Stephens-In 1935, the Sealmaster ball bearing was born. The Sealmaster bearing core is manufactured from an external factory and fitted to the bearing housing at the Stephens-Adamson plant in Aurora. By 1946, as the business continued to grow, Stephens-Adamson built a new plant specializing in the production of Sealmaster® ball bearings. This factory is adjacent to the existing Stephens-Adamson plant. The development of Sealmaster bearings is attributed to the following important product features designed by Mr. Shafer: Lock pin and dimple systems that prevent rotation of the outer ring and ensure forced lubrication. Minimize wear on rollers and cages. Efficient dust-proof felt pad seal retainer. The inner ring raceway is zone hardened so that the extended portion retains its original soft state. Therefore, the positioning screw hole that fixes the device to the shaft can drill a hole. Sealmaster® continued to grow and in 1966 a new 40-acre plant and office facility was built. The facility is located on the eastern edge of Aurora, Illinois. In 1969, the Chicago-based company Borg-Warner Corporation acquired Stephens-Adamson Co. and merged it into the Morse chain division in Ithaca, New York. Founded in 1898, the Morse Chain Division is a bicycle and automotive transmission chain manufacturer. As the automotive industry prospered, its business continued to grow, and Morse remained the industry leader in automotive engine timing. In addition, Morse has developed the HYVO chain, which is used in the powertrains of various automobiles in the world. In 1983, the power transmission solution included Morse Industrial. This adds to the powertrain solution the new line of bearing products, Browning and Sealmaster. To comply with US Federal Trade Commission regulations, Power Transmission Solutions sold the Browning Bearings business to Hub City. The power transmission solution retains the brand of Browning® ball bearing bearings and is on the road to reinvigorating the product line. The power transmission solution has therefore embarked on the road to reinvigorating the product line. The Browning® factory was founded in 1896 as the Ohio Valley Pulley Works. Its business subsequently expanded to:
• V-belt
• Pulley
• Bushing
• Sprocket
• Gear
• Reducer
In 1986, Power Transmission Solutions was preparing to integrate several of its powertrain companies into powertrain companies. Today, power transmission bearing products include both seated and unmounted bearings. Seat bearings include Sealmaster ball and roller bearings, Browning ball and roller bearings; System Plast ball bearings and rod ends. Non-seat bearings include spherical bearings; McGill aerospace and needle bearings and cam followers; Rollway angular contact ball bearings, thrust tapered roller bearings, special bearing metric cylindrical rollers and spherical roller bearings. Today, Sealmaster continues to focus on high-performance products. The company is positioned to develop a number of specialty products. They are also committed to developing more solutions such as anti-corrosion bearings for the beverage industry.
