Following the USS Cole bombing, the US Navy entrusted Hutchinson to develop an innovative and effective solution for the Navy’s failing bulkhead shaft seals on Arleigh Burke Class destroyers (DDG), the result of which was Hutchinson’s Reliant and Omni Bulkhead Shaft Seal products. The solution involved designing and developing a seal that utilized smart material technology and advanced engineering and production processes.

When the Navy had challenges with their stern tube seal design they again looked to Hutchinson to find an innovative solution. Hutchinson developed a fully shock-qualified state-of-the-art Stern seal for use on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS).

Hutchinson has a proven track record of designing, qualifying, and producing robust and effective marine products and solutions for the US Navy and commercial marine customers.

Many high-performance mechanical face seals use silicon carbide (SiC) or other hard face seal materials which are difficult to work with and brittle.  Hutchinson’s seals use innovative durable materials with ultra-low friction leading to superior wear properties, long life, and thus reduced total ownership cost (TOC), even in the harshest environments. Blue water or brown water Hutchinson’s shaft seals will outperform and extend service life.