John Crane helps lithium producer reduce seal expenditure by 48% in 12 months

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John Crane helps lithium producer reduce seal expenditure by 48% in 12 months

John Crane helps lithium producer reduce seal expenditure by 48% in 12 months

Sector Trends
Sep 16,26

Reliability programme cuts seal consumption by 37 per cent and extends mean time between repairs by 62 per cent across 362 pumps, reducing maintenance pressure.

John Crane helps lithium producer reduce seal expenditure by 48% in 12 months

Slough (UK)

John Crane has helped a major global producer of battery-grade lithium reduce annual mechanical seal expenditure by 48 per cent within the first year of its Managed Reliability Programme. The initiative also reduced seal consumption by 37 per cent and increased Mean Time Between Repair (MTBR) by 62 per cent across 362 pumps, enabling the customer to lower maintenance requirements, improve equipment availability and optimise engineering resources.

In practical terms, annual seal consumption declined from 427 to 267 units, eliminating the need for 160 seals, while the average repair interval increased from 10.2 to 16.5 months. Fewer replacements resulted in reduced equipment interventions, lower pressure on maintenance teams and improved production continuity.

The programme reversed a five-year decline in equipment performance. Between 2019 and 2024, annual seal consumption had more than doubled, Mean Time Between Repair had reduced by half, and annual seal expenditure had exceeded $ 1.2 million, excluding labour costs, downtime and potential production losses.

John Crane implemented dedicated on-site reliability engineering, digital failure traceability and application-specific engineering assessments. These measures were supported by optimised seal selection and materials, controlled repair processes, improvements to seal support systems, and targeted technical training for maintenance and operations teams. Together, these initiatives established a consolidated performance history across a diverse seal population, approximately 90 per cent of which had originally been supplied by other manufacturers. This enabled the identification of recurring failure causes and prioritisation of critical assets.

"Within one year, this customer moved from increasing costs and declining reliability to fewer maintenance interventions, longer repair intervals and improved control over seal expenditure. The impact is both operational and financial, with better protection for production, reduced workforce exposure to equipment interventions and greater engineering capacity for planned, high-value activities. This outcome extends beyond a single facility, demonstrating how lithium and other process operators can achieve significant reliability and cost improvements from existing assets by combining accurate data, engineering expertise and workforce capability," said Aziz Sallie, Vice President, Commercial & Service, John Crane.

Battery-grade lithium is a critical material supporting batteries and electrification. Enhancing reliability at existing production facilities allows operators to maintain output, manage costs and strengthen supply chain resilience without replacing installed assets. Extending seal life also reduces material consumption and waste, while controlled repair processes enable suitable components to be returned to service. The programme is part of John Crane Performance Plus and provides a practical approach for operators managing large and diverse equipment populations.