John Frater a leader in the design of slurry pumps will be inducted in the bulk handling category at the gala dinner in the Brown Palace Hotel, Denver on February 16 (www.im-halloffame.com). His internationally renowned pump designs have made an extraordinary contribution to the mining industry worldwide. Frater began his illustrious career in the slurry pump industry in 1957 as a student engineering apprentice with Mather and Platt in the UK. After graduating from Bolton Technical College, he was awarded with a Higher National Certificate by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, with distinction for Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering.
In 1961, Warman Pump licensee Simonacco, a coal prep engineering company, employed him as a manufacturing engineer, where he later became head of the technical sales, service, and marketing departments.
Frater left Warman and invented the Orion Pump and started the Orion Pump Co in 1981. The patented pump pioneered the design to allow adjustment of running clearances at both the front and back of the impeller. The company was subsequently purchased by Denver Equipment. This acquisition would lead to his position as Pump Product Manager at Denver Equipment, which soon after would be purchased by Metso.
In 1996 John invented what to this day remains a revolutionary pump, the millMAX pump. The patented suction side sealing has changed the way the industry looks at wear on the suction side liner and pump adjustment overall. The design uses a wear ring to seal between the suction liner and impeller. Further it allows the adjustment of the wear ring to maintain the sealing while the pump is operating. This was a first for any slurry pump. John sold his company to FLSmidth Krebs in 1999 and since that time has served as Pump Technical Director.
He is recognised globally for his extensive knowledge of pump design and pumping systems. He continues to travel worldwide to engineering, procurement and construction companies, as well as to end-users, to assist with piping and sump design issues.
