The aeronautical industry first embraced the benefits of titanium alloy to its advantage in the 1960s and it was on this basis that Duckworth & Kent was advised by a metallurgist to consider Titanium Alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) for the manufacture of its surgical instruments in the 1970s. Duckworth & Kent took heed of this advice (see benefits below) and applied their precision engineering skills to design and produce high quality medical devices using titanium alloy. Today, Duckworth & Kent is regarded as one of the pioneers in the design and manufacture of titanium ophthalmic instruments.