PhilaGear.com services and manufactures power transmission equipment
Contents
Title
Providing Gearing Solutions For More Than A Century, Philadelphia Gear
Description
Excerpted from the website:
- Philadelphia Gear was founded over a century ago with a simple but profound mission – to provide state-of-the-art gearing for the fast-growing industries of Pennsylvania. From those modest beginnings in 1892, Philadelphia Gear has earned a globally recognized reputation for expertise in power transmission engineering and manufacturing. Our world-class engineering and technical staff provides our extensive customer base across the globe with a full-range of solutions for their power transmission needs – from the installation of new units, to the inspection and repair of older equipment.
Industries Served
Philadelphia Gear customers depend on high quality, reliable power transmission equipment to lower the cost of operation and reduce down time, while producing at the highest levels. Philadelphia Gear is ready to meet these challenges, bringing over 100 years of experience providing gearing for various industrial applications. We're unique in offering a regional service and manufacturing approach and a national network of customer support, the only national gear manufacturer to do so. Combined with our acquisition of WesTech and Western Gear, Philadelphia Gear offers world-class expertise in power transmission design, manufacture and service.
Upgrade and repair capabilities are available at our five regional service and manufacturing facilities across the country, each facility having access to Philadelphia Gear's vast technical library of drawings, engineering standards, manufacturing process standards and other helpful documents.
Company History
In 1892, George B. Grant founded Philadelphia Gear Works in the perfect location to serve the booming steel and anthracite coal industries of Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley. At the time, the country was in need of raw materials - from steel for railroads, ships and bridges; to coal for power generation; to wood, copper and other materials; as well as machinery for food production. All of this production required dependable gearing, allowing Philadelphia Gear to prosper.
By 1907, Philadelphia Gear employed 17 machinists - 20 by 1911 - continuing this growth over the next five years. A look at Philadelphia Gear's 1912 catalog shows not only standard stocked gears, but also custom-made products.
As the gearing industry continued to prosper, gear manufacturers recognized the value of joining together to advance the industry. Thus, Philadelphia Gear joined with nine other gearing companies to form the American Gear Manufacturing Association (AGMA) in 1916.
Philadelphia Gear and the War Effort
At this time, much of Europe was entrenched in the first World War. When the U.S. entered the war in 1917, companies such as Philadelphia Gear increased their production of gears, sprockets, chain and automotive transmissions for ships, planes, munitions, tanks and machinery. Philadelphia Gear tripled its workforce to 55 machinists and 10 office staff.
As the gearing industry continued to evolve, Philadelphia Gear began producing completely packaged power transmission products. Our 1922 catalog shows an enclosed speed reducer, which was a first. Users of gear-related machinery could now rely on Philadelphia Gear power transmission specialists to create entire drive systems.
While other companies were ruined by the Great Depression, Philadelphia Gear survived thanks to our sale of the speed reducer. By 1939, speed reducers had become a major emphasis at Philadelphia Gear. During this time we also produced couplings and electric hoists, as well as every type and size of gear.
With the outbreak of World War II, Philadelphia Gear produced 14-foot ring gears to rotate battleship gun turrets, and worm gears for the hydraulic systems of virtually every Navy destroyer launched.
Philadelphia Gear Innovations Continue
Philadelphia Gear flourished after the war, integrating innovative European technology, like Maag, into gear production - the first U.S. company to do so for industrial applications. Other new applications included the design and manufacture of mechanical fluid mixers for agitating a variety of chemical and petroleum products - known as Philadelphia Mixers.
By 1960, Philadelphia Gear had expanded to a larger facility in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, purchasing the most advanced machine tools, heat-treating furnaces, grinding equipment and quality control devices available.
The new equipment was put to use right away; as we were called upon by NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense to supply gearing for large-scale radar and radio telescopes used to track satellites and missiles, as well as explore outer space. The special gear trains had to be both extraordinarily accurate and durable, and our highly skilled workers produced gearing to increasingly exacting specifications - building our reputation for large, special-function and custom gearing.
Such specialty gearing later included large, right-angle gearboxes for coal-pulverizing mills for electric power generation; pinion stands, rolling mill drives, and a new shaft-mounted reducer for the basic oxygen furnace used by the steel industry, drives for cement kilns and sugar mills; high-speed drives for pumps, compressors, test stands and gas turbines; large marine gears; and speed reducers and gearmotors.
