July 26, 2016 Process Evolution

Volume 7 | Issue 1

Sundyne Corporation has a long and established history in manufacturing a range of products serving the process industries.

Sundyne Corporation evolved from a long and renowned heritage of a technologically advanced aerospace company to become a world leader in the manufacture of compressors, pumps and specialty drives serving the process industries. “From a corporate branding standpoint, however, there has been some confusion over our name,” says Dave Carr, manager of marketing and business development for the Arvada, Colo.-based company.

The fact is that before Sundyne was chosen as the corporation’s name, it was the brand name of a very successful product line of pumps and compressors under the Sundstrand Corporation. “In 1998, United Technologies Corporation acquired the Sundstrand Corporation, combined it with the Hamilton Standard Division and renamed the company Hamilton-Sundstrand,” explains Carr. Today, Sundyne Corporation is part of the industrial business segment of Hamilton-Sundstrand, a United Technologies Subsidiary. Sundyne serves customers in more than 117 countries, and continues to manufacture Sundyne products in addition to a family of other rotating equipment. United Technologies, a $29 billion corporation, includes such global technological giants as Pratt & Whitney, Carrier Corporation, Otis Elevators, and Sikorsky Aircraft.

Sundyne Heritage
Sundyne products, recognized and used throughout the world for more than four decades, are integrally geared high-speed centrifugal pumps, sealless pumps, sanitary pumps, and process gas compressors, says Carr. “Our heritage products evolved from an aerospace foundation and are a rare example of an industrial commercialization of such technology. It’s not very common for aerospace-type products to successfully transition into the industrial marketplace because many times the cost of that advanced technology is unbearable compared to conventional technology.”

Sundyne was successful in making that transition, however. “I would attribute that success in the company’s ability to identify a market opportunity that was ripe for a new product,” Carr explains. “It filled a niche market that was traditionally relegated to a different type of technology and a different class of pump and compressor.”

In 1963, the company placed the first integrally geared, high-speed, centrifugal process pump into service. Since that time, the Sundyne name has grown to become globally synonymous with a “low-flow, high-head” class of pump servicing the hydrocarbon, petrochemical, natural gas, power generation and other process industries. In 1970, a general industry version of the high-speed product evolved and continues to be successfully marketed under the Sunflo(r) brand name.

“Other products in this family are our Sundyne compressors, which are also integrally geared,” Carr says. “It is significant to note this equipment is designed for process gas and are not air compressors – they serve an entirely different market segment.” While initially configured around technology developed for pumps, recent advances have transformed the compressor family, which now includes a range of Pinnacle compressors that are built upon a 4,000hp platform.

Today, Sundyne sealless pumps nicely complement the company’s traditional high-speed pumps and compressors. “We have the world’s widest array of sealless pumps, including the brands Sundyne Canned Motor Pumps(r), HMD(r)/Kontro(r), Caster(r), and Ansimag(r) magnet drive pumps,” Carr says.

Sealless pumps are significant, from a world standpoint, as the most universally accepted design for hazardous liquids in the chemical processing industry, explains Carr. “They meet the increasing demands of environmental consciousness, personnel safety and cost management. One issue gaining focus in the marketplace is the principle of “total cost of ownership.” Sealless pumps offer distinct advantages in alignment with this concept.”

For the food processing industry, Sundyne manufactures a range of sanitary pumps under the Maso/Sine(r) Pump brand names. These pumps are especially designed for low-sheer capability. “So they are effective in processes in which a company is, for example, transferring strawberry pie filling,” Carr continues, “One essential requirement in the food processing industry is to maintain texture and that means not crushing the food as it’s being pumped – in this case, not crushing the whole strawberries is very important. And our Maso/Sine pump is well-suited for this requirement.”

An Eye to the Future
One example of Sundyne positioning itself for success in the future is with a new product named the AnySpeed(r) pump. “These products use Sundyne’s advanced hydraulics experience, high-speed motor technology, and control software to deliver pumps that continually optimize pumping to the customer’s requirements. They do this by varying the speed of the pump to maximize efficiency and minimize energy consumption based upon the changing conditions in the customer’s process,” explains Carr. Instead of a speed-increasing gearbox to achieve the high liquid delivery pressure Sundyne is known for, these products use a proprietary liquid cooled motor that is managed by Sundyne control software.

“This is just the first of a multi-phase program – we are working to expand drive sizes, capabilities and to integrate that drive control philosophy with other pumps, compressors and turbines,” Carr says.

Pumping Up
Growth is a basic precept of Sundyne’s vision and strategies are in place to double its size within the next four years, Carr says. “We will do that internally through product development and natural growth – and externally through acquisition,” he says. The Colorado-based company already has four locations in Europe, as well as a joint venture in Japan – Nikkiso-Sundstrand Corporation. “The association with Nikkiso is significant. This venture has been in place since 1970 and it represents a relationship where there is an equal sharing and exchange of technology,” Carr says. Sundyne benefits through access to the vast canned motor pump experience of Nikkiso Company, one of the world’s premier suppliers of this technology, and by having a local manufacturing presence for its high-speed pumps in Asia-Pacific.

Worldwide, United Technologies instituted a rigorous business system, Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE), designed to establish world-class performance across the full range of its companies. In the summer of 2003, Sundyne joined a select group of UTC companies and was awarded the next to highest level of certification within this system.

“I think this is a significant achievement for Sundyne,” he says. “We were the first industrial business in the Hamilton-Sundstrand organization to achieve the silver level status. More importantly, however, this accreditation is really an accomplishment of our workforce rather than of management. It’s all about responsibility, accountability and empowerment of the people who build quality into our equipment and services and we see the program as a natural progression toward our longstanding philosophy of continuous improvement.”

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