FD Johnson, Lubrication Scientifics teaming up on new pump

TWINSBURG, Ohio—FD Johnson, a longtime distributor of lubrication pumps and systems, has developed a new pump it claimed is an upgrade to the traditional pumps on the market that are used in rubber mixers and other applications.

The Twinsburg-based firm is working with Lubrication Scientifics L.L.C., which will manufacture the pump, according to officials from both firms.

FD Johnson and Irving, Calif.-based Lubrication Scientifics have worked together for more than two decades, said FD Johnson President Brian Robson. He added that plans are for the pump to be tested and on the market somewhere around late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter of this year.

Robson is a fourth generation family member of FD Johnson, which was founded in 1933 by his great grandfather Frank Johnson. The Johnson family for many years also ran a manufacturing firm under the Trabon name separately from the distribution firm. But the family at some point sold Trabon, which lives on as a brand owned by Graco Inc.

Mixers normally have two types of oils, one for the process and one for the lubrication, said John Powell, FD Johnson product manager for lubrication, who designed the new pump. “This is the pump that takes the oil from the supply and pumps it through the divider valves out to those points of lubrication,” he said. “It's a motor driven, piston pump. We've simplified the design and put in a lot of features that aren't available on any other pump.”

Powell has been at FD Johnson for 22 years, and has worked in the past for both Robson's father and grandfather, in either the distribution or manufacturing businesses.

Robson said one of the biggest problems with the current pump out there is with making adjustments. “With the current pump, you have to open the side of the pump and then work inside while it's operating, putting screwdrivers and other pieces of equipment right near moving springs,” he said. “One of the largest design changes was the external adjustability that we have now.”

Another issue with the pump that currently is the market leader is that not all of the components are produced by the firm manufacturing it, and this has led to supply issues in some cases, claimed Richard Hanley, president of Lubrication Scientifics. Other than a seal and a roller bearing, the entire pump is produced at his firm's factory in Irvine, “so the supply chain is more reliable because of the vertical integration of our plant,” he said.

Hanley also said that in the lubrication industry, distributors such as FD Johnson play a key role in getting the systems to work and aren't merely just shipping out orders for parts. “You have to have the whole system,” he said. “You can find the company that makes the metering and connecting devices, and the pumps, but you still don't have a lubrication system without a design engineer who can evaluate the lubrication requirements of that specific application.”

Powell said this is necessary because all applications and machines are different. “We will work with the customer to gather all the information and requirements, and then we can design a lubrication system that's unique for that machine, and then provide all the products that are needed for that job.”

While the lubrication industry over the past 40 years has seen improvements in motors, controls and telemetry devices, Hanley said the basic part of the system—the pump—hasn't seen an upgrade.

Because of the difficulty in adjusting current pumps, Powell said customers have asked if there were any equivalent replacements available. “So we decided to design our own, and hopefully it will satisfy all those needs and requirements that customers are looking for.”

Powell believes the new pump will find use in other industrial applications besides in rubber mixers.

Robson, president of FD Johnson for the past five years, said the new pump will undergo rigorous testing of about 100 million cycles at full pressure to make sure it meets all specifications.

He is confident the new pump will be able to take market share from the company's top competitor. One of the biggest factors that will sway customers, he said, is the safety aspect of having external adjustments.

And if it succeeds, it will show that FD Johnson is an industry leader in the field. “A financial boost isn't always the best thing in the world, but showing that you're the industry leader, showing that you have the technology—that's one of the biggest things,” Robson said.