Print1950s
In the 1950s, Terry develops the multivalve turbine, initially designed for shipboard use.
In 1956, Dresser Clark equipped a separate plant, its Turbo Products Division, for the purpose of producing centrifugal types of compressors and a new line of gas turbines for general application as prime movers.
In 1957, Dresser Clark introduced the first 1,000 rpm, direct connected separable gas compressor driven by gas field engines. I-R followed shortly thereafter with the 5” HHE compressors. Dresser Clark packaged units “in house” direct or through subsidiaries.
1960s
Worthington builds the first hot gas expander to operate with gas at 1250 degrees Fahrenheit. To handle this extreme temperature, the radial nozzle and the double flow opposed designs were developed. Worthington also developed a special design for handling the large volume of exhaust gas from an aircraft jet engine at low pressure and high temperature. This opened up an entirely new market for Worthington, providing jet engine generating units for standby and peaking requirements of electric utilities.
The initial installation in Holyoke, MA, was in service just four months when the famous North East blackout occurred in 1965. While power was off from Maine to New Jersey and Niagara Falls to Boston, the residents of Holyoke were not affected. The performance that night of the 12,000 KW Worthington jet gas turbine generator resulted in many additional orders from other small utility companies.
Delivering rated power in less than ten minutes after start-up was extremely attractive to large utility systems and contributed to many additional orders.
During the decade, Ingersoll-Rand pioneered “power recovery technology” to improve the efficiency of crude oil by turning excess pressure and temperature into power, using compressors, turbines and generators, for mechanical or electrical energy for other refinery needs.
In Norway, to make up for depletion of the silver mines after silver was discovered in 1623, the decision was made to build a weapon factory in Kongsberg and in 1814 "Kongsberg VÅpenfabrikk"(KV) was founded. In the early 1960s KV started to develop a small radial gas turbine in the 1,200KW range. In 1968 the first KG2 gas turbine was delivered as emergency power to the National Power System. Since then, more than 1,000 of the successful KG2 gas turbine units have been sold to more than 60 countries.
In 1961, Ingersoll-Rand Drilling Services was formed renting trailer mounted 5” HHE compressors with operations and maintenance for air drilling and process air applications.
In 1962, Southwest Industries, Inc., Houston, became another packager of I-R integral and separable gas compressors.
In 1963, I-R purchased Southwest Industries, Inc. and became a direct packager of I-R compressors, although Beaird and Wilson continued to package as well. Both I-R and Dresser Clark introduced larger rod load/hp models of direct connected separable compressors.
In 1964, Ingersoll-Rand reached a manufacturing agreement with George Clark and N.E.M. Ltd. In Newcastle, U.K., to manufacture large reciprocating process compressors.
In the mid-60s the nuclear industry was burgeoning and Terry product development again put the company into ground floor position. The need was for an extremely rapid starting turbine that would drive large reactor core cooling pumps. The Terry solution was built around the Terry solid wheel. Measured in terms of starting time and load pickup capability, the CCS turbine was able to go from a dead-cold start to over 5,000 horsepower in under 20 seconds.
In 1966, Dresser Industries formed a joint manufacturing venture, Dresser Dujardin, Societe Vallourec, to build Clark compressors in Le Havre, France. Dresser acquired full ownership of the venture in 1971. Clark steam engines, reciprocating engines, centrifugal compressors and pumps, as well as equipment for mining and drilling were produced at this facility.
In 1967, Worthington merged with Studebaker, leading to the creation of Worthington Turbine International Division of Studebaker-Worthington. After the merger, the Steam Turbine Division continued to manufacture steam turbines and jet gas peaking units. Products ranged from small single-stage turbines to custom-built, single-casing multi-flow turbines rated at 50,000 horsepower and steam turbine generators to 20,000 KW.
In 1968, Terry purchased Whiton Machine Company of New London, CT. Whiton's strong Navy and Maritime market helped expand Terry's shipboard product line. In 1968 both Dresser Clark and I-R built Texas facilities to package integral gas engine compressors for the offshore oil industry. Unfortunately the “boom” was past its peak, and both facilities were later closed. Separable compressors and gas turbine centrifugal compressors became the compessor equipment of choice for offshore.
In 1969 I-R Drilling Services, now renamed I-R Compression Services, entered the gas compressor rental business in addition to air compressor rentals.
1970s
In 1970, Turbodyne Corporation was formed by combining Electric Machinery Manufacturing Company and Worthington Turbine International, both Studebaker Worthington subsidiaries. Headquarters were in Minneapolis. In the same year, Terry acquired Holwarth Gasturbinen and Kuhnert Turbinen in Oberhausen, West Germany. 1970 also saw Ingersoll-Rand and Clark develop adaptions of aircraft jet engines for industrial applications, such as to drive compressors. In addition, I-R introduced the model RDS compressor with even higher horsepower and rod load capability. Dresser Clark began to exit the separable gas compressor market.
In 1972, Dresser Clark’s Turbo and Reciprocating divisions were combined in Olean. The operations were further streamlined in 1976 by centralizing all machining equipment in Plant I and all assembly and test operations in Plant II. In 1972, a multimillion dollar test facility was built, with the capability to test equipment at actual customer working conditions. In 1972, I-R Compression Services entered the “contract compression” business where they owned , operated, and maintained the compression equipment for a monthly fee. In that same year, Ingersoll-Rand acquired a facility in Wythenshawe, U.K. for the manufacture of reciprocating and turbo compressors. That facility was part of Dresser-Rand until 1997.
In 1974, rapid growth in the gas compressor rental and contract compression markets began. Major oil & gas companies and independent producers now accepted rental and contract compression as a way to handle their compression needs. Meanwhile, the success Terry achieved does not go unnoticed by other capital equipment machinery manufacturers. Thus in 1974, Ingersoll-Rand, a leader in the field of pumps and compressors, approached the officers and directors of Terry with a proposal for acquisition. Terry management agreed that the merger would advantageously combine their wide-ranging experience with rotating equipment.
In 1975, I-R purchased Walco Lorain in Okmulgee, Oklahoma to be used as a small hp packaging and repair facility. In March 1975, Dresser Clark shipped the world’s largest centrifugal compressor, the 9B, which was capable of handling 360,000 cubic feet of air per minute.
In 1976, Dresser Clark accomplished another first - “the highest pressure test ever.” The centrifugal compressor was tested at 10,500 psi. In 1979, McGraw-Edison Company purchased Studebaker-Worthington making Turbodyne, overnight, part of a major international company.