LONDON, UK – 19 October 2026 – John Crane, a global leader in flow control technologies and a business of Smiths Group plc, has enabled a major refinery in Bavaria, Germany, to restart on schedule by refurbishing two critical Type 28XP dry gas seals in just six weeks. The accelerated response reduced the usual 16-to-18-week lead time by more than 60% and safeguarded at least €1 million of production for every week of delay avoided.
The seals support a compressor that is essential to the refinery unit, which cannot operate without it. John Crane’s estimate that every week of delay could have put at least €1 million in production at risk is deliberately conservative. It is also consistent with wider industry research from McKinsey & Company, which estimates that reliability-related lost-profit opportunities can reach US$20 million to US$50 million annually for a mid-sized refinery.
With the shutdown confirmed at short notice, the refinery needed both tandem Type 28XP non-contacting dry gas seals inspected, repaired, dynamically tested and returned within six weeks. A standard refurbishment schedule would have missed the planned restart by 10 to 12 weeks.
John Crane mobilised its global service and supply network to meet the deadline. Its dry gas seal service centre in Japan was the only facility able to immediately prioritise the work, while metal components were produced in the Czech Republic and specialist suppliers accelerated delivery of the seal faces.
Teams in Germany and Japan tracked each stage through weekly progress reviews with the refinery, identifying and addressing schedule risks as they emerged. Both seals completed inspection, repair and dynamic testing and were returned within the shutdown window, allowing the refinery to resume production as planned.
Christian Naldini, VP, Europe at John Crane, said: “With at least €1 million in production at risk for every week of delay, there was no room for the refurbishment to overrun. By mobilising our teams and supply network across Germany, Japan and the Czech Republic, we completed in six weeks work that would typically take 16 to 18 weeks.”
“The refinery restarted as planned, avoiding shutdown-related production losses and returning this critical equipment to reliable service.”
The project was delivered through John Crane Performance Plus service solutions, which help customers improve rotating-equipment reliability and respond to critical maintenance demands. In this case, the coordinated response removed 10 to 12 weeks from the usual lead time and kept the repair within the customer’s shutdown window.
Notes to editors
About John Crane Performance Plus
John Crane Performance Plus is a suite of service solutions designed to support customers across the rotating equipment lifecycle. It covers asset condition management, reliability engineering for maintenance, retrofits and upgrades, maintenance and repairs, seal reliability management, and training and upskilling.
About
John Crane John Crane is a global leader in flow control technologies and an innovator in solutions for rotating equipment in the energy and process industries. Our portfolio spans mechanical seals, seal support systems, couplings and filtration systems, supported by advanced service solutions and digital diagnostics. With over 200 service, sales and manufacturing centres across 50 countries, John Crane is an integral pillar of Smiths Group plc, a FTSE 100 industrial technology company dedicated to engineering a better future. Learn more at www.johncrane.com.