Pump History Timeline
The pumps that we know today have been developed from centuries of research, dating all the way back to 2000BC when the Egyptians made the shadoof.
They have advanced incredibly since then, with thousands of pumps now available for an infinite amount of applications.
TF Pump Supplies & Services LTD have put together the timeline below as a walkthrough of the history of our beloved pumps.
2000-3000 BC
The Mesopotamia Empire & Egyptians invent the shadoof to raise water. It uses a long suspended rod with a bucket at one end and a counter weight at the other.
200 BC
The Greek inventor and mathematician Ctesibius invents the water organ, an air pump with valves on the bottom, a tank of water in between them and a row of pipes on top. This is the principal design that is now known as the reciprocating pump.
Archimedean screw pump (Auger) is designed by Archimedes. It is considered one of the greatest inventions of all time and is still in use today for pumping liquids, think sluuries and granulated solids in both the industrialized world and in the third world - It is a preferred way to irrigate agricultural fields without electrical pumps.
1475
Reti, a Brazilian soldier and historian of science, documented the first machine that could be characterized as a centrifugal pump. It was a mud lifting machine that appeared in a treatise by the Italian Renaissance engineer Francesco di Giorgio Martini.
1588
Sliding vane water pump technology is described by Italian engineer Agostino Ramelli in his book “The Diverse and Artifactitious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli,” which also included other pump and engine designs.
1593
Frenchman Nicolas Grollier de Servière creates an early design for a gear pump.
1636
Pappenheim, a German engineer, invents the double deep-toothed rotary gear pump, which is still used to lubricate engines. This gear pump made it possible to dispense with the reciprocating slide valves used by Ramelli. Pappenheim drove his machine by an overshot water wheel set in motion by a stream and was used to feed water fountains. The emperor Ferdinand II granted him a “privilege” - the equivalent of a patent - in respect of this invention.
1675
Sir Samuel Moreland—an English academic, diplomat, spy, inventor and mathematician—patents the packed plunger pump, capable of raising great quantities of water with far less proportion of strength than a chain or other pump. The piston had a leather seal. Moreland's pump may have been the first use of a piston rod and stuffing box (packed in a cylinder) to displace water.
1687
French-born inventor Denis Papin develops the first true centrifugal pump, one with straight vanes used for local drainage.
1738
In fluid dynamics, Bernoulli's principle states that for an inviscid flow, an increase in the speed of the fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure or a decrease in the fluid's potential energy. It is named after the Dutch-Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli, who published it in a book “Hydrodynamica.” The principle is applied to various types of fluid flow and is loosely known as Bernoulli's equation.
1782
Scottish inventor James Watt—who invented the steam engine's connecting rod crank mechanism, which made it possible to convert the piston's reciprocating motion into rotary motion—designs an oscillating piston machine in which a wing-shaped rotary blade made a near complete revolution uncovering inlet ports in a chamber separated by a curved radial wall.
1790
English inventor Thomas Simpson harnesses steam power to pumping engines for municipal water applications and founds the London company Simpson and Thompson Co. (predecessor to Worthington Simpson).
1830
Modern screw pump is invented by Revillion.
1845
Henry R. Worthington invents the first direct-acting steam pumping engine. Worthington Pump designed its first products to power canal boats and U.S. naval vessels. Worthington later pioneered pump designs for boiler feed, oil pipeline and hydro-electric applications.
1848
In Seneca Falls, New York, Seabury S. Gould purchases the interests of Edward Mynderse and H.C. Silsby in Downs, Mynderse & Co., forming Downs & Co., later known as Goulds Manufacturing Company.
1849
Goulds casts and assembles the world's first all-metal pump.
1851
British inventor John Appold introduces the curved vane centrifugal pump, improving the efficiency of centrifugal pumps. John Gwynne registered a patent for his first centrifugal pump, using this curved vane impeller design.
John Gwynne early pumps were used primarily for land drainage, and many can still be seen today in pump house museums. They were usually powered by Gwynnes' steam engines. By the end of the 19th century, Gwynne was producing pumps of all sizes to cover all industrial applications, from small electric pumps to those rated at 1,000 tons per minute. His company had also begun to produce scientific pumps, e.g., porcelain pumps for chemical works. In the 1930s they were producing almost 1,000 different models.
