As the Farnborough International Air Show celebrates its 60th anniversary, it is joined in reaching this significant milestone by The Lee Company. Like Farnborough, The Lee Company holds a unique position in the aerospace industry and has contributed much to the development of hydraulic system design. The company motto of "Innovation in Miniature" shows through in its comprehensive range of miniature fluid control components.
In 1948, following a distinguished career designing aircraft fuel control systems, Leighton Lee II traded the security of a full time job to establish The Lee Company. Recognising that there was a tremendous future for jet engines and a demand for high quality components, he concentrated on making products of his own design. The Lee Plug was the first of many inventions and a novel way to solve the problem of sealing cross-drilled holes without the use of threads or O rings. To date, over 100 million Lee Plugs have been installed in aircraft flying all over the world and they have revolutionised the design of system manifolds.
Over the years, the product range has expanded to include restrictors, a wide range of valves from 0.125" to 1" diameter and an ever-expanding range of safety screens including Hi-Bar versions which are machined from solid bar stock and are able to withstand differential pressures of up to 7,500 psi without burst or collapse. Recent additions include piloting and high flow solenoid valves which make use of a patented expandable polymeric sleeve called the Lee Multi-Seal to greatly simplify port layout and significantly reduce the size of the manifold.
During the past 40 years, The Lee Company has established subsidiary companies in England, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden and a worldwide network of agents and distributors to provide technical support to customers which has helped the company to become the established leader in the manufacture of miniature fluid handling products. The success of the company is due not only to the fact that it produces unique components in the smallest available package but also to its ability to work with customers to solve difficult fluid control problems using its large engineering resources and wealth of accumulated experience.
These days, it is almost certain that Lee components will be at the heart of critical aircraft and space systems and also in other applications such as oil tool and Formula 1 motor racing where size, weight and performance are paramount. The Lee Company is proud to celebrate its 60th anniversary at Farnborough International 2008, along with other notable anniversaries including the 100th anniversary of powered flight in the UK and the 50th anniversary of the DC-6.
Visit The Lee Company at Farnborough International 2008, Hall 4, stand F7.