Bearings Plus

What Bearings Plus does

Bearings Plus, legally Waukesha Bearings Corporation dba Bearings Plus and headquartered in Houston (Pearland), Texas, is an aftermarket specialist in the design, analysis, manufacture, repair, and upgrade of engineered fluid film bearings and seals for rotating equipment. Founded in 1994 to serve the rapid-turnaround needs of Gulf Coast petrochemical plants, the company serves oil and gas, power generation, and industrial operators of compressors, turbines, blowers, pumps, expanders, motors, and generators. Its product portfolio spans two core families: fluid film bearings (tilt pad and fixed profile configurations in journal and thrust variants) and sealing systems (brush seals, damper seals including honeycomb, hole pattern, and pocketed TAMSEAL designs, and thermoplastic labyrinth seals). Proprietary technology platforms include ISFD (Integral Squeeze Film Damper) technology for rotordynamic stability, patented Flexure Pivot tilt pad bearings that eliminate pivot wear, and US Patent 6,231,047 brush seal technology reported to reduce leakage by up to 80%. Products are custom-engineered across a 7mm to 910mm diameter range, with surface speeds up to 335 m/s and temperature capability to 650 degrees Celsius.

Bearings Plus generates revenue through one-time product sales of custom-engineered bearings and seals, complemented by professional services including bearing repairs, rotordynamic analysis, bearing failure analysis, and technology upgrades. Pricing is quote-based, B2B, and typically structured around multi-year engagements tied to specific rotating equipment platforms. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales, supported by direct OEM supply relationships, industry trade show participation (501 F&G, 7F, Legacy Turbine User Conference, Turbomachinery and Pump Symposia), and technical content marketing via white papers and case studies. Distribution is direct to end-users and OEMs globally, leveraging the worldwide Dover Precision Components footprint in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Engineering and production operate from a 150,000 sq ft shared facility at Dover Pearland Operations, with in-house babbitting, CNC machining, and wire EDM capabilities, supported by ISO 9001:2015 quality certification.

Since November 2010, Bearings Plus has operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Waukesha Bearings Corporation within Dover Corporation (NYSE: DOV), and since May 2018 has been part of the Dover Precision Components operating company alongside Cook Compression, Inpro/Seal, and Waukesha Bearings. The company has 51-100 employees, 25+ years of operating history, 1,600+ cumulative brush seal installations, and a customer base that includes Dow Chemical, Doosan Skoda Power, and long-tenured international oil and gas operators with multi-decade service relationships.

Name

Bearings Plus

Legal name

Waukesha Bearings Corporation dba Bearings Plus

Website

https://bearingsplus.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Bearings Plus is a Houston-based aftermarket specialist designing, manufacturing, and servicing custom fluid film bearings and seals for rotating equipment in oil and gas, power generation, and industrial markets. It operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Waukesha Bearings within Dover Corporation's Dover Precision Components.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Engineered Fluid Film Bearings and Seals

NAICS

Ball and Roller Bearing Manufacturing (332991)

SIC

Ball & Roller Bearings (3562), Gaskets, Packg & Sealg Devices & Rubber & Plastics Hose (3050)

akta.pro primary industry

Aerospace Bearings, Bushings & Motion Components (IMABANAB)

Keywords

• Fluid film bearings
• Tilt pad bearings
• Brush seals
• Rotordynamic analysis
• Bearing repair services

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Aftermarket Bearing Services: Bearings Plus generates revenue through repair, replacement, and upgrade services for fluid film bearings and seals. Services include bearing repairs, system optimization, rotordynamic analysis, and bearing failure analysis. The company also manufactures new custom-designed bearings and seals.
2. Product Sales: Sale of fluid film bearings (tilt pad, fixed profile), squeeze film dampers, brush seals, damper seals, and labyrinth seals. Products range from 7mm to more than 910mm in diameter.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Bearings Plus designs, manufactures, and services engineered fluid film bearings and sealing systems for rotating equipment such as turbines, compressors, pumps, motors, and expanders. The company produces tilt pad bearings, fixed profile bearings, squeeze film dampers, brush seals, damper seals, and labyrinth seals, and provides aftermarket services including bearing repairs, replacements, upgrades, rotordynamic analysis, and bearing failure analysis. Its solutions serve industrial customers in oil & gas, power generation, and general industrial markets.

