IMO Pump

Contact: Sales Manager

1009 Lenox Drive
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
U.S.

Phone: 609-844-7760
Fax: 609-844-7702

Website

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Imo: World Leader in Screw Pumps

Imo Pump is the largest worldwide manufacturer of rotary screw pumps, with five manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Europe.

Imo pumps are marketed in North America through 20 branch offices in the U.S. and Canada. The European operation maintains headquarters in Stockholm, with branches in France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. Pacific Rim headquarters are in Singapore, and the Latin American branch is in Venezuela. Sales efforts are supported by a global network of distributors and agents.

Imo's Monroe, North Carolina, plant was one of the first U.S. companies to earn ISO 9000 certification, the international designation of quality assurance. The Kentucky plant has since earned certification, as has the Stockholm facility.

"Imo" was coined by combining the first initials of the two men who founded the company. The "Mo" comes from Carl Montelius, the Swedish engineer who invented the three-screw pump in 1921. Montelius held more than 60 patents and was responsible for a long string of inventions, including the first pay telephone. The "I" in Imo is from Bengt Ingestrom, the entrepreneur who supplied the investment capital when the company was first organized in 1931, in Stockholm.

In 1986 the original Swedish company, was purchased by Imo Industries, which had been a licensee for many years.

The basic Imo pump has only three moving parts -- a power rotor and two idler rotors. The three intermeshing screws are self-lubricating and self-priming. As the screws rotate, the threads seal against each other and the casing, creating an enclosed chamber that moves the fluid through the pump at a constant speed. The simplicity of the design makes it very efficient and very reliable.

The precisely calculated curve of the screw threads eliminate pulsation and turbulence, which means that these pumps are extremely quiet, even when operating at high pressure and high speeds. In fact, you can stand beside an Imo pump when it's operating and you can barely hear it.

That makes them an ideal choice for applications such as U.S. Navy submarines, where silent operation is critical. We've built pumps that provide main hydraulic power for every submarine built since 1954, including the Nautilus, Trident and Sea Wolf classes.

The Navy uses Imo pumps throughout the fleet, from aircraft carriers and destroyers to tankers, frigates and landing ships. That's because of their proven record for predictable performance under difficult operating conditions at sea.

Imo pumps provide the main lubrication service to the ship's propulsion gears and prime movers, either turbines or diesel engines.

They are also used for handling fuel oil, from heavy bunker oil to light distillates.

Commercial marine applications -- from tankers and freighters to ocean liners and fishing boats -- are also an important part of our screw pumpbusiness. It's our largest market segment in Europe.

Imo's Warren unit is also a major supplier to the marine industry, both military and commercial. In fact, it would be hard find a single ship in the U.S. Navy or Merchant Marine that doesn't have at least one Warren pump aboard.

Warren make centrifugal pumps for engine room service, like single or multi-stage boiler feed pumps, seawater circulating pumps and bilge pumps. They also produce two-screw pumps and steam-powered reciprocating pumps for cargo loading and unloading.

Imo pumps are also widely used in many industrial applications.

* They provide main fuel injection pumps for gas turbine manufacturers like General Electric and Westinghouse;
* Pumps for the lubrication and cooling of bearings and gearboxes of production machinery;
* Pumps for the loading, unloading and transfer of petroleum products like asphalt and heavy crude oil.
* Seal oil and lubrication pumps for gas pipeline compressors.
* Hydraulic pumps used to drive presses, shears, and machine tools.

The unique performance capabilities of a three-screw pump make it an ideal choice for hydraulic elevators, which require smooth, quiet operation. Imo is by far the largest supplier of elevator pumps. Dover, the largest hydraulic elevator company, uses Imo pumps exclusively. Other elevator customers include Schindler, Otis and Montgomery. More than 100,000 elevators in operation today are equipped with Imo pumps.

Imo pumps are available in capacities up to 18,000 gallons per minute, and pressures up to 5,000 PSI. It's been estimated that we've produced more than two million three-screw pumps in the 60-odd years since the founding of Imo.

Imo is also a producer of two-screw pumps. Unlike three-screw pumps, which are self-lubricating, two-screw pumps have an independent lubrication system and external timing gears and bearings.

Designed primarily for crude oil transport and the loading and unloading of oil and chemical tankers, two-screw pumps can handle a variety of fluids, from heavy asphalt to water.

Imo's Warren unit has been especially successful in designing two-screw pumps that meet demanding customer requirements -- pressures up to 1850 PSI, temperatures as high at 750 degrees F., and viscosities up to 10 million centipoise -- a liquid that flows about like hot roofing tar on a cold winter day.

In addition to using standard iron and bronze materials, Warren routinely produces pumps of stainless steel, hasteloy and other exotic metals. They've built a reputation for producing pumps that are durable and reliable under the most severe conditions and in the most hostile environments.

