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 process, energy, transport and military & Marine markets. 

The following is a timeline of  Blackmer's first 100+ years...

1899- Robert Blackmer invents first rotary vane pump.

1903- Company incorporates in Petosky, MI USA as the Blackmer Pump, Power and Manufacturing Company.

1914- Blackmer becomes supplier to U.S. military.

1915- Blackmer launches it's truck-mounted pump.

1925- Blackmer relocates to Grand Rapids, MI and establishes a captive foundry.

1950- Integral mechanical seal pump introduced.

1954- First practical positive-displacement liquefied gas pumps developed. First sliding vane LPG pump produced.

1964- Company is purchased by the Dover Corporation. Blackmer continues to operate as an independent unit of Dover.

1968- Non-galling stainless steel pump introduced.

1980- First Blackmer reciprocating compressor introduced in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma by the Compressor Division.

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.

1992- Purchased new plant in Oklahoma City for Compressor Division.

1993- Grand Rapids plant earns ISO-9001 certification.

1995- Oklahoma City plant earns ISO-9001 certification.

1996- Purchased Hammond Engineering, a rotary vane compressor, hydraulic cooler, and screw compressor manufacturer in England. 

1997- Purchased Mouvex, a French manufacturer of eccentric movement and vane pumps, plus rotary vane and screw compressors. Purchased Abaque, a French manufacturer of peristaltic (hose) pumps.

2000- Acquires System One Pumps, an industry defining centrifugal pump that forced other competitive products to upgrade their pump designs.

2005-Introduces innovative ProVane© Motor Speed Vane Pump, the most advanced sliding vane pump in the world.

2006-Opens new manufacturing facility in Ostrava, Czech Republic to accommodate accelerating global demand for its products.

2008-Blackmer joins Dover Corporation's newly formed Pump Solutions Group(PSG™). Mouvex-Blackmer™ becomes an independent operating company within PSG. Other member companies include Wilden®, Neptune®, Almatec® and Griswold®.

...And beyond  Blackmer is poised to design, improve, and provide the highest quality of product innovations, flow technologies, and customer commitment.