Product overview

Bearings Plus is an aftermarket specialist providing fluid film bearings and sealing solutions for rotating equipment. The product portfolio centers on two core product families: fluid film bearings (tilt pad bearings and fixed profile bearings) and sealing systems (brush seals, damper seals, and labyrinth seals). Key proprietary technologies include Flexure Pivot tilt pad bearings (eliminating pivot wear through flexure-based motion) and ISFD (Integral Squeeze Film Damper) technology providing precise stiffness and damping for rotordynamic optimization. Tilt pad bearings are offered in journal and thrust configurations with multiple pivot types (rocker back, ball and socket, Flexure Pivot), while fixed profile bearings include sleeve bearings and thrust plates. Sealing products span brush seals (patented technology for up to 80% leakage reduction), damper seals (honeycomb, hole pattern, pocketed TAMSEAL), and thermoplastic labyrinth seals for tight-clearance applications. The company also provides engineering services including rotordynamic analysis, bearing failure analysis, repairs, and custom upgrades. Products serve oil & gas, power generation, and industrial markets across applications including gas/steam turbines, compressors, pumps, turbo-expanders, and electric machinery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tilt Pad Bearings Hydrodynamic fluid film bearings with tilting pads that provide high stability in challenging operating conditions. Available in journal and thrust configurations with various pivot types including rocker back, ball and socket, and Flexure Pivot designs. Sold to industrial operators of rotating equipment in oil & gas, power generation, and general industrial markets.
• Fixed Profile Bearings Fluid film bearings with fixed geometry for applications with relatively good stability, low loads, and fairly consistent operating conditions. Includes sleeve bearings with various lobe configurations and thrust plates with simple or compound taper land faces. Materials include babbitt, copper, bronze, and polymer.
• ISFD Squeeze Film Dampers Integral Squeeze Film Damper technology providing precise stiffness and damping to meet rotordynamic requirements for new and retrofit installations. Maximizes energy dissipation at the bearing location and significantly improves system stability. Custom-engineered with proprietary spring and squeeze film damper land designs.
• Brush Seals Patented compliant brush sealing systems (US Patent 6,231,047) for air, steam, or process gas applications that reduce leakage between sealing surface and rotor by up to 80%. Features flexible sizing and replaceable bristle pack technology. Available as gas turbine brush seals, utility steam turbine brush seals, and augmented labyrinth brush seals.
• Damper Seals Sealing technologies that control leakage while generating damping to improve machine stability, including honeycomb seals, hole pattern seals, and pocketed TAMSEAL designs. Enable superior subsynchronous damping performance at high operating speeds, with pocketed designs providing 50 to 100 times more damping than conventional labyrinth seals.
• Labyrinth Seals Custom-engineered non-contacting seals (including thermoplastic variants in Torlon, Fluorosint, and PEEK) that seal high pressure areas from low pressure areas and prevent contamination across rotating equipment such as gas turbines, steam turbines, compressors, pumps, turbo-expanders, and electric machinery. Thermoplastic abradable seals allow tighter clearances without causing rotor damage.
• Bearing Repairs & Replacements Comprehensive repair services for fluid film bearings from any supplier, handling fixed profile and tilt pad designs of thrust, journal, and combination bearings up to 36 inches in diameter. Includes in-house babbitting and CNC/EDM machining capabilities, with 24/7 responsive turnaround for industrial customers.
• Bearing Upgrades Custom technology upgrades to improve stability, control vibrations, eliminate pivot wear, and address equipment rerates and other challenges. Includes Flexure Pivot bearing upgrades, ball and socket bearing installations, and polymer-lined thrust bearing conversions for existing rotating equipment.
• Rotordynamic Analysis Full rotordynamic analysis evaluating bearing and seal characteristics simultaneously using transfer matrix, polynomial transfer matrix, and finite element-based analysis tools. Optimizes dynamic characteristics for new or existing bearing designs, supporting system stability and performance.
• Bearing Failure Analysis Expert technical support in diagnosing causes of bearing damage with recommendations to cure or eliminate the source of problems. Includes visual examination, laboratory oil analysis, operating data evaluation, and sequence of events analysis.

