Grafton company comes to the rescue for missing, 1,000-lb. bearing for Vietnamese project
Orion Corp. of Grafton recently manufactured and shipped a highly specialized component for a massive construction project in Vietnam, the Phu My Power Plant. The $480-million gas fired plant, located about 50 miles south of Ho Chi Minh City, is being developed by a consortium of French and Japanese power companies.
One of the major suppliers on the project, GE Power Systems, required a special bearing for the steam turbine that drives the plant’s generator. Project managers didn’t realize that the original bearing was lost, requiring a last-minute replacement. GE contacted Orion, which had supplied a similar bearing to the company about two years ago. Orion was given only two weeks to build and ship the replacement.
"We had supplied a similar product previously, and were willing to commit to an extremely short delivery interval of just two weeks," said Orion vice president of sales Gary Wegner. "Based on our past performance, they were confident that we could deliver within that tight schedule."
Given the complexity of the job, the two-week lead-time was very aggressive, Wegner said. The 1,000-lb., 24" long, 41.5" diameter cylindrical bearing was designed and built to extremely tight tolerances. The order was received late on the afternoon of Oct. 17, and shipped as promised exactly two weeks later on Oct. 31.
Orion supplies a broad selection of hydrodynamic bearings to manufacturers of turbines, electric motors, compressors, generators and other rotating machinery. The company sells its products in the United States, Europe and Asia. It employs 117 people at its Grafton corporate offices and manufacturing facility. The company also operates a smaller plant in
Columbus, Neb.
Dec. 12, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
