News

Thordon Bearings is supplying multiple sets of grease-free bearings to completely replace old technology at the Otto Holden Generating Station on the Ottawa River in Ontario, Canada. Andritz Hydro was contracted to undertake the mid-life refurbishment of the station’s turbines on behalf of Ontario Power Generation (OPG). Two of the 243MW station’s eight units have now been fitted with Thordon’s ThorPlas-Blue and Thorseal products, via its local distributors RMH Industries in Quebec and Millstream Engineering in Ontario.

Thordon Bearings’ brake cups are being supplied to Hydro-Québec, the largest hydro power company in Canada, as part of a decade-long turbine brake system overhaul program. The Burlington-based bearing and seal specialist is providing the brake cups to its Canadian distributor RMH Industries, an integrated company specializing in mechanical and hydraulic repair and machining of oversized parts. RMH Industries has been manufacturing and repairing brake blocks for Hydro-Québec since 2020.

VARD has named Thordon Bearings Inc. (Thordon) as a preferred supplier to Team Vigilance. The Burlington, Ontario-based innovator secured its first naval contract in the early 1990s, supplying first-generation COMPAC bearing systems for installation to the RCN’s Halifax-class frigates and Oberon-class submarines. Since then, the company has supplied its bearings and seals to more than 50 Navies and Coast Guards around the world.

Future newbuild ships of all types should be built without a sterntube and with a seawater-lubricated propeller shaft bearing arrangement, according to Blue Ocean Alliance’s Chris Leontopoulos. Speaking at a recent maritime industry forum in Hamburg, Mr. Leontopoulos said the sterntubeless ship design – jointly developed by Blue Ocean Alliance members ABS, Thordon Bearings, Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute (SDARI), Wärtsilä, and the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) – is so commercially, operationally and environmentally attractive that “I personally hope that in the future all ships are built like this”.

Singapore-based NewShore Solutions Pte Ltd has become the latest addition to Thordon Bearings’ network of authorized distributors, with responsibility for increasing the Canadian bearing and seal manufacturer’s presence in both Singapore and Malaysia. The development is part of Thordon’s strategy to expand geographically and diversify into new maritime markets, particularly across Malaysia.

Canada’s Ontario business community recognized Thordon Bearings’ commitment to environmental sustainability last night during the prestigious 2024 Business Excellence Awards hosted by the Burlington Chamber of Commerce. Thordon was presented with the Chamber’s coveted Environmental Impact Award for the company’s dedication to long term sustainability and growth, not only reflected in its product range but also the socially responsible way in which the Burlington headquartered company operates.