FTI has spent the last 35 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 we 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.