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John Crane Group

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John Crane
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryOil & Gas, Power Generation, Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Pulp & Paper, Mining
Founded1917 (1917)
FoundersJohn Crane and Frank Payne
Headquarters
Franklin Center
Chicago, Illinois[1]
,
U.S.
Area served
Global
Key people
Tedd Smith (Interim President)
Eric Evans (CFO)
Joe Haas (CTO)
John Donatiello (VP of Global End- User Sales and Service)
Ruben Alvarez (VP of Global First Fit Business)
Number of employees
More than 6,000 employees in over 200 locations in 50 countries
ParentSmiths Group
WebsiteJohn Crane
John Crane manufacturing site in Morton Grove, Ill.

John Crane is an American company, now a subsidiary of Smiths Group committed to the development of innovations needed for mission-critical operations and challenging environments. John Crane is a world-leading provider of engineered products and services including mechanical seals, couplings, hydro-dynamic bearings, seal support systems, filtration systems and artificial lift. The company services customers in the energy services sector including production, transmission and storage, refining, power generation, petrochemical, pulp and paper, and mining industries.[2]

The company has operations in more than 50 countries and employs more than 6,000 people. John Crane is the largest division of Smiths Group plc, a global technology business listed on the London Stock Exchange.[3]

John Crane has end-user customers in process industries, including large oil companies, national oil companies (NOCs), and refiners. The company also serves original equipment manufacturers (OEM) customers engaged in the design and manufacture of pumps and turbines. John Crane also provides artificial lift products and services for the upstream oil and gas industry.[2][4]

History

File:Original headquarters of John Crane Inc.jpg
Old John Crane Headquarters

John Crane was originally founded in 1917 as Crane Packing Company. Before founding his company, engineer John Crane patented a flexible, lubricated metallic packing (#956,042) in 1910.[5] In 1915, Crane patented the manufacturing method for flexible metallic packing (#1,151,344). He discovered that wrapping his flax packing in metallic foil increased its longevity and kept the cylinders’ surface smooth and uniform. Frank Payne, a sales representative for the Warren Packing Company, recognized the potential of Crane’s innovation.[6]

Crane Packing Company initially manufactured packing and gasketing, which is still offered today. Prior to World War II, Crane Packing sold its England-based operations to Tube Investments, known today as TI Group PLC. Condenser Tube Packing was introduced in 1922 and in 1928, Metallic water pump packing were used on Chevrolet and Ford cars. An estimated 25 million motors were using Crane Packing materials by the mid-1930s. By 1938, all Chrysler cars used Crane Packing mechanical seals[7] on their water pumps .[5][8]

In 1939, the company invented the first automotive mechanical seal.[9] In the early 1940s, John Crane developed and introduced patented end face shaft seals and an elastomer bellows seal . The U.S. Navy relied on packing solutions from Crane Packing for a host of applications, including expansion joints, stern tube service, cargo pumps, rotary steam and air compressors, water-tight closures, metallic condenser packing and pipe fittings. In recognition for its service, Crane Packing received a U.S. Navy “E” Award. From the years 1941 to 1949, Crane Packing applied for and received 24 patents, the majority of which were for mechanical seals [10] designed to handle high-pressure and corrosive applications.

In 1948, Crane Packaging developed its own seal face [6] lapping machines and processes, which evolved into Crane Packing’s Lapmaster division. Another advancement of sealing and packing technology during this period was the commercial availability of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), marketed by its creator DuPont as Teflon. Crane Packing introduced its “CHEMLON” line of Teflon-based packing material for use on pumps, valves, hydraulic fittings and cylinders, coaxial cables, and gaskets in 1948.[5]

Old John Crane Advertisement

In 1950, Crane Packing purchased 26 acres (110,000 m2) of land in Morton Grove, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Construction began on the new company offices the next year and continued until the main office, laboratory, and cafeteria were completed in 1956. John Crane’s Morton Grove facility comprises five manufacturing buildings totaling 453,000 square feet (42,100 m2).

In the 1980s, John Crane introduced the Type 28 non-contacting, gas lubricated gas seal,[6]- another breakthrough in sealing technology.In 1987, through a series of acquisitions and divestitures, the company in the United States and the company in the United Kingdom were reunited, this time under the name John Crane.[5]

Beginning in the 1990s, John Crane applied non-contacting technology to pumps handling liquids that are hazardous to the environment. Applying this technology to a standard American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or American Petroleum Institute (API) pump allows users to meet or exceed the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) stringent regulations for hazardous emissions.[6]

In 2007, the company acquired CDI Energy Services, CDI Oilfield Services, Fiberod and Global Energy Products. This branch of the company specializes in artificial lift equipment and services for upstream oil and gas production.

