Throughout 2012, Kingsbury, Inc. will be celebrating a century of innovation that began in 1912 with the first successful installation of Dr. Albert Kingsbury’s invention at a hydro generating station. The utility, known then as Pennsylvania Power and Water, had been using rolling element bearings in the Holtwood Generating Station’s ten electric turbines in its early years, and they were wearing out within months under the 220 ton loads imposed on them. The utility was on the verge of bankruptcy when, in desperation, the owners gave the young inventor a chance to test his fluid film bearing.
Albert Kingsbury’s innate abilities, his family history, the tools and education available to him, and the chance to flourish in a century burgeoning with industrial creativity, all contributed to the iconic Kingsbury Thrust Bearing that today makes possible commerce and industries that were previously limited by friction. Kingsbury’s invention enables power generation turbines and generators to achieve faster speeds and higher loads, and it enables compressors, pumps and other critical rotating equipment in oil & gas and petrochemical industries to meet their production goals. Today, Kingsbury bearings – in a wide range of advanced designs and configurations – are at work all over the world, quietly and reliably supporting thrust loads up to 2 million pounds.
The original Holtwood bearing is still operating today with all its original parts. When it was inspected at the 25th anniversary in 1937, there was so little wear that it was determined it still had 1,100 years of life remaining. That bearing type, the Equalizing Horizontal bearing (EQH) still plays a prominent role in Kingsbury’s product line today.
100 years later, Kingsbury, Inc. continues to enable superior machine performance through expert bearing solutions, by applying world-class engineering, continual research and development and a commitment to problem-solving that is the hallmark of its reputation in the industry. Still family owned, the company is proud of its long-term stability and industry leadership.
Also celebrating 100 years of Philadelphia manufacturing pride is Messinger Bearings Company, a brand of rolling element bearings which was also started in 1912 and acquired by Kingsbury in 2004. Messinger is widely known for manufacturing bearings for harsh conditions, such as rock crushing, and large applications, such as giant tunnel boring machines. Messinger Bearings is the only bearing manufacturer in the United States that can build up to 25 feet in diameter, using in-house machining and inductance heat treating equipment. Messinger shares some of Kingsbury’s manufacturing floor in the Drummond Road plant in Philadelphia’s northeast.