History
Founded in 1925
As president of the Franklin Railway Supply Company, Ltd. of Canada, J.S. Coffin, Jr. worked on cutting-edge steam locomotive designs. During the development of a turbine fan draft, Coffin and his team uncovered the need for a compact centrifugal pump capable of operating at twice the standard speed. After a fruitless search of existing pumps, Coffin worked with a Boston engineering consultant to design a new model. The turbine fan draft design was not viable, but the pump showed great industry potential. Shortly after, Coffin’s first pump was successfully manufactured for the New York Central Railroad.
On Oct. 8, 1925, the J.S. Coffin Jr., Company incorporated under the laws of Delaware with offices at Journal Square in Jersey City, NJ. The pump quickly gained favor and pioneered the use of a centrifugal pump for locomotive boiler feed service. Soon, the growing business supported its own engineering offices, modern manufacturing facilities and testing plant. In 1930, J.S. Coffin Company opened the doors to its South Dean Street, Englewood, NJ facility where the business still resides today.
Built to Last
While the Coffin pump was faster than previous centrifugal pump technology, the market demanded more features. From Coffin’s 1920s inception, the pump design followed the principles of continuous improvement, maintainability and quality. Since its original design, the pump’s backbone has been a single, rigid alloy shaft on which the steam turbine and pump impellers are mounted. Using this design, the pump achieved its compact size while mitigating significant radial and axial loads experienced at pump operating speeds. The shaft design was so durably well balanced, in fact, that Nickel Aluminum Co. used the Coffin shaft as a testament to its metal quality. The Coffin Pump quickly became the industry standard for boiler feed service on steam locomotives and steamships.
Following World War II, the marine industry boomed and Coffin has since retained its dominant share as marine boiler feed pump supplier. With over 10 thousand boiler feed pumps shipped in our history, there are still thousands in operation in the world’s marine fleet and industrial plants. Many of these have been operating for over 30 years. Though the steam locomotive industry declined in the 1940s and was eventually eliminated, J.S. Coffin Pumps can still be found at historical steam locomotive sites.
Continued Success
As the premier manufacturer of marine boiler feed pumps, Coffin’s customer list includes the largest shipyards, ship operators, plant operators and oil companies in the world. Leveraging our unparalleled marine success, Coffin has also installed many units in industrial settings. Uses include:
- Power plants
- Paper & lumber mills
- Refineries
- Combined Heat & Power (CHP)
- Waste to energy (WTE) facilities
Coffin has expanded its line of pumps to include installations qualified to military specification MIL-S-901D, the U.S. Navy’s stringent requirement for shock testing. With only minor modifications, the standard commercial design was upgraded and specified by the Navy to replace older, flexible coupled feed pumps on combatant vessels. This teamwork between Coffin and the U.S. Navy typifies the performance our customers have come to expect.
Most recently, Coffin Turbo Pump finished the design of its reliable pump direct coupled with a high-efficiency, high-speed electric motor with variable speed drive. To learn about Coffin’s latest developments, visit our pump products page or our news page
