John Crane, Morton Grove, Ill., a division of Smiths Group, London, (London: SMIN) has acquired privately held, Grafton, Wis.-based Orion Corp. for an undisclosed price.

Orion designs and manufactures hydrodynamic bearings for energy and general industrial markets, and has facilities in Grafton and Columbus, Neb. It reported sales of approximately $50-million for their 2008 fiscal year, which ended October 31. The business will complement John Crane Bearing Technology, a business unit formed following John Crane’s acquisition of a German-based bearings firm in October 2007.

John Crane president Paul Cox says, “This acquisition illustrates our strategy to develop market-leading product lines that can be grown using our extensive global sales and service network. Orion builds critical mass in John Crane’s hydrodynamic bearing business and adds a manufacturing, sales and service base in North America to supplement our existing operations in Europe. This will establish John Crane as one of the leading manufacturers in the hydrodynamic bearings sector.”