Thomas & Skinner

Thomas and Skinner, a world-renowned manufacturer of high-performance metals, has been in the business for over a century. Founded by Electrical Engineering professor John Esterline, the company was born out of a vision to meet the needs of the rapidly growing electrical utility industry. Since its inception, Thomas and Skinner has been dedicated to producing the highest-quality, domestically produced high-performance metals available.

The company's journey began in the early 1900s, when Professor Esterline, inspired by the demonstration of commercially viable electricity at the Chicago World's Fair in 1895, recognized the need for permanent magnets to be used for residential and commercial power metering. He formed The Esterline Company in Lafayette, Indiana, and began producing tungsten and chromium alloy permanent magnets by 1901. After a catastrophic flood in 1913, the company was moved to Indianapolis, where it continued to develop and produce magnetic materials.

In late 1925, James Esterline, Professor Esterline's son, took over the company and renamed it to Thomas and Skinner. Over the years, the company has evolved and expanded its product line to include Alnico magnets, hard ferrites/ceramic, rare earth magnets, and bonded or flexible magnets. Thomas and Skinner also serves various industries, including defense, commercial aerospace, space, naval, medical device, and rotorcraft, with Tungsten Heavy Alloy products.

Thomas and Skinner's commitment to quality and performance has made it a supplier sought out by customers all over the world. The company's ability to customize and reformulate metal alloys in order to reach performance levels far beyond industry standards sets it apart from competitors. Thomas and Skinner believes in staying close to its customer base, continuously improving its products and processes, and intentionally avoiding low-quality and/or high-volume applications.

Our Services

At Thomas and Skinner, we offer a broad range of services to meet the unique design needs and application requirements of our customers. Our team of experts works closely with clients to understand their specific needs and develop customized solutions that meet their performance expectations.

We are a world-leading manufacturer in magnetic materials, including Alnico magnets, hard ferrites/ceramic, rare earth magnets, and bonded or flexible magnets. Our magnetic materials are designed to provide high performance and reliability in various applications, from power metering to medical devices.

In addition to magnetic materials, we also offer Tungsten Heavy Alloys, which serve the defense, commercial aerospace, space, naval, medical device, and rotorcraft industries. Our Tungsten Heavy Alloys are designed to provide high density, strength, and resistance to wear and corrosion, making them ideal for demanding applications.

Thomas and Skinner also offers transformer laminations, including EI sizes, three-phase, ferroresonant, cruciform, wide window, centra-gap, vari-gap, UI, and shunts and I-strips. Our transformer laminations are precision-made to provide efficient and reliable performance in various electrical systems.

Our Pledge to You

At Thomas and Skinner, we are committed to providing the highest-quality, domestically produced high-performance metals available. We believe in staying close to our customer base, continuously improving our products and processes, and intentionally avoiding low-quality and/or high-volume applications. Our goal is to work with you to make it happen and to show you what we can do. So call or email us today, and let's get started.