GGB Bearing Technology

GGB Bearing Technology
Subsidiary of EnPro Industries, Inc.[1] (NYSE: NPO)
Industry Manufacturing
Founded 1910
Headquarters Annecy, France
Number of locations
 8 manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Germany, France, Brazil, Slovakia and China[2]
Area served
 Worldwide
Products Metal-polymer, solid polymer, filament-wound and metallic plain bearings; bushing blocks; bearing housings
Number of employees
 1,100
Website www.ggbearings.com www.enproindustries.com

GGB Bearing Technology, formerly Glacier Garlock Bearings, manufactures self-lubricating and prelubricated plain bearings for various industries and applications. It employs over 1,000 worldwide and has production facilities in the U.S., Germany, France, Slovakia, Brazil and China. The company is a subsidiary of EnPro Industries, Inc. (NYSE: NPO).

History

1887: Olin J. Garlock[3] invented a system for sealing piston rods in industrial steam engines in Palmyra, N.Y.

1899: Findlay and Battle founded Findlay Motor Metals. The company was renamed to Glacier Antifriction Metal Company two years later.

1910: Began producing plain bearings for internal-combustion engines in 1910.

1930: Developed a sintered copper-lead process for lining plain bearings.

1948: Began experimenting with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) as a bearing material.[4]

1950: Established an aluminum-tin alloy as a superior lining material for engine bearings.

1955: Patented a process for mush impregnation of porous bronze, and shortly thereafter began producing the industry’s first metal-polymer plain bearings.

1958: Garlock Inc. was established as the U.S. distributor for Glacier, which subsequently licensed its bearing technology to SIC in France, Kolbenschmidt in Germany, Daido Metal Co. in Japan, and Garlock Bearings in the U.S.

1976: Glacier and Garlock Inc. established a joint venture for the production of metal-polymer plain bearings in the U.S.

1988: Glacier formed a business unit to specialize in industrial applications, which was replaced in 1992 by Glacier Industrial Bearings based in Heilbronn, Germany.

2001: B.F. Goodrich, which owned Garlock Bearings Inc., acquired Glacier Industrial Bearings to form Glacier Garlock Bearings.[5] In 2002 this company was spun off by Goodrich as a subsidiary of a new public company, EnPro Industries, Inc.

2003 The company acquired Saver North America, a producer of self-lubricating composite bearings.

2004: Glacier Garlock Bearings changed its name to GGB Bearing Technology and opened a production facility in Sučany, Slovakia.[6] Böhringer Kunstofftechnik GmbH, a precision injection molder of high-performance plastics, was acquired in 2007.

2008: Production facilities were established in Suzhou, China[7]

2011: GGB acquired PI Bearings,[8] now GGB Chicago, a producer of bushing blocks and other products for fluid power applications.

2012: GGB bearings used in NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover.

2013: GGB introduces new self-lubricating, metallic bearing materials, as well as two-piece, double-flanged solid polymer bearings.

Industries

The company’s bearings are used by the automotive,[9] aerospace, medical[10] , fluid power,[11] compressor, off-highway,[12] recreational equipment, renewable energy, primary metals production and other industries.

References

  1. ↑ "Official 2011 Enpro and GGB Annual Sales Figures".
  2. ↑ http://www.ggbearings.com/en/company/profile-and-organization
  3. ↑ "A Brief History of Palmyra".
  4. ↑ "Coefficient of Friction of PTFE-Impregrated Porous Bronze Versus Temperature".
  5. ↑ "BFGoodrich Garlock Division Acquires Glacier Industrial Bearings from Dana Corporation". EBearing News. May 2001.
  6. ↑ "New Bearing Facility in Slovakia Marks EnPro's Third New Facility Opening in Three Months". The Auto Channel. November 2004.
  7. ↑ "GGB Begins Polymer Bearing Production in China". EBearing News. May 2008.
  8. ↑ "PI Bearing Technologies acquired by EnPro Industries". Hydro World. 2011.
  9. ↑ "Bearing All" (PDF). Engine Technology Today. March 2007.
  10. ↑ "Plain Bearings Shake a Leg". Machine Design. January 2008.
  11. ↑ "Spherical Bearings Provided for Son La" (PDF). Hydropower & Dams. 2008.
  12. ↑ "Bearings Go a Step Beyond". OEM Off Highway. February 2007.

External links

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