Philadelphia Gear enclosed drives; continued to help bring fuel and energy to the world - from the Alaska Pipeline, to offshore oil drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic, to the Saudi Arabian Gas Gathering Program.
Adjusting to the Needs of Modern Power Transmission
As industry continued to grow through the 1980s, increasing amounts of power transmission were needed within ever-smaller spaces - including large roller mills in the cement industry, and hydroturbines for power generation. Responding to this demand, Philadelphia Gear reintroduced the principle of epicyclic gearing for power generation in limited space.
Today, Philadelphia Gear stands ready to capitalize on our more than 100 years of expertise, providing customers with a complete array of power transmission solutions, including the optimization of our inspect-and-repair regional service and manufacturing centers, strategically located across the United States.
Regional Facilities
Being close to the end-user is crucial for providing responsive and cost-effective customer service. That's why Philadelphia Gear extends our technical expertise and specialized services across the country through five strategically located regional service and manufacturing facilities.
Each facility has manufacturing, on-site engineering and overhaul capabilities, plus access to Philadelphia Gear's world-class Engineering and Technical Center in King of Prussia, PA - which includes our vast library of drawings, engineering standards, and manufacturing process standards - more than 3,000,000 pages of digitized technical documents in all.
Products and Services
CORE® Magnetic Filtration System Philadelphia Gear's CORE system virtually eliminates ferrous metal contamination as a cause of lubrication related failures in gearboxes.
Design Engineering With more than 100 years of expertise in power transmission equipment and gearing manufacturing, Philadelphia Gear's world-class design engineering group has earned a reputation for providing unique, innovative solutions to the most difficult power transmission problems. Each Philadelphia Gear regional service and manufacturing facility across the U.S. has on-site design engineering personnel, with direct access (via the internet) to Philadelphia Gear's Engineering and Technical Center and its vast library of drawings, engineering standards, manufacturing process standards and other intellectual property.
Enclosed Drives Philadelphia Gear enclosed drives are installed for a wide variety of applications, from precision high-speed turbo-machinery gearing, to rugged, heavy-duty industrial gear products. The result of over 100 years of innovative design engineering and manufacturing, Philadelphia Gear enclosed drives set the standard for quality, endurance and customer satisfaction.
GearLogicSM Long-term Preservation System Uncontrolled humidity can ruin a gear set within days, sometimes hours. Gear tooth surfaces and the rollers and races in rolling element bearings can experience rust corrosion almost immediately if not protected by an oil film or a suitable preservative. Philadelphia Gear’s preservation system offers its customers a solution to the ongoing problem of protecting and maintaining gearboxes while in storage. Enclosed drives that have GearLogic protection will enable customers to warehouse them safely before putting them back into service.
Inspect, Repair & Upgrade Philadelphia Gear is your source for rapid turnaround inspection and repair of any brand of equipment, as well as for engineering solutions for your power transmission equipment problems. Philadelphia Gear uses the latest techniques to increase the reliability, life and uprate capacity.
Open Gearing Philadelphia Gear has built a reputation for quality and durability by manufacturing high quality precision gearing for over a century. During these 100-plus years, we've continued to develop our design and manufacturing capabilities to produce unique, high capacity gearing solutions for a diverse list of industrial clients. Please note that Philadelphia Gear is the exclusive provider of Delaval, Western Gear and WesTech parts.
Onsite Technical Services – OTSSM The OTS program is designed to offer our customers a total onsite solution to gearbox related issues. With one call to Philadelphia Gear, we’ll be able to define a scope of work that may include not only taking the gearboxes out and putting them back in, but also rebuilding them “in place,” re-boring the housings at the customers’ locations, any and all necessary rigging operations, mobilization of manpower, transportation of equipment and so forth. This, of course, is all in addition to – and complimentary with – our current value proposition.
Renewal Parts - Philadelphia, Western, WesTech Replacement parts from different manufacturers can differ on many levels - from the material used, to the surface finish, to a part's heat treat. Production costs can be skimped on any of these characteristics, leading to an inferior product that may be more trouble than it was worth to install. Only by using Philadelphia Gear replacement parts can you guarantee that your new parts will provide the same quality afforded by the originals. Please note that Philadelphia Gear is the exclusive provider of Delaval, Western Gear and WesTech parts.
