Garlock Sealing Technologies

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Garlock Sealing Technologies
Type Subsidiary of EnPro Industries
Founded Palmyra, New York, USA (1923)
Founder Olin J. Garlock
Headquarters Palmyra, New York, USA
Industry Manufacturing
Products Gasketing, Klozure Dynamic Seals, Hydraulic Components, Expansion Joints, Compression Packing
Website www.garlock.com

Garlock Sealing Technologies, a subsidiary of EnPro Industries, produces Klozure Dynamic Seals and other quality sealing products. Garlock has a global presence, with 1,887 employees, at 15 facilities, in eight countries. [1]

Contents

[edit] History

In the latter 19th century, Olin J. Garlock devised a better way to seal piston rods in industrial steam engines; this ingenuity led to the creation of Garlock Sealing Technologies. Founded in 1887, in Palmyra, New York, Garlock has become a leader in the fluid sealing industry and a cornerstone of the EnPro Industries family.

[edit] Industries

Various industries utilize Garlock’s products because Garlock can accommodate most applications. These assorted product offerings allow Garlock to fulfill the needs of a diverse customer base.

Garlock provides fluid sealing solutions for the following industries: petrochemical, chemical processing, and refining, pulp and paper, power generation, electronics, steel mills, food and pharmaceutical, mining and original equipment manufacturers.

[edit] Proprietary & Patented Products

Some of Garlock's sealing products include KLOZURE oil seals, bearing isolators and mechanical seals; GYLON gasketing, CEFIL'AIR pneumatic seals and HELICOFLEX metal seals; sheet rubber products, valve and pump packing, hydraulic seals, molded rubber products, and expansion joints.

[edit] Partnerships and Recent News

  • The Timken Company - A supply agreement that will increase global sales for Klozure oil seals and bearing isolators.[2]
  • Nippon Valqua - A strategic alliance, with Garlock enjoying exclusive sales rights for Nippon Valqua products in the Americas and Nippon Valqua having exclusive sales rights for Garlock products in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
  • In 2007, Garlock expanded by leasing over 65,000 square feet in Portwall Distribution Center II. [3]

[edit] Legal Action

  • Garlock has been subject to multiple lawsuits regarding asbestos, which were components of earlier products. Now, Garlock produces only asbestos free products. Some of the notable suits include:
  • Donald Reynolds, who worked at the Ashland Oil refinery in Tonawanda for more than 35 years, was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, an incurable lung disease, in 2003. Reynolds and his wife filed this personal injury action against 20 defendants, including Garlock Sealing Technologies LLC and Niagara Insulations, Inc., alleging that his disease was the result of workplace exposure to asbestos. By the time the trial was held in 2004, the only remaining defendants were Garlock, which provided the refinery with asbestos-containing pump gaskets and packing, and Niagara, which provided asbestos containing pipe insulation.[4]
  • Buddy Jones spent four years sealing pumps and making gaskets at Newport News Shipbuilding (now Northrop Grumman Newport News) in the 1960s before returning to college and becoming a computer programmer in Richmond. When he suddenly got sick in late 2004, his doctor thought it was pneumonia. Then he found the tumors in Jones' lungs. The Newport News Circuit Court verdict in Wanda Jones' wrongful death lawsuit against three companies that manufactured the materials was handed down Wednesday, the first anniversary of the death of 60-year-old Buddy Jones.[5]
  • The victim, Vaughn Oney, left a wife of forty-three years. Mr. Oney retired in 1994 when he was in his early fifties and was in good health. Between 1963 and 1973, Oney was sometimes in contact with asbestos daily. One of the many horrible aspects of mesothelioma is that it can remain dormant in the body for as long as forty years. As was the case with Mr. Oney, most victims do not realize they have the disease until they begin experiencing symptoms several decades later. A verdict was awarded by a jury in State Circuit Court in Virginia in the amount of 9.25 million dollars for his death.[6]
  • Loislaw Federal District Court Opinions - GRAY v. GARLOCK SEALING TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, (W.D.N.Y. 1-26-2007): This is an action in which the plaintiff Timothy Gray ("plaintiff"), proceeding pro se, alleges that his former employer, defendant Garlock Sealing Technologies, LLC ("defendant") discriminated against him, in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq., by failing to promote him. Now before the Court is defendant's motion [#3] for summary judgment. For the reasons that follow, defendant's application is granted and this action is dismissed.[7]

[edit] External links

[edit] References