs, and the confidence to move into adjacent markets without losing the technical foundations built over decades.
For the copper sector, there is something fitting in that story. A company that began by finding a way to make fine copper tube for a local customer has gone on to build a broader manufacturing future from the same problem-solving mindset.
Australian innovation continues not only in laboratories and start-ups, but also on factory floors, where experience, materials knowledge and persistence still matter.
KTE is a member of the International Copper Association Australia.