Synchrotorque® Technology Philadelphia Gear's Synchrotorque line includes hydroviscous drives for variable output speed and torque control, as well as clutching, braking and load absorbing. Products are available in horizontal and vertical configurations as both stand-alone assemblies or with built-in step-up or step-down gearing. Equipment enhanced by use with Synchrotorque include pumps, compressors, fans, conveyors, test stands, crusher drives, mill drives and marine propulsion drive trains.
Industry Associations
As a founding member of the American Gear Manufacturers Association (AGMA), Philadelphia Gear recognizes the value of industry associations - companies joining together to advance members' common interests and to create industry standards. Below you'll find links to many of the associations related to Philadelphia Gear and the power transmission industry.
• American Bearing Manufacturers Association
Formerly the Anti-Friction Bearing Manufacturers Association (AFBMA), the American Bearing Manufacturers Association (ABMA) was formed in 1917 as an informal committee to aid the U.S. production of bearings in World War I. Continuing that tradition, the ABMA has become the collective voice of the American bearing industry, influencing government policies and international trade. ABMA has developed more than 25 industry standards addressing insert bearings, tapered roller bearings, miniature/instrument bearings, linear motion bearings and more.
• American Gear Manufacturers Association
ANSI is a private, non-profit organization that administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. The Institute's mission is to enhance both the global competitiveness of U.S. business and the U.S. quality of life by promoting and facilitating voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems, and safeguarding their integrity.
• American National Standards Institute
ANSI is a private, non-profit organization that administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. The Institute's mission is to enhance both the global competitiveness of U.S. business and the U.S. quality of life by promoting and facilitating voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems, and safeguarding their integrity.
• American Petroleum Institute
The American Petroleum Institute is the primary trade association representing the oil and natural gas industry in the United States. Our membership includes more than 400 corporations involved in all aspects of the oil and gas industry including exploration and production; marine transportation; pipeline transportation; refining and marketing; and service and supply.
• American Shipbuilding Association
The American Shipbuilding Association (ASA) is the national trade association that represents America’s premier shipbuilders – the designers and producers of the safest and most technologically advanced ships in the world. Collectively, ASA member shipyards employ more than 90% of all the workers engaged in ship construction in the United States. Many of them are the largest private-sector employers in the states in which they operate. ASA also represents over 100 partner companies engaged in the design and manufacture of ship systems, components, technologies, equipment and in providing technical support services.
• American Society for Testing and Materials
ASTM International is a not-for-profit organization that provides a forum for the development and publication of voluntary consensus standards for materials, products, systems, and services. More than 20,000 members representing producers, users, ultimate consumers, and representatives of government and academia develop documents that serve as a basis for manufacturing, procurement, and regulatory activities.
• American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), today ASME International is a nonprofit educational and technical organization serving a worldwide membership of 125,000. ASME conducts one of the world's largest technical publishing operations, holds some 30 technical conferences and 200 professional development courses each year, and sets many industrial and manufacturing standards.
• American Society of Metals
The American Society of Metals (ASM) is the society for materials engineers and scientists; a worldwide network dedicated to advancing industry, technology and applications of metals and materials.
• Association of Iron & Steel Engineers
The Association of Iron and Steel Engineers is the largest member-based technical organization in the steel industry. Dedicated to the advancement of technical and engineering phases of the production and processing of iron and steel, the theme for the future is International Technology for World Competition.
• Heat Treating Society The Heat Treating Society
(HTS) is the premier society for heat treating professionals - comprised of members from the captive, commercial, supplier, research, manufacturer and customer sectors. The HTS has provided continuing education and industry support for more than 80 years.
• International Organization of Standardization
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from some 140 countries. ISO is a non-governmental organization, established to promote the development of standardization and related activities in the world with a view toward facilitating the international exchange of goods and services, and to developing cooperation in the spheres of intellectual, scientific, technological and economic activity. ISO's work results in international agreements, which are published as International Standards.
• Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration
The Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (SME) is an international society of professionals in the minerals industry. The SME membership is more than 13,000 strong, with members in nearly 100 countries. Since its inception in 1871, SME has continued to evolve over the years to stay abreast of industry changes and to reflect the ever-broadening interests of its members
Address
- 901 East 8th Avenue
- King of Prussia PA 19406 US
Contact
- Phone (toll free, 24 hrs/day - 7 days/wk): 800-766-5120
- Phone (local): 610-265-3000
- Fax: 610-337-5637
