OUR HISTORY
American Tubular Products was conceived in September 1993 when George Schaeffer, the founder of Schaeffer Industries and Doug Matsunaga, the president of Braner Engineering, agreed to jointly design and build a “State of the Art” pipe and tube mill incorporating Braner’s patented “Turret Head” design as well as numerous other leading edge technologies. The goal was to decrease change over times from eight to ten hours, which was normal for traditional pipe and tube mills, to less than one hour.
Within a few short months of the September meeting, Schaeffer and Braner finalized the design, and the fabrication and machining began. It proved exceptionally beneficial that neither Schaeffer nor Matsunaga, or their companies, had ever designed a mill. Braner’s design was fresh and innovative and was unlike other mills being built during the same period which still incorporated technologies dating back to the 1950s.
While the mill was being assembled and new buildings erected, a team of Schaeffer employees were dispatched to Europe and Asia to investigate and purchase the remaining equipment needed to complete the mill. Installation of the mill and the other equipment took place throughout 1995, and in early 1996 the first Braner mill began producing pipe and tube. The new design was a success from start-up, achieving the goals of reduced change over times, and high production speeds. American Tubular Products continues to operate this innovative piece of equipment and its design has been incorporated into a large diameter pipe and tube mill that is now being considered.
