Palmer Products Inc. originally started out as a small machine shop catering to the thriving rubber industry located in Akron Ohio, known at the time as the ‘Rubber Capitol of the World’.  Because of their local reputation for high quality, precision machining and skillful problem solving, companies like B.F.Goodrich and Lucian Q. Moffitt would routinely turn to us for help solving problems with their marine bearing lines.  As a young kid Len Palmer, now President of the company, would be asked to climb into the ‘cavernous’ bearings and grind out rubber staves for re-lining, and emerge on the other end covered head-to-toe in nitrile.  This relationship lead B.F. Goodrich, who had merged with Moffitt, to ask Palmer Products to produce their new line of ‘Cutlass Commander’ fiberglass bearings.  It was at this time Len began looking at the process from a standpoint of a machinist, and not a rubber company.  This led Len to develop a unique design know known as the ‘Water Wedge’, which allows more lubricating fluid to pass though the bearing with a lower coefficient of friction than the ‘traditional cutlass’ design.   

 In 1985 while the major Rubber Companies were tearing down plants or relocating their manufacturing sectors outside of Akron, Palmer Products Inc. decided to put their newly acquired skills and local reputation to the test and began manufacturing their own shaft bearings.  After acquiring H&R Bearing from a former Moffitt engineer, we applied the water wedge design to the industrial bearings and pump manufactures soon discovered that these ‘weird looking Palmer bearings’ were proving beneficial to their pumps due to its increased water flow and ability to move particulate easier .  Head to the Industrial Bearing website to learn more about the benefits of the unique Palmer water wedge design.

In 1996 Palmer Products acquired the assets of the Willis Rotary Bearing as a far superior marine shaft bearing that provides un-paralleled shaft protection, reduced vibration and increased efficiency with out ever having to replace or rebuild your shafting.