In 1862 Scottish Victorian entrepreneur George Kynoch opened a percussion cap factory at Witton in Birmingham, UK. By 1881 it had grown to be Britain's largest ammunition manufacturing company but had also diversified - there was now a brass rolling mill, a patent lamp business and a printing works.

Growth meant that the business had become too large to be handled by one man and in 1884 control was passed into the hands of a board of directors. By 1900 there had been even further diversification, into the manufacture of soap, bicycle components and the rolling of non-ferrous metals. The next decade saw unprecedented growth and the creation of a metallurgical laboratory, which generated many technical developments that helped to propel the company's world leadership in metals technologies.

The end of the First World War in 1918, presented the company with new opportunities represented by the burgeoning market for the internal combustion engine. In the following decade it became a major supplier of carburettors and radiators for both automobiles and aircraft. The company also had a new name, Nobel Industries, following a merger with a Swedish company. This was a buoyant period and there was diversification into new product areas like zip fasteners.

In 1927 Nobel Industries became one of the four founders of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) and the Witton site became the head office and principal manufacturing base of ICI Metals Division. In the years leading up to the Second World War it was the UK's largest supplier of copper and copper alloys and had significant business in heat exchangers and sporting ammunition.

After the years following the ending of the Second World War the development of new products continued. In the 1950s one of the most significant achievements of the company's engineers and physicists was the perfecting of the process by which titanium could be produced on a commercial scale. The company continued to diversify and by the early 1960s it was the most important contributor to ICI's profits.

In 1962, the one hundredth anniversary of George Kynoch's cap factory's opening, the company was renamed Imperial Metal Industries Ltd.

IMI's ambitions and distinct identity resulted in a stock exchange listing in 1966, with the parent ICI retaining the majority holding. In 1978 ICI sold its remaining interest and IMI became a fully independent public company. The boom years of the 1980s saw the company move towards higher-margin finished products like pipes, tubes and fittings, and in 1989 world-wide sales exceeded £1 billion for the first time.

The 1990s were characterised by restructuring. It was the beginning of a continuing process resulting in the group's present structures and business focus. Metal smelting, metal founding and construction-related businesses were divested. Simultaneously, capacity and range in the current core business areas were expanded.

In 2003, IMI moved from Witton to new international headquarters at Lakeside, Birmingham Business Park. With 2,700m² of modern office facilities in a high technology environment, Lakeside is conveniently located close to Birmingham Airport for fast international connections.

In 2005 IMI completed the disposal of Polypipe, bringing to a close the portfolio repositioning initiated in 2001. IMI now consists of five strong businesses in clearly identified global niches: severe service, fluid power, indoor climate, beverage dispense and merchandising.

The Truflo Group joins IMI in 2006, extending the reach of IMI’s Severe Service business as well as its Fluid Power capabilities.

Pneumatex AG, a specialist provider of water conditioning equipment for building heating, cooling and related systems, joins IMI in 2007, enhancing the capabilities of the Indoor Climate business.