The 1920s are synonymous with economic growth and greater mobility. The automobile reigned supreme, causing a mass migration into the suburbs and the rapid construction of all-weather surfaced roads to facilitate this burgeoning mode of travel.

Against such a backdrop, there was perhaps no better time for Harry Bundy to launch the company that would eventually become TI Fluid Systems. He not only had the right product, but he undoubtedly had the right customer, supplying oil and gas lines for the Ford Model T no less.

The company’s journey well and truly roared into life at a small space at Bellevue and Warren in Detroit. Here, Harry Bundy set up a ‘factory’ that was essentially a shop with a garage. With a workforce of 20 employees, Harry and the team went to work, establishing what would become a blueprint for the future of the American automotive industry.

As the decade progressed, so did tubing sales. As the ‘20s hit the halfway mark, these tubes were the auto industry standard, and in 1922 and 1923 alone, Harry had managed to sell 3.5 million of them. By 1926, the company had also made its mark in the refrigeration industry.

The innovation throughout the automotive industry in the 1920s propelled it to new heights, and Harry Bundy was never short of his own original ideas. 1927 saw the business consider introducing steel into production, using the material as an alternative to brass strips to make tubes. After some more Harry Bundy magic, he was selling steel tubes to automakers the following year.

He wasn’t quite done there, however. Harry introduced a process that became regarded as “Bundyweld”, a tubemaking technology that ensured greater fatigue strength and resistance to corrosion, as well as an enhanced ability to handle increasingly complex bending and torsion. The practice became widely recognized and was yet another facet of automotive progression.

Although the ‘Roaring’ aspect of the 1920s didn’t last, it was the perfect backdrop for a small automotive firm to grow into the industry giant that it is today. The hard work and innovation of Harry Bundy and his growing team set the framework for TI Fluid Systems in the 2020s.