Blackmer Pioneering History

The Blackmer® reputation for unparalleled product performance, superior service and support, innovation, and a commitment to total customer satisfaction have been a driving factor in the ethos of our organization for 120 years. The company was founded in Petoskey, Michigan and moved to Grand Rapids in 1925. We are devoted to the people, partners, and the products that have allowed Blackmer go above and beyond with our passionate commitment to innovative technologies that positively impact the world.

Before the turn of the 20th century, a rotary pump was generally understood to be a "gear pump," consisting primarily of two meshing gears which trapped liquid between the gear teeth and the pump housing creating small sealing cavities that transported fluid as it rotated, forcing the liquid out the other side. But in 1899 R. M. Blackmer came up with a vane-type pump design that was an important departure from the old gear principle. In contrast to the flow rate from a gear pump that drops steadily as the gear teeth wear away, the loss from a vane-type pump is practically negligible. As the vanes wear away at the tips, they simply move further out of the rotor slots to self-adjust and maintain the original rate.

Blackmer couldn't have picked a better time to invent this ingenious type of pump. The advent of the automobile was giving the country a new thirst for gasoline and oil. The petroleum industry was growing by giant strides and the young firm was prepared to expand with it. The original Blackmer vane pump has fathered a family of hundreds of different pump models.

Today, Blackmer markets these pumps along with other fluid and gas technologies worldwide into a multitude of applications within the Chemical, Energy, Transport, Military, Marine, General Industrial and Oil and Gas.

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1899

Robert Blackmer invents new rotary vane pump technology that is the predecessor to today's sliding vane pumps.

1903

Blackmer incorporates the Blackmer Pump, Power and Manufacturing Company in Petoskey, MI.

1914

Blackmer becomes supplier to U.S. military.

1925

Blackmer relocates to Grand Rapids, MI, where its headquarters remain to this day.

1950

Blackmer introduces integral mechanical seal.

1954

Blackmer designs first liquefied gas pumps and produces first sliding-vane LPG pump.

1964

Company is purchased by the Dover Corporation.

1968

Non-galling stainless steel pump introduced.

1980

First Blackmer reciprocating compressor introduced to the product line.

1987

ML4 pump introduced and outperforms gear pumps in viscous, high pressure applications.

1990

HD industrial compressors introduced.

1991

Company name changed from 'Blackmer Pump' to 'Blackmer' to reflect growing product line and single focused branding. Seal-less pumps introduced.

1993

Grand Rapids plant earns ISO-9001 certification.

1996

Purchased Hammond Engineering, a rotary vane compressor, hydraulic cooler, and screw compressor manufacturer in England.

2000

Acquires System One Pumps, an industry defining centrifugal pump that forced other competitive products to upgrade their pump designs.

2008

Blackmer joins Dover Corporation's newly formed PSG™. Blackmer™ becomes an independent operating company within PSG. Other member companies include Wilden, Neptune, Almatec, Mouvex, Ebsray, Abaque and Griswold.

2021

Blackmer started a massive construction project to add 56,000 square feet of new office, R&D, and manufacturing space.

2023

Blackmer celebrates 120 years as a leader in innovation and product performance for pumps across a wide array of industrial applications.

2023

Blackmer completed its construction project while celebrating our 120 years as a leader in innovation and product performance for pumps across a wide array of industrial applications.