KING OF PRUSSIA, PA — Tech Tube has named longtime manufacturing executive Brian Highley as its new chief executive officer, a move that signals a major turning point for the nearly 40-year-old company following its first institutional investment.
The appointment takes effect immediately and comes months after Cogenuity Partners invested in Tech Tube in June 2025, ending the company’s long run as a solely family-owned manufacturer and positioning it for accelerated growth in new markets.
Highley brings more than 30 years of executive and operational leadership experience in engineered products and complex manufacturing. Most recently, he served as chief executive officer of Cirtec Medical, where he oversaw strategic expansion, strengthened manufacturing and technical capabilities, and completed multiple acquisitions that helped drive the company’s growth as a global partner to medical device manufacturers.
Before Cirtec, Highley held senior leadership roles at Nypro Healthcare, where he led the medical device and consumer health segment, and at Avail Medical Products. Earlier in his career, he worked in engineering and management roles with major medical device companies including Medtronic, Baxter Healthcare, Smith & Nephew, and Philips Medical. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Mercer University and is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps.
Cogenuity Partners said the leadership change reflects Tech Tube’s evolution from a specialized aerospace and defense supplier into a broader advanced manufacturing platform with growing exposure to the medical sector.
“This is an inflection point for Tech Tube,” said Sam Adler, managing director at Cogenuity Partners. He said Highley’s experience building world-class manufacturing operations and expanding advanced medical capabilities makes him well suited to lead the company’s next phase of growth.
Tech Tube co-presidents Brian Johnson and Kevin Johnson, whose family has owned and operated the business for decades, said the combination of new capital and new leadership allows the company to accelerate without losing its core identity.
“For nearly 40 years, we’ve built Tech Tube on the principles of precision, reliability, and customer partnership,” the Johnsons said in a joint statement. They said Highley’s background in medical devices will be critical as the company expands into high-growth markets while continuing to serve aerospace and defense customers.
Highley said the company’s reputation for quality and its skilled workforce were central to his decision to take the role.
“Tech Tube has built something rare — a manufacturing business with a reputation for quality, a loyal customer base, and a talented team that takes pride in its work,” Highley said. He pointed to opportunities to deepen customer relationships and expand in aerospace and medical markets where reliability and strict standards are essential.
The leadership change marks the most significant transition in Tech Tube’s history, as the company blends its family-owned legacy with institutional backing to pursue broader growth across advanced manufacturing sectors.
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