Tue, 09/24/2019 - 11:54

HOUSTON – Dover Precision Components, an integrated provider of performance-critical solutions for rotating and reciprocating machinery, will break ground on a new Innovation Lab Thursday, September 26. The nearly 12,000 square foot building is being constructed directly north of the company’s Pearland Operations at 11951 N. Spectrum Blvd., Houston, Texas. Technology is at the core of Dover Precision Components, and this capital investment represents an ongoing commitment to research and development. In particular, the Innovation Lab will centralize test rigs for hydrodynamic fluid film bearings and reciprocating compressor components previously housed in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, and Knoxville, Tennessee. These test rigs allow Waukesha Bearings and Cook Compression to validate designs and analytical methods and test products under demanding operating conditions. In addition, they equip R&D engineers to develop new application solutions. “Dover Precision Components prides itself on its long history of innovation,” commented Marcell Ulrichs, Dover Precision Components President, “because we know that our patents, design breakthroughs and material advances are not only establishing our industry leadership but also delivering customer success. This new Innovation Lab will further support the development of next-generation technologies in partnership with our customers.” The Innovation Lab capabilities will include performance testing of journal and thrust bearings with oil or process lubrication over a wide range of loads and speeds; damper design characterization and enhancement; performance and accelerated life cycle testing of reciprocating compressor components; flow characterization of compressor valves; dynamic testing of packing case leakage; competitive benchmarking; and advanced materials development. A groundbreaking ceremony for the Dover Precision Components Innovation Lab will be held Thursday, September 26. The Innovation Lab is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2020, with test rig commissioning to follow.