INDUSTRIES WE SERVE
Custom Exhaust Tubing for OEM Equipment Manufacturers
At a glance:
CERTIFICATION
ISO 9001:2015 certified
FOUNDED ERA
Founded 1959
CAPABILITIES USED
Tube bending, end forming, welding/brazing, finishing
VOLUMES
Low-volume custom assemblies through repeatable runs
LOCATION
South Bend, Indiana
WHAT CURTIS DOES FOR CUSTOM EXHAUST TUBING
Curtis Products bends and fabricates custom exhaust tubing for OEM equipment manufacturers. Whether you're building generators, agricultural or industrial equipment, or specialty vehicles, the exhaust run has to be engineered to your design — not pulled from a universal-fit kit. This is OEM work: we bend steel and stainless steel tube, weld and braze steel, stainless steel, and aluminized steel assemblies, and finish the result to your print, rather than stocking swap-in parts for the retail or hot-rod aftermarket.
An exhaust run has to route around other components, seal at every joint, and survive heat and vibration without cracking a weld. That is why custom exhaust tubing has to be engineered to the application, not bent to a generic radius and hoped into place.
PROCESS & CAPABILITIES
Every custom exhaust tubing job starts with a print, or a sample part if a print does not exist yet. We run manual fixture bending, power fixture bending, and CNC rotary bending, matching the method to the tolerance, radius, and volume the part calls for. When a buyer asks about mandrel bent exhaust tubing, they are usually describing the tight-radius, thin-wall result CNC rotary bending produces on our floor — confirm mandrel tooling specifically with Curtis engineers during quoting, since we size the setup to the tube rather than promising a named process ahead of the print.
Exhaust pipe fabrication rarely stops at a bent tube. From the bend, exhaust tube bending often moves into end forming — flanging, flaring, swaging, sizing, and expanding — so a pipe seats against a flange or clamp joint instead of leaking exhaust past the seal. Our welding and brazing group joins mid-to-large diameter steel, stainless steel, and aluminized steel tube using manual and robotic MIG welding plus torch, hand, and induction brazing, every process built to meet or exceed AWS requirements. Aluminized steel is a material well suited to the heat and corrosion an exhaust system sees in service, and it's a material our welding and brazing group can work in for exhaust tube assemblies. When a part needs a protective finish, options include zinc plating, Galfan, painting, ecoating, powder coating, anodizing, tin dip coating, phosphate coating, and autophoretic plating, chosen to match the environment the part will run in.
WHY OEMS PICK A SHOP THAT'S BEEN DOING THIS SINCE THE 1950S
Curtis Products has built formed tubing assemblies since the fall of 1959, when Curtis Heckaman won a contract to supply short-run, formed tubing after no other manufacturer could meet the customer's quality and delivery requirements. The company is now in its third generation of family management, ISO 9001:2015 certified, and runs a quality process built around prevention — receiving, in-process, and final inspections that document compliance before a part ships.
For an OEM building generators, ag or industrial equipment, or specialty vehicles, that discipline shows up as on-time delivery, design expertise, and competitive pricing on a part where a cracked weld or a leaking joint means a warranty claim in the field. Launch planning tools like Team Feasibility Commitment, Design Review, and Mistake Proofing get applied before a new part reaches full production, inside 254,000 square feet of dedicated plant space in South Bend, Indiana. Curtis serves OEMs across the Chicagoland, South Bend, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Cincinnati areas and beyond.
CUSTOM EXHAUST TUBING FOR OEM EQUIPMENT, NOT THE AFTERMARKET
Worth stating plainly: Curtis is an exhaust tubing supplier to OEM equipment manufacturers, not a retail or hot-rod aftermarket shop. Whether you're building a generator, a piece of agricultural or industrial equipment, or a specialty vehicle, we bend, weld, and finish the exhaust tube your design calls for and hand back a part built to your print — not a universal-fit kit. If that's the work you need, send a print or a sample part through our quote request page. For the bending process on its own, see our tube bending services; for the full multi-process build, see tube fabrication services.
FAQs
Do you supply exhaust tubing for the hot-rod or retail aftermarket?
No. Curtis builds custom exhaust tubing for OEM equipment manufacturers — not the hot-rod or retail aftermarket, and we don't sell universal-fit kits. If you're an OEM building generators, agricultural or industrial equipment, or specialty vehicles and need exhaust tube engineered to your print, send it through our quote request page.
What materials do you use for custom exhaust tubing?
We bend steel and stainless steel and weld steel, stainless steel, and aluminized steel tube assemblies. Aluminized steel resists the heat and corrosion an exhaust system sees in service; confirm the exact grade and wall thickness with Curtis engineers during quoting.
Do you offer mandrel bent exhaust tubing?
Our CNC rotary bending produces the tight-radius, thin-wall results buyers associate with mandrel bent exhaust tubing. Confirm mandrel tooling and radius specs with our engineers during quoting.
Can you handle exhaust pipe fabrication, not just bending?
Yes. Exhaust pipe fabrication on our floor combines tube bending, end forming for flanged joints, and welding or brazing into a finished assembly, delivered ready to install.
What tube sizes can you bend for exhaust tubing?
We bend exhaust tubing from 1/8 inch to 3 inch OD. Bend radius, wall thickness, and tolerance are set part by part; Curtis engineers confirm what is achievable for your geometry during quoting.
Can you handle low-volume or custom exhaust tube runs?
Yes. We handle low-volume custom assemblies with hands-on design support, from a single prototype through repeatable runs, and our rapid prototyping team can build a working prototype from your specs.
How do I request a quote for custom exhaust tubing?
Send a print or a sample part through our quote request page. Curtis engineers respond with design feedback and pricing based on material, tolerance, and volume.