Quantifiable outcome

• Brush seals can reduce leakage by up to 80%
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Dover Precision ComponentscoreTechnology or Integration · 31 May 2018Bearings Plus is part of Dover Precision Components, an integrated provider of performance-critical solutions for rotating and reciprocating machinery. Dover Precision Components also includes Waukesha Bearings, Inpro/Seal, and Cook Compression brands. The umbrella organization provides shared resources, best practices, and operational synergies.
• Waukesha BearingscoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 24 November 2010Bearings Plus is the aftermarket arm of Waukesha Bearings, an operating unit within Dover Corporation. Through this relationship, Bearings Plus has access to Waukesha's engineering expertise, manufacturing capabilities, and exclusive licenses for technologies including ISFD and Flexure Pivot bearings. Waukesha acquired Bearings Plus in November 2010.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Waukesha Bearings: Waukesha Bearings is the OEM arm within Dover Precision Components that produces hydrodynamic and rolling element bearings for turbomachinery. It is the most directly comparable company to Bearings Plus; indeed Bearings Plus serves as Waukesha's aftermarket channel, so both operate in fluid film bearings for rotating equipment with overlapping technology bases.
• Kingsbury, Inc. Kingsbury designs and manufactures tilt pad journal and thrust bearings, bushings, and bearing housings for heavy-duty rotating equipment. It is a primary direct competitor to Bearings Plus in fluid film bearings for turbomachinery in oil & gas, power generation, and industrial markets.
• Glacier Bearings (Daemar): Glacier Bearings (Daemar) produces hydrodynamic sleeve and tilt pad bearings for industrial pumps, motors, and rotating equipment. It competes with Bearings Plus in custom-engineered fluid film bearings, particularly in process industries and rotating machinery markets.
• Inpro/Seal (Dover Precision Components): Inpro/Seal is a sister company within Dover Precision Components specializing in bearing isolators and seals for rotating equipment. It is materially comparable to Bearings Plus as both sell engineered sealing and bearing-protection solutions into the same rotating-equipment customers via the same Dover channel.
• Cook Compression (Dover Precision Components): Cook Compression is a sister company within Dover Precision Components specializing in reciprocating compressor valves and parts. It is comparable to Bearings Plus as a co-located Dover Precision Components operating company serving the same turbomachinery customer base and sharing the Pearland facility and ISO certification.

Broad incumbents

• John Crane (Smiths Group): John Crane is a global leader in mechanical seals, bearing protection, and rotating equipment reliability solutions. It overlaps with Bearings Plus in the seal and bearing-protection category and competes broadly for the same oil & gas, power generation, and industrial customers, but with a much broader product portfolio.
• Flowserve Corporation: Flowserve manufactures pumps, seals, and related rotating equipment for the process industries. While primarily a pump OEM, its seal and bearings-related offerings compete with Bearings Plus in fluid handling and turbomachinery applications for shared O&G and power customers.
• Elliott Group (Ebara): Elliott Group designs and manufactures turbomachinery (compressors, turbines, expanders) where fluid film bearings and seals are critical subsystems. As a rotating-equipment OEM that internally sources bearing technology, it is comparable to Bearings Plus's customer base and use cases.
• SKF Group: SKF is the world's largest bearing manufacturer with a broad portfolio across rolling element, hydrodynamic, and specialty bearings. It is comparable as a bearing industry incumbent with overlapping fluid film bearing capabilities and a global industrial distribution channel, though SKF's center of gravity is rolling element bearings.
• Howden (Chart Industries): Howden manufactures fans, compressors, and rotating equipment with engineered bearings and seals as core subsystems. It is comparable to Bearings Plus as a turbomachinery supplier serving the same power generation and industrial customers, although Howden operates at a much broader equipment level rather than as a bearing specialist.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bearings-plus

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bearings Plus