Warren is also the leading supplier of two-screw pumps to pulp and paper industry. They recently introduced a new "Elevated Consistency" model that allows pulp mill operators to significantly increase their production, while cutting operating costs by as much as $1.5 million per year.

Imo also produces crescent internal gear pumps, in sizes ranging from 1 to 113 GPM, with pressure ratings as high at 6000 PSI. CIG pumps are used in fuel oil service and in manufacturing processes that require precise fluid power control and high pressures, such as die casting, injection molding, extrusion equipment, machine tools and material handling.

Imo Pump is a business unit of Imo Industries, Inc. is a diversified, global manufacturer whose products also include fluid sensors, motion control products, and remote control systems. It is listed on the NYSE as Imoind (IMD).

3-screw pumps- Three screw pumps are the largest class of multiple screw pumps in service today. They are commonly used for machinery lubrication, hydraulic elevators, fuel oil transport and burner service, powering hydraulic machinery and in refinery processes for high temperature viscous products such as asphalt, vacuum tower bottoms and residual fuel oils. Three screw pumps also find extensive use in crude oil pipeline service as well as gathering, boosting and loading of barges and ships. They are common in engine rooms on most of the world's commercial marine vessels and many combat ships. Flow rates are available from 1 to 3300 GPM (4 to 13,250 L/M) or for operating pressures to 4500 PSIG (310 BAR). Subject to material selection limitations, three screw pumps are also used for polymer pumping in the manufacture of synthetic fibers such as nylon and lycra. Designs are now available in sealless configurations such as magnetic drives and canned arrangements. The magnetic drive screw pump is used extensively for pumping isocyanate, a plastic component which is an extremely difficult fluid to seal using conventional technology. Pumps are also now available in sealless canned configurations. Three screw pumps are renowned for their low noise levels, high reliability and long life.  Three screw pumps are capable of water injection services (Tritec) as well as high pressure coolant service for machine tools (Emtec) For more information, click here.


2-screw pumps- Generally, two screw or twin screw pumps are more costly to produce than three screw pumps and thus are not in as extensive use. They can, however, handle applications that are well beyond many other types of pumps including three screw designs. Twin screw pumps are especially suited to very low available inlet pressure applications especially if the required flow rates are high. Services similar to three screw pumps include crude oil pipelining, refining,  hot, viscous product processing, synthetic fiber processing, barge unloading, fuel oil burner and transfer as well as unique applications such as adhesive manufacture, nitrocellulose explosive processing, high water cut crude oil, multiphase (gas/oil mixtures) pumping, light oil flush of hot process pumping, cargo off-loading with ballast water as one of the fluids, tank stripping service where air content can be high and paper pulp production needing to pump over about 10% solids. Materials of construction range from cast irons and steel through stainless steels, hardened rotors and hard face inlays and coatings. Most twin screw pumps are made-to-order and can provide extensive customization where required by customer needs. For more information, click here.


Gear pumps- CIG (Crescent Internal Gear) pumps are produced primarily for fluid power applications and aircraft fuel test stands. They are available in multiple stages for very high pressure or moderate pressure on very low viscosity fuels. Pumps are also available in double pump configurations which share a common inlet port but deliver two independent flows for supporting multiple machine functions. The patented tooth profile of CIG pumps avoids trapping fluid. The result is a very low pulsation, extremely quiet high efficiency pump. Single pumps are available in 54 different models and double pumps in over 1300 different combinations. Single pump flow rates from 1 to 125 GPM ( 4 to 475 L/M) with continuous pressure ratings to 5000 PSIG (345 BAR).  For more information, click here.

Navy/Marine pumps- Imo supplies 3-screw pumps for engine room services such as fuel oil transfer, boost, stripping and burner. Fuels handled, range from heavy bunker fuels to light jet fuels. Imo pumps are also manufactured for lubrication service for diesel engines, gas and steam turbines, reduction gearing, generator sets, blowers and other similar equipment. Pumps can be supplied to commercial marine standards or to full military specifications including US Navy shock, vibration and noise requirements.

Imo Pump's Warren facility manufactures both commercial marine and full combat ship capable centrifugal pumps for services that include all seawater applications as well as fresh, chilled, condensate, feed and potable water for Navy and Commercial Marine vessels.  Warren also supplies centrifugal pumps for cargo oil as well as ballast applications.  Composite centrifugal pump parts manufactured from Simsite are also supplied to the US Navy.  For more information, click here.

Centrifugal Pumps Imo Pump supplies Allweiler brand centrifugal and propellor pumps manufactured in the Allweiler facility in Germany. Vertical lubricating oil tank-mount pumps, hot oil pumps and large flow propellor pumps are manufactured in accordance with Quality Assurance Management Systems approved to ISO 9000 standards.