John Crane still offers the mechanical packing and gasket products upon which the Crane Packing Company built its success. Each year, the company manufactures some 238,900 miles of braided packing- almost enough to reach the moon- along with flat gaskets and live-load packing for valves.

Timeline

First Patent for John Crane
  • 1910 - Engineer John Crane patents flexible, lubricated metallic packing (#956,042) [6]
  • 1915 - Engineer John Crane patents the manufacturing method for flexible metallic packing (#1,151,344) [6]
  • 1916 – 1917 -John Crane Packing Company is incorporated.[6]
  • 1922 - Condenser Tube Packing is introduced.[6]
  • 1943 - Patent for Liquid Seal for Rotary Shafts (#2,337,6390) Patent for Fluid Pressure Seal (#2,328,578) [11]
  • 1947 - Patent for Mechanical Seals (#2,425,209) [11]
  • 1949 - Patent for Balanced, Cooled, and Lubricated Rotary Seal (#2,470,419) [11]
  • 1950 - Patent for a Self-sealing Coupling (#2,535,694) [11]
  • 1952 – Patent for Drive for Rotary Mechanical Seals with O Rings (#2,585,154) Patent for Rotary Mechanical Seal (#2,592,728) [11]
  • 1954 - Patent for Method for Lapping Quartz Crystals (#2,687,603) [11]
  • 1957 - Patent for a Variable Displacement Pump for pumping fluids (#2,807,215) [11]
  • 1958 - Patent for Rotary Mechanical Seal (#2,851,291) [11]
  • 1971 - Patent for a Mechanical Seal for a Vertical Rotating Equipment (#3,589,737) [11]
  • 1980 - Patent for Self-aligning Spiral Groove Face Gas Seal (#4,212,475) [11]
  • 1988 – Patent for a Mechanical Seal with Welded Bellows (#4,749,200) [11]
  • 1989 - Patent for Spiral Groove Seal System for High Vapor-pressure Liquids. (#4,889,348) [11]
  • 1991 - Patent for Spiral Groove Seal Arrangement for High Vapor-pressure Liquids (#5,071,141) [11]
  • 2000 - TI Group PLC merges with Smiths Industries to become Smiths Group PLC.[6]
  • 2001 - Type 2100 Heavy-Duty Elastomer Bellows Seal is introduced.[6]
  • 2002 - Type 285 seal - the first non-contacting, dry-running mechanical seal for use in cryogenic applications - is introduced.[6]

Acquisitions

In 1998, John Crane acquired three companies; Sealol, Safematic and Flexibox.[6]

On October 15, 2007 John Crane acquired German company, Sartorius Bearing Technology,[6] manufacturers of tilting pad bearings for high-speed rotor applications, standard thrust and journal multi-lobe bearings and combined bearings for restricted assembly and mounting applications.

On April 29, 2008, John Crane acquired Indufil Bv, a supplier of filters for the petrochemical and power generation industries.[6]

John Crane acquired Orion Corporation on May 14, 2009, which manufactured hydrodynamic bearings for high speed turbine, generator, compressor and gear drive applications for the oil and gas, power generation and general industrial markets.[12]

In 2011, John Crane acquired U.S. based aftermarket bearings business, Turbo Components and Engineering.[6]

In October 2015, John Crane expanded its aftermarket service offering after acquiring XPD8 solutions, bringing significant asset management capabilities.[13]

References

  1. ^ Tekippe, Abraham. "Manufacturer moves HQ to West Loop from Morton Grove". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  2. ^ a b "John Crane - Home Page". John Crane Inc. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  3. ^ "Home - Smiths Group plc". Smiths Group plc. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  4. ^ "Artificial Lift". John Crane Inc. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d [1] John Crane
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o [2], John Crane History
  7. ^ [3] John Crane
  8. ^ [4] Ethanol Producer
  9. ^ [5] Pumps & Systems
  10. ^ [6] Pumps & Systems
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m [7] USPTO
  12. ^ [8] MandaDeals
  13. ^ John Crane News]
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