1857
Worthington produces the first horizontal, duplex, direct-acting steam pumps for boiler feed applications.
1859
Jacob Edson invents the diaphragm pump and founds the Edson Corporation in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
1860
Adam Cameron founds the Cameron Steam Pump Works, and becomes another pioneer in reciprocating steam pump engines. Like Worthington, Cameron's first products were used to power merchant marine and U.S. naval vessels. Cameron pumps were later applied in water resources, oil pipeline and refining and boiler feed.
1868
Stork Pompen of Hengelo, Netherlands, pioneers the concrete volute pump for water drainage.
1869
Downs & Company changes its name to Goulds Manufacturing Company.
1870
UK Professor Osborne Reynolds develops an original design of a centrifugal pump.
1871
Two brothers, James and George Weir, founded the engineering firm of G & J Weir, joining the booming industrial scene in the west of Scotland. It was the height of the great Victorian era of industrial innovation and the Weir brothers, descendants of Robert Burns, produced their own ground-breaking inventions in pumping equipment – primarily for the world famous Clyde shipyards and the steam ships being built there.
Johannes Klein receives a patent on his “boiler feed apparatus.” With Friedrich Schanzlin and Jakob Becker, he founds the company “Frankenthaler Maschinen- & Armatur-Fabrik Klein, Schanzlin & Becker” (now known as KSB) to manufacture boiler feed equipment and valves.
1872
Wilo SE is a European manufacturer of pumps and pump systems for the building technology, water and industrial sectors with headquarters in Dortmund, Germany.
1874
Charles Barnes of New Brunswick invents the vane pump.
Wilson-Snyder grows into the premier line of slurry, pipeline and refinery pumps.
Gotthard Allweiler invents and produces a series of hand wing pumps.
1886
Jens Nielsen, founder of Viking Pump Company, invents the internal gear pumping principal while designing a pump to remove excess water that was seeping into his limestone quarry from a nearby creek.
United Centrifugal Pumps is incorporated. It becomes the world's foremost supplier of high-pressure crude oil and refined product pipeline pumps.
1897
Preston K. Wood makes the first deep well turbine pump in Los Angeles, California.
1899
Robert Blackmer develops rotary vane pump technology, a pump design that was an important departure from the old gear principle and predecessor to today's sliding vane pumps.
1901
Byron Jackson develops the first deep well vertical turbine pump.
1902
Aldrich Pump Company begins manufacturing the world's first line of reciprocating positive displacement pumps for steel mills and mine dewatering.
1904
Jens Nielsen enlists George “Shorty” Mathes to construct his gear pump design.
1905
Multistage centrifugal pumps are developed.
Two Goulds triplex pumps are installed in the New York Times building, accomplishing the highest lift of water to date—387 feet, 6 inches.
George Cook founded the ‘Cook Sealing Company’ in the USA. It is thought to be the first known company to develop & design a mechanical seal, originally referred to as the ‘Cook Seal’. Mechanical seals are widely used today for the sealing of a wide range of different pump designs & technologies.
1906
André Petit invents the eccentric disc pump and starts his company, Mouvex, in Paris.
1908
Western Land Roller pioneers the design and manufacture of irrigation pumps.
Hayward Tyler creates its first electric motor for use under water and develops the wet stator motor for use as a boiler circulation glandless motor-pump.
1909
Howard Pneumatic Engineering is Established in Tothill Street, Westminster, subsequently leading to the invention & production of the first cast iron rotary lobe pumps, later know as ‘The Howard Pump Company’.
1910
Lewis H. Nash files the first U.S. patent for liquid ring vacuum pumps and compressors.
1911
Jens Nielsen builds the first internal gear pump, founding the Viking Pump Company. The Viking Rotary “Gear-Within-A-Gear” pump (the first of its kind) is placed on the market.
1912
Durion, a universally corrosion-resistant material, is invented by the Duriron Castings Company (later known as Durco Pump) and is applied to process equipment.
The Ebara Corporation traces its origins to the foundation of the Inokuty Type Machinery Office. Priding itself in delivering customer service & superior solutions to engineering problems, Ebara has evolved into a world leading producer of environmental and industrial machinery. Developing & inspiring industry standard’s ranging from pumps to blowers, chillers and waste water machinery.
