Jena Murphy sent me this, in celebration of Masoneilan's 125th Birthday last week:
A brief history of Masoneilan:During the 1880's, there was a transition from low pressure to high pressure steam, and new power plant operations were required. In 1885, a steam reducing valve was patented, followed in 1886 by a patent for a pump-pressure regulator. In 1890, William Mason developed a Hydraulic Servo Mechanism used originally as a damper regulator for controlling the combustion of steam boilers. This eliminated the old hand-controlled method in power plant practice. In 1893 and 1894, he patented the steam-admission slide valve for steam engines. The Mason Steam Pump was also developed in the 1890's.
In 1931, what was then the Mason Regulator Company, acquired the Neilan Company of California to keep up with the activity in the process industries such as petroleum, chemicals, paper and textiles.
Since 1931, Masoneilan has developed and improved four basic groups of products: indicating, transmitting, recording and/or controlling instruments, control valves, liquid level controllers and pressure regulating valves.
Over the course of the next 50 years and through the end of the 20th century, Masoneilan kept pace with process industry advancements by pioneering leading control valve technology. Some of Masoneilan's most significant innovations and industry firsts over this period include:
Universally accepted measure for valve capacity: Cv . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1944
Split-body valve for chemical service: Annin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1948
Highly reliable and cost effective spring & diaphragm actuators . . . . . . . .1955
Valves for the first nuclear generator power plant (Peach Bottom, PA.) . . .1958
Control equipment for Apollo space program ground installations . . . . . . .1964
Quick-change trim for top-entry globe valves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1967
First rotary globe valve (eccentric plug design: Camflex®) . . . . . . . . . . . . .1968
Valves in hydrogen service for the space shuttle program . . . . . . . . . . . . .1971
Low noise valves with Lo-dB® trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1975
Vaaler award 6 years in a row for best chemical industry technology . . . .1981
High pressure, axial flow liquid letdown valve: LincolnLog® . . . . . . . . . . . .1982
Actuator concept allowing easy adjustment of valve Cv: Varipak® . . . . . . .1984
Valves for energy management of compressible fluids: V-Log® . . . . . . . . .1998
Steam pressure reducing and desuperheating valves: SteamForm® . . . . .2002
Future vision of Masoneilan:
In 1985 Masoneilan was acquired by Dresser Industries and has since grown to become a global player in the control valve industry and Dresser's second largest business unit.
Today, there are significant process industry challenges as the world's growing economies accelerate the development of infrastructure and their consumption of energy while operating under increasingly complex trade barrier constraints, growing regulatory demands and increasing awareness of the need to protect our environment. These economic forces are combining to create new opportunities for Masoneilan and driving the development of new industrial processes such as gas to liquids conversion, coal gasification, biofuels, integrated gasification, combined cycle and many other exciting technologies.
With the breadth of products and services, unequaled global presence and advanced process control expertise, Masoneilan is uniquely positioned to be the leading provider of flexible, best fit control valve solutions.
The same pioneering spirit and commitment to excellence that has earned its current standing in the control valve industry will continue to serve as the foundation for the Company's future success.
