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As the recognized world leader in its field, John Crane has been responsible for many of the advances in engineered sealing systems and associated equipment that are now in everyday use around the globe. Today, as a member of Smiths Group PLC, the company continues to exceed expectations in its mission to become the provider of choice for customers in such sectors as oil & gas, chemical, pharmaceutical, pulp & paper and mining.

John Crane’s origins lie in the 1917 creation of the Crane Packing Company, which went on to establish various facilities throughout the United States, Canada and England. Prior to World War II, the company’s English operations were sold to Tube Investments, in a move which resulted in the creation of TI Group plc.

In the United States, the Crane Packing Company subsequently moved from its location in Chicago, IL, to its current 26-acre site in Morton Grove, IL. In 1987, the company was purchased by TI Group plc, paving the way for the operations in the United States and the United Kingdom to be re-united, this time under the John Crane name.

The company has subsequently made many landmark achievements, including the creation the world’s first automotive mechanical seal in 1939. This was rapidly followed by the development and introduction of the John Crane Type 1, end-face, elastomer bellows shaft seal. This patented product revolutionized sealing technology and is still one of the most widely used seals in industry. Other patented mechanical seals for rotating equipment followed, highlighting John Crane’s philosophy of providing customers with exactly the right seal for the right application.

In more recent times, John Crane has grown to become a truly global organization, with a focus on providing its customers with superior service and extending the boundaries of today’s technology. The company’s policy of investing for growth, which still continues to this day, initially saw John Crane acquire three additional sealing companies - Sealol, Safematic and Flexibox. These developments extended John Crane's global reach, and expanded its product portfolio to include high quality welded metal bellows seals, proven sealing and lubrication products for the pulp and paper market, along with high temperature and high pressure cartridge seals for pipeline and refinery applications.

At the turn of the century, the TI Group merged with Smiths Industries and John Crane became part of the resulting Smiths Group plc. Since then, the company has continued to make strategic acquisitions which have considerably extended the scope of its offerings. These include the 2007 acquisition of Sartorius Bearing Technology in a move which expanded John Crane’s expertise in high performance rotating equipment applications. This was followed by the purchase of the Orion Corporation, which increased John Crane’s ability to offer hydrodynamic bearings for high-speed turbine, generator, compressor and gear drive applications to the oil and gas, power generation and general industrial markets.

John Crane also entered the growing aftermarket for hydrodynamic bearings when it acquired the US-based Turbo Components & Engineering in 2011. This enabled John Crane to build on the strengths of its existing bearing capabilities by providing a globally recognized brand that has a world-renowned reputation for customer service, technical knowledge and product quality.

Acquisitions have also allowed John Crane to enter new market areas, as highlighted by the 2008 purchase of Indufil BV. This Dutch-based specialist designs and builds filtration systems for rotating equipment in the petrochemical and power sectors, and is also a leading provider of aftermarket services.

The packing and gasket products on which the original Crane Packing Company built its success are still available from John Crane. The company manufactures some 238,900 miles of braided packing each year – almost enough to reach to the moon – along with flat gaskets and live-load packing for valves.

The 1980s saw John Crane introduce yet another breakthrough in sealing technology in the form of the Type 28, non-contacting, gas-lubricated seal. Designed for centrifugal compressor applications, this product has gone on to have a huge impact on the sealing of pipeline compressor stations in locations as diverse as the mountains of Western Canada, the deserts of the Middle East and the jungles of the Far East.

In the 1990s, John Crane developed its non-contacting sealing technology to create a reliable solution for pumps that handle environmentally sensitive liquids. Applying this technology to a standard American National Standards Institute (ANSI) or American Petroleum Institute (API) pump allows users meet, or exceed, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) stringent regulations for hazardous emissions. It can be used for applications where the seal is operating near the boiling point of the sealed fluid, and allows a non-contacting seal to be used with many different materials, including liquid nitrogen, argon and oxygen, while significantly reducing operating costs.

Other applications, such as vaporizing hydrocarbons, are also being sealed with this technology, and various options have been developed. These include a new low speed version designed for the demanding conditions typically found on mixers and agitators, which eliminates the need for liquid lubrication and so ensures the highest purity of product in the vessel being sealed.

The expertise developed since John Crane acquired Sealol also now allows the company to successfully service very low and high temperature operations with welded bellows seals. These have become another high profile product in what is the most extensive line of mechanical seals available today.

As part of Smiths Group, John Crane’s own global sales force and extensive network of customer service centers enjoy the backing and in-depth support of a truly global technology business. This has provided the platform for the company to continue developing the scope of the fully integrated shaft-line solutions it provides. Today it remains focussed on developing proven products and services which meet not only the needs its customers have today, but those which they will have tomorrow and in the future.