SPX was established, originally trading as the ’Piston Ring Company’. In 1988 the company changed its name to SPX corporation.
1913
Inventor and engineer Albert Baldwin Wood invents the Wood screw pump.
1915
Viking Pump Company wins the Panama Pacific Award for the development of the internal gear design.
Albert Baldwin Wood invents the Wood trash pump. Wood spearheads the reclamation from swamp and the efforts to develop much of the land now occupied by the city of New Orleans. Some of Wood's pumps have been in continuous use for more than 80 years without need of repairs. New ones continue to be built from his designs.
1916
Aldrich produces the first direct motor-driven reciprocating pump.
Armais Sergeevich Arutunoff invents the first submersible pumps in Russia. Arutunoff first designed his pumps for use in ships, water wells and mines. He altered the design to work in oil wells. Thanks to further refinements to Arutunoff's design, there are more types of submersible pumps, allowing use in other applications such as pumping drinking water, creating fountains and pumping wastewater.
The first DORRCOTM Suction Pump is built by Dorr-Oliver Pump Company for the mineral process industry.
1917
Hydraulic Institute is established.
Louis Bergeron invents the concrete volute pump and founds Bergeron S.A.
1918
Byron Jackson produces the first hot oil pumps for the petroleum industry.
1920
Viking builds its first domestic oil burner pump using a mechanical seal.
1921
Harry LaBour founds LaBour Pump Company. A pioneer in the development of pumps for the chemical industry, LaBour developed corrosion-resistant alloys to incorporate into his pumps. Until his time, sulfuric acid was always pumped with lead pumps, the only known material that could handle certain concentrations of the acid.
Jeumont-Schneider begins manufacturing water and slurry transfer pumps in Jeumont, France. It later develops solids-handling pumps and segmental ring section multistage pumps.
Dorr-Oliver Pump Company develops the OLIVITE series of centrifugal pumps for slurry transfer.
1923
Byron Jackson demonstrates the first use of centrifugal pumps for oil pipeline and the first automatic booster station.
Ruthman Companies designs the world’s first seal-less vertical pump.
1924
Durco Pump introduces the world's first pump specifically designed for chemical transfer. It would go on to establish undisputed global leadership in ANSI B73.1 pump design.
1926
Pacific Pump Company produces the first hot oil double casing pump.
Brothers, Russell and Leil Gray, incorporated ‘Gray Company’, to be changed in the late 1960’s to Graco Incorporated. Now one of the largest manufacturers of air driven double diaphragm pumps & piston pumps in the world.
O.H. Dorer files a patent for the first inducer to be used with centrifugal pumps, which reduces the required NPSH (Net Positive Suction Head). Inducers did not become incorporated into standard pump lines until the 1960’s.
1927
Viking introduces a line of hazardous liquid pumps for use in the fuel oil market.
Aldrich produces the first variable stroke multi-cylinder reciprocating pump.
1928
Worthington-Simpson produces the world's largest steam-driven pumping engine for municipal water supply.
Girdlestone Pumps was established in Woodbridge, England. Later to be bought our by Warman Pumps & then the Weir Group.
1929
Pleuger incorporates in Berlin, Germany. Its first offerings are submersible motor pumps for dewatering in the construction of underground railways and subways. Pleuger pioneers the first successful application of submersible motor pumps in offshore service.
Byron Jackson uses the first double casing feed pump in a power plant.
Stork Pompen produces the first concrete volute pump for drainage, integrating the pump housing in the civil construction of the pumping station.
1930
While inventing a compressor for jet engines, aviation pioneer René Moineau discovers that this principle could also work as a pumping system.The University of Paris awarded Moineau a doctorate of science for his thesis on “the new capsulism.” His pioneering dissertation laid the groundwork for the progressing cavity pump.
1932
PCM was founded in 1932 by the inventor of the Moineau progressing cavity pump, René Moineau. Non-pulsating and respectful (low shearing), the Moineau™ pump is ideal for products that require a constant flow, regardless fluids viscosity or pressure.
1933
The original version of the Bush Pump is designed as a closed-top cylinder pump. In 1960 the design was modernized. The base of the well was from then on bolted to the well casing and got its current name, The Zimbabwe Bush Pump, the National Standard for hand pumps in Zimbabwe. After Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, the government creates its own modernized version of the pump, B-type Zimbabwe Bush Pump. The pump is today regarded as a national treasure. In 1997, it was pictured on a postal stamp.
