![]() Inpro’s bearing isolators were by no means a flash in the pan. The company ultimately agreed to a six-month pilot program in which one bearing isolator was installed on a single pump.What a trial period this was! Direct parts savings from this one pump alone exceeded $27,000. ![]() GPC personnel were intrigued by the potential this new device held for their operations. Since the rotor and stator didn’t touch, there would be no friction and no wear. Through a combination of centrifugal force and gravity drain, lubrication was kept in and contaminants kept out of the bearings. That original bearing isolator design consisted of two main parts: a stator and rotor, press-fitted into a bearing housing of rotating equipment. Test results were encouraging, so the design was honed and modified many times over into what was to become known as the Inpro/Seal Bearing Isolator. They kept at it and finally brought out a design incorporating an extensive interface between rotor and stator. The Inpro engineers didn’t give up, though. Each failed to prevent water contamination and all were rejected. Months had passed in the development process, during which 12 or so modifications of various designs were tried. Inpro had been working to develop labyrinth seals based on API specifications, but had found such a design, as it existed, ineffective in preventing contamination from water spray. For help, the company turned to Inpro/Seal, of Rock Island, IL. The cause? Bearing failure from water contamination due to frequent hosedowns. Ensuring reliability hasn’t always been as easy as it is today.īack in the 1970s, GPC began experiencing a high pump failure rate. These products touch the lives of millions-but it takes lots of reliable process equipment to meet the demand. Its state-of-the-art plant sites in Muscatine and Washington, IN turn out a number of things, including: ethyl alcohol and various ingredients for food, personal care, pharmaceutical, industrial and animal feed products, as well as superabsorbent polymers and petrelated needs. ![]() Still privately owned, today it is a leading manufacturer and worldwide marketer of corn-based products. Grain Processing Corporation (GPC), headquartered in Muscatine, IA, was founded in 1943. Three decades and counting, these Midwest operations continue to save maintenance $$$ through state-of-the-art bearing protection.
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