Inpro/Seal Attains Milestone, Monthly Production Levels Reach 40,000 Bearing Isolators Per Month

Rock Island, IL (PRWEB) May 2, 2007 -- Inpro/Seal Company, the Rock Island, IL, based manufacturer of bearing isolators reports that they are now producing nearly 40,000 bearing isolators per month. In addition, the company anticipates that they are on track to manufacture 100,000 per month in the near term. This announcement comes at a time when many companies continue to report lagging sales, production cutbacks, personnel layoffs and freezes on the purchase of new equipment.

Customer Demand
Aside from offering the best in non-contacting bearing seal technology, the company states that attributes unique and irrefutable to Inpro/Seal have lead to their continuing success and this milestone. This includes: bearing isolators are their only product; industry leading warranty; only bearing isolator with a vapor blocking ring; world class, (Illinois based) support; ongoing R&D program; same day shipping; widest product range; largest data bank of its kind; heavy investments in the future; energy savings and more.

Educate And Inform, Marketing Approach That Worked
By the end of 2005, the firm completed an extensive two-year media research project into the use of bearing isolators. The results of this market-by-market, application-by-application analysis showed that people wanted to know more about bearing isolators. Whether they used bearing isolators or not, the majority of the respondents stated that they wanted to know more about the unique basics of the product. This went on to serve as the foundation for an intensive "educate and inform" marketing approach.

Meeting Future Demands
The approach must have worked, because less than two years later, the company continues to invest heavily in the additional manufacturing equipment and support needed to expand. Their facility is the largest of its kind devoted exclusively to the engineering, research, testing, marketing and manufacture of bearing isolators. It has been expanded with the additional (CNC) lathes, metal turning machines, presses, mills, CAD/CAM and sophisticated testing equipment that takes their production levels to 40,000 per month.

Lip Seal Users Are Switching To Bearing Isolators
According to David C. Orlowski, inventor of the bearing isolator and CEO of Inpro/Seal Company, "To understand the dynamics of this success, you have to look at what his been going on with lip seals, a contacting sealing technology that dates back to the 1920's. Though still in use, lip seals experience a 100% failure rate. In fact, their manufacturers state that at best, they have an average life cycle of 1,844 hours or 77 days of operation, though some may survive up to 3,000 hours in use".

Orlowski continued, "The bearing isolator, on the other hand, is non-contacting, never wears out and can be used over and over again for many years. Once end users learn that they can obtain levels of protection unavailable in any other kind of bearing protection device with bottom line implications, they get fed up with the 80-year-old technology they had been using and quickly switch to bearing isolators, the best alternative to lip seals. And when they do, they usually choose Inpro/Seal, the only brand of bearing isolator that needs no regular maintenance".

Why This Milestone Is Important To Us
Orlowski went on to say, "From our new products, product enhancements, market expansions and energy savings to the dramatically increased acceptance of bearing isolators, 40,000 bearing isolators per month is a milestone achievement for us. From the time our first bearing isolator was installed back in 1977 to today, there are some 2,500,000 bearing isolators in operation. Do the math and you will see that at our current production levels, we are about to do thirty years work in about four years. Now you can see the significance".

Orlowski concluded by stating, "About 35% of our sales come from overseas. If you took the 193 countries in the world and edited the list to include just the industrial countries, we now do business with about half of them. In addition, almost all of the process companies in the Fortune 500 use Inpro/Seal products in critical maintenance roles. I expect that some time ago, we became that largest supplier of bearing isolators in the world. The increased production figures will solidify this position".

Talk About Green
Lip seals also consume power. On average, a single lip seal consumes 150 watts of power. To show how significant this is, a plant with 600 operating pumps, can run up annual costs in excess of $117,000 for energy to drive the lip seals. Or, how about the fact that by switching to bearing isolators, a plant can save 150 watts of power per month for every contact seal that is eliminated. With Inpro/Seal producing 40,000 per month, the company is saving the equivalent of six million watts of power. Talk about green!

The Rule Rather Than The Exception
Across the board, in industries and in applications around the world, Inpro/Seal offers end users the best of both worlds - reliability and efficiency - and is fast solidifying its position as the world leader in bearing protection. When you look at their latest products, you will see why Inpro/Seal has become the rule, rather than the exception for bearing protection. These products include:

• Pumps - every pump manufacturer offers standard product lines based around bearing protection. Whether installed by the OEM or retrofitted on existing equipment bearing isolators help end users attain the highest levels of reliability and energy efficiency.
• IEEE Motors - essentially a NEMA Premium motor with bearing protection, IEEE-841 motors set the standard in reliability. Whether installed by the OEM or updating an existing motor, end users get the best of highest levels of reliability and efficiency.
• Powder Shaft Seal - Inpro/Seal offers two sealing solutions the Air Mizer™-PS and the Articulating Air Mizer™- PS™ that provide a positive seal in applications were dry particulates, powders and bulk solids are handled, processed, packaged and stored. Once installed, breakdown is virtually eliminated.
• Paper Machine Roll PMR Bearing Isolator - specially engineered for the size, speed, alignment and operating conditions of wet and dry ends of machine rolls. Once installed, it is literally impossible to contaminate the bearings on paper machine rolls.
• VBXX-MT™ Series Bearing Isolators - offers machine tool users protection from coolant, chips, humidity and heat, that can cause spindle malfunction and expensive, unscheduled downtime. The highest performance is assured with a reverse interface that avoids direct impingement of coolant and chips.
• Belt Conveyor Idler/Roller Bearing Isolator - developed specifically for use in mining applications and bulk solid applications. Non-sparking design provides safe, permanent bearing protection. Recognized by the MSHA and assigned tag #AP2007-93304.
• OM 32 Bearing Isolator - in oil mist applications, this is the only known method to permanently solve housekeeping issues and contain and keep stray mist from entering the environment.

About Inpro/Seal
Inpro/Seal Company is the originator and the world's number one manufacturer of bearing isolators, used to protect motor and pump bearings, machine tool spindles, turbines, fans, gear boxes, paper machine rolls and many other types of rotating equipment. Additional applications include the sealing, handling, processing, packing and storage of dry particulates, powders and bulk solids.

At one time the company kept a running total of all bearing isolators sold, but stopped keeping track when their production hit 40,000 per month. The company still reports that of all the bearing isolators delivered over the last 30 years, most all continue to be in operation in process plants worldwide, where end users continue to report significantly reduced operating costs with increased productivity and reliability. Protected bearings have proven to run 150,000 hours (17 years) or more, eliminating the need for costly maintenance and repair. Documented cases show that a plant can easliy double the mean-time-between failure (MTBF) and reduce maintenance costs by at least half, with users the highest ROI levels.

Signoff
For more information on Inpro/Seal Bearing Isolators, including "Introduction To Bearing Isolators", "Are Lip Seals Obsolete?" "A Cost Justification Worksheet" or a complete CD interactive package, contact: Jason Putnam at: Inpro/Seal Company, P.O. Box 3940, Rock Island, Illinois 61204. Phone numbers are: (800) 447-0524 or (309) 787-4971. Fax number is: (309) 787-6114. Website: www.inpro-seal.com or www.bearingisolators.com

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