1933
J.C. Gorman and Herb Rupp introduce a pump with a “non-clogging” feature. It outperforms any other self-priming centrifugal pump previously invented. The company Gorman-Rupp is established.
1934
Armstrong was incorporated in 1934 under the leadership of Samuel Allan Armstrong.
1935
Mono Pumps was formed in London and granted one of 4 original licenses for the progressing cavity pump. Mono entered into an engineering agreement with J & E Arnfield to manufacture the first range of “A” and “C” pumps.
1936
Robert Sheen invents the metering pump. The core of his invention was a method of controlled volume that was inherent to the pump. The first pumps were assembled in the basement of his father, Milton Roy Sheen's, home, where the initial patterns for castings were made.
Robbins & Myers acquires the North American license for the Moineau progressing cavity pump and brands it with the name Moyno.
1937
IDP produces the first radially split, pull-from-the-rear process pump.
Worthington produces the world's first hydraulic decoking systems.
1937-1939
Smith Precision Products Company (Smith Pumps) designs three pumps, two of which (models 300 and 200) were specifically designed for LP-gas transfer.
1938
Ebsray and Warman International was established.
1939
Durco invents Alloy 20, which is the standard industrial material for corrosive surfaces.
Dorr-Oliver Pump Company develops the Oliver Diaphragm Slurry pump for slurry transfer. Originally designed for mining slurry transfer with their associated acids, it developed into a Primary Sludge Underflow Pump for the wastewater industry starting in the 1970s after the Clean Water Act.
Smith Precision Products Company develops the first liquefied gas transfer pump for LP-gas.
1940
Howard Pump Company Ltd is established in Eastbourne, UK. With the idea to produce the world’s first stainless steel rotary lobe pump.
Reuben Smith, of Smith Precision Products Company (Smith Pumps), receives the first approval for an LP-gas pump from the California Industrial Accident Commission. This was for the model 4X pump and the approval was a "suitable for use" certificate.
1941
British Pump Manufacturers Association is founded.
1942
The Gorman-Rupp team creates the first commercially available solids-handling trash pump to respond to the contractor's need for a pump to withstand the considerable rigors of pumping out trash-laden septic tanks, cesspools and outhouses.
1944
During World War II, Gould’s extra-quiet trim pumps are installed in every U.S. Navy submarine. That year, 157 Gould’s men went to war and 157 women took their places on the Gould’s manufacturing floor. Gould’s earned the prestigious Army-Navy “E” Award that year for outstanding production of war materials.
1945
Grundfos was establish in Bjerringbro, Denmark, Today Grundfos is one of the largest manufacturers of centrifugal pumps.
1946
Established by Charles & Geoffrey Howard (Hydraulic & Mechanical Developments) HMD Seal/Less Pumps Ltd, Eastbourne, UK invents and engineers the world's first magnet drive centrifugal pump, to pump Dowtherm thermal oil at 300 degree C for Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI).
The Howard family had a great influence on pump development & manufacturing heritage in around the Eastbourne/East Sussex Area of England, At one point there was over 14 individual pump manufacturers in this area, producing rotary lobe, gear & magnetic drive pumps. Some of these companies are still in production today, but past names include Global Pumps, Brown Pumps and IBEX Pump.
1947
Flygt's Sixten Englesson, a master of engineering, develops a prototype for the first submersible drainage pump, which is later known as the “parrot cage,” or B-pump, used in mining for construction.
1948
Smith Precision Products Company receives the patent for the first mechanical seal supplied for liquefied gas transfer pumps. It was first put into production in 1947.
1950
Vanton develops the Flex-i-liner sealless self-priming rotary pump which handles corrosive, abrasive and viscous fluids as well as those that must be transferred free of product contamination.
1954
World’s first atomic-powered submarine is equipped with Ingersoll-Rand boiler-feed pumps and compressors.
Blackmer invents and manufactures a positive displacement pump for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
1954
Smith Precision Products Company (Smith Pumps) begins working with the Underwriters Laboratories to develop their first Standard for liquefied gas pumps, UL-51, which is still in use today.
