Page 5 - ITA_30th_WEB

Past, Present & Future – 30 years of the International Tube Association 3
An innovative conference on the subject of ‘Tube
Production & Processing’ organised by the International
Wire & Machinery Association (IWMA) in Birmingham,
UK, in April 1978 was attended by a large gathering of
tube and pipe engineers from around the world.
The success of this conference led directly to the
founding of the ITA, instigated by John Hogg, in the
spring of 1979.
The first Executive Management Meeting of the ITA,
which took place on 31st January 1979 at the Metropole
Hotel, Birmingham, UK, included a number of tube and
pipe engineers.
These founder members were J A Croser, T D Robinson,
P A Clayton, R H Gabel, M J Freeman, E Nicol, J H J Rogers,
N Winkler and J C Hogg. At this meeting the aims and
ethos of the ITA were formulated.
Although the ITA was ‘born’ out of the IWMA it
immediately established itself as a totally independent
association with its own constitution.
It differed from the IWMA’s corporate membership
structure by forming as a personal membership
association, a philosophy that the ITA retains to this day.
Despite their independence the ITA and IWMA retain
close links as sister organisations with a shared
Secretariat and have co-operated on occasions with
joint booths at wire and tube exhibitions and have co-
organised technical events.
The Beginning
The original ITA logo, designed by Phil Clayton
L-R: John Croser (founding member) together with
Derek Warner and Jim Ruff at an ITA Conference
in 1985