Blackmer Celebrates 115 Years in the Pump Industry

This milestone is a tribute to the people, partners, and the products that have allowed Blackmer to go above and beyond its passionate commitment to innovative technologies that positively impact the world.

"Through our 115-year history, Blackmer has made a commitment to providing unparalleled product performance, superior service and support, innovation, and a commitment to total customer satisfaction," said Bob Lauson, Blackmer General Manager. "It is this commitment that has made Blackmer one of the market leaders in our industry. Celebrating 115 years in business is a testament to the dedication shown by both our employees and channel partners."

Blackmer started in 1899 when Robert Blackmer was hard at work trying to develop a more reliable, efficient alternative to the rotary gear pumps that were a prevalent pumping technology at the time. Little did he know that what he created that year – a new rotary, self-compensating pumping principle – would become the predecessor to today’s sliding vane pumps and continue to set the standard in reliable, efficient, sustainable and cost-effective pumping performance more than century later.

In 1903, a few years after the invention of the new positive displacement rotary vane pump, Blackmer founded the Blackmer Pump, Power and Manufacturing Company in Petoskey, MI, USA, where it remained until 1925 when it relocated to Grand Rapids, MI. Today, Blackmer is a global leader in sliding vane, regenerative turbine, screw, and centrifugal pumps, and reciprocating compressors for a multitude of applications within the Process, Energy, Transport and Military & Marine markets. Blackmer remains committed to developing new pumps and flow-control system platforms that not only provide solutions for today’s applications, but also tackle the challenges of our time: emerging economies, population growth, resource scarcity and energy consumption, to name a few.