Worthington produces the world's first high speed (9,000 rpm) boiler feed pumps.
1955
Jim Wilden invents the air-operated double-diaphragm (AODD) pump technology.
1956
Sixten Englesson develops for Stenberg-Flygt AB the submersible sewage pump, called the C-pump, with a discharge connection and level regulator.
Smith & Loveless engineer Frank Weis develops the water industry's first true solids handling, non-clog pump.
1957
Ruhrpumpen Gmbh begins the production of process pumps under the license of Pacific.
1958
In 1958 Reg Lee & other ex-employees of the Howard Pump Company founded ‘Stainless Steel Pumps Ltd’, developing the first range of stainless steel rotary lobe pumps. When other materials of construction began to be used, other than stainless steel the name of the company was changed to SSP Pumps Ltd.
In 1987 SSP Pumps Ltd was acquired by the Alfa Laval organisation. In the early days ‘Stainless Steel Pumps Ltd’ had a close working relationship with IBEX engineering, which subsequently lead to the establishment of IBEX Pumps Ltd.
1959
Viking Pump Company launches abrasive liquid heavy-duty pumps and handles the printing ink for more than half of the major U.S. newspapers.
1960s
New lines of industrial pumps are developed by Goulds Pumps, including large double suction pumps, higher pressure pumps and non-metallic pumps. In home water systems, the jet water system is improved and a complete line of submersible pumps is completed.
1960
Europump is established.
Development of GIW trademark GASITE hard iron for longer wearing pumps and parts.
Hydraulic Slide Rule invented and copyTLrighted by GIW vice president and inventor Danforth Hagler.
1962
Sundstrand develops the first Sundyne high-speed centrifugal pump and sells it to Shell Chemical.
Grundfos places the first circulator pump into the market with variable speed regulation.
1964
In cooperation with German chemical companies, KSB develops the CPK standardized chemical pump series to satisfy a newly-published standard.
1965
Warren Rupp's heavy-duty, diverse AODD pump is introduced to the industrial market to address the vigorous demands of the steel mills and other industrial market applications.
1968
Durco produces the first fully-lined PTFE chemical processing pump.
Gorman-Rupp produces the first fiberglass, below-ground, factory-built sewage pumping station.
The ownership of Stenberg-Flygt AB is transferred to the American multinational enterprise ITT (International Telephone & Telegraph Corporation). Prior to this transfer, Stenberg-Flygt AB, AB Flygts Pumpar and Flygt International AB are consolidated as a single company.
Lowara was established in Montecchio, Vincenza in Italy, serving customers and users of centrifugal pumps for over 50 years. Lowara is a recognized world leader in stainless steel pump manufacturing technology ranging through turbine, centrifugal and submersible pumps. Lowara pumps are manufactured in AISI 304 and 316 fabricated stainless steel using laser technology for a diverse range of markets, including commercial, building service, industrial, agricultural, and domestic. The range of pumps includes vertical multi stage, in-line, end suction close coupled, peripheral turbine, small horizontal multi stage, jet, submersible bore hole, drainage and de-watering pumps, as well as booster and domestic pressure systems.
1969
Mouvex launches the first sealless rotary pump not based on magnets.
Gusher designs the 7800 series for the filter & washer industry.
1970s
Viking introduces spur gear line of pumps, which is the company's largest selling OEM pump.
Gorman-Rupp invents the bellows-metering pump and the oscillating pump, while the Mansfield Division acquires the Roto-Prime pump.
1970
Plenty Limited was established, in Newbury England, manufacturing pumps, mixers & valves. In 2001 Plenty was purchased by SPX.
Smith & Loveless engineer Frank Weis designs the first-ever above-grade sewage pump lift station.
1971
Gusher develops a purge hole system that enabled pumps to handle up to 30 to 40 percent entrained air.
1973
Frank Weis pioneers the first-ever vortex grit removal system for wastewater treatment plants.
1979
Gusher develops multistage pumps for higher pressures required by the machine tool industry and the worlds first top pull-out pump.
1980s
Viking introduces the Universal Seal and Viking Mag Drive lines of internal gear pumps—both the first of their kind in the industry.
Gorman-Rupp unveils the nutating pump, a special purpose small pump used in health care applications; additional energy-efficient, self-priming centrifugal pumps; a series of lightweight portable pumps and high-pressure pumps with the first digital-control panels.
Electronic controls enter the industry to make pumps more energy efficient.
GIW develops wear modeling technology for predicting pump performance.
1984
First Texas A&M Pump Users Symposium is held.
Scienco produces the first specialized positive displacement pumps specifically designed for agricultural applications.
1985
Sims manufactures the first structural composite pump, all Simsite Vertical Pit Pump. Sims later won the Innovative Product Award for these products in 1990.
1987
Apex Fluid Engineering Ltd was established in Bristol, England manufacturing wide range of centrifugal pumps.
1989
Sier-Bath incorporates the first application of multiphase pumps in paper stock.
1990s
First hard metal slurry pump for hydraulic transport of oil sands tallings.
1993
DESMI acquired the pump division, Thrige Pumper, from Thrige Titan A/S in Odense. The purchase of Thrige Pumper also included their German subsidiary, Rotan.
1994
Two new major products are introduced by Goulds Pumps, the Industrial Model 3298 Magnetic Drive Pump and the Water Technologies Model GS “Global Submersible.”
Sims receives the honor of approval from the United States Navy for composite centrifugal pump intervals. Simsite was tested and qualified for centrifugal pump replacement parts and was the first composite to be certified.
Baha Abulnaga invents the slurry and froth pump with a split vane impeller. The split impeller helps to reduce recirculation in slurry pumps by dividing the space between the main vanes without reducing the passageway at the narrowest point, which is the eye of the impeller. In froth pumps, it helps to break up air bubbles that form and tend to block the flow.
1995
Sims manufactures the largest structural composite pumps in the world - two Simsite vertical turbine pumps for Potomac Electric Power Company. They are 40 feet long and 3 feet in diameter.
1997
ITT Industries acquires Gould’s Pumps, making ITT the world's largest pump company.
Flowserve heritage dates back to the 1790 founding of Simpson & Thompson by Thomas Simpson, later to become Worthington Simpson Pumps, one of the companies that became part of BW/IP. The company was created in 1997 with the merger of two fluid motion and control companies: BW/IP and Durco International.
Acquisitions include HydroTechnik Olomouc in 2006, Sealing Systems in 2007, Calder AG in 2009 and Valbart Srl in 2010. In October 2011 Flowserve acquired Lawrence Pumps Inc. In March 2013 acquired a manufacturing plant from L&T Valves situated in Maraimalainagar, Tamil Nadu. In 2015 Flowserve acquired SIHI.
1998
Enviroflex Pumps Ltd was established as a bespoke manufacturer of peristaltic hose pumps.
1999
PumpSmart is introduced at the ChemShow in New York.
2000s
Computer designed LCC rubber-lined pump introduced to the market by GIW.
Innovated “slurry diverter” developed by GIW to improve wear.
2001
Flowserve introduces its MSP (medium speed pump) with variable frequency drive.
KSB presents the first "intelligent" submersible motor pump. Ama-Porter ICS is sensor-controlled and needs no float switches.
2002
Siemens (elmo division, liquid ring pumps) merges with Nash.
Sims introduces the first structural composite vertical in-line pumps.
Amarinth Pumps Ltd was established by a consortium of ex-employees from Girdlestone Pumps. With a wealth of pump knowledge, they successfully manufacturer a range of centrifugal pumps.
2003
Sims becomes the first company to have composite pumps and baseplates, shock and vibration qualified by the United States Navy.
2006
Sims manufactures the largest structural composite centrifugal impeller in the world. This huge impeller was installed in a cooling tower pump for Puerto Rican Electrical Power Company. It is 50 inches in diameter and consumes 2,000 horsepower.
Allweiler designs and produces a high-tech EMTEC-A pump designed specifically for moving emulsions and cooling lubricants.
2008
Dover Corporation creates The Pump Solutions Group, a conglomeration of Wilden, Blackmer, Mouvex, Neptune, Almatec and Griswold pump companies.
2010
Sims designs and engineers the first structural composite anti-heeling pump manufactured for NCL Cruise lines.
2011
ITT Corporations spins off into three separately traded companies, one of which creating ‘Xylem Inc’, the world’s largest water technology company at the time.
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