In the late 1960’s, B.J. Travis, then an engineer at Mobil refinery in Beaumont, Texas, did what engineers do: he solved a problem. At the time, extracting tube bundles from heat exchangers was a dangerous, time consuming job with the risky procedure requiring large, expensive rigs and gantries, safety equipment, and a large work crew. It also meant a loss of valuable stream time and work disruption. Like many engineers have done, he thought, “there must be a better way”.
Mr. Travis designed the original hydraulic tube bundle extractor and applied for his first patent in 1968. This design, the first hydraulic tube bundle extractor, was awarded a patent in 1971. In 1972, he sold his first bundle extractor through his company, Allied Fabrication & Welding, to Shell in Deer Park, TX. And then it was off to the races! Allied Fabricating and Welding and its subdivision Hydro-Extractors have sold hundreds of hydraulic bundle extractors all over the world.
The original design and the original workhorse, the Model 504, have held up over the years and many bundle extractors that are 30+ years old are still in use today. The original design has been copied several times, usually with “bells and whistles” and design changes that we have tried and discarded over the years.
B.J. Travis’ son, John Travis, carries on the work his father began in 1972 by continuing to manufacture and design this machine that revolutionized the industry with its introduction.
We are the original hydraulic tube bundle extractor and still the best! Our bundle extractor is still the most reliable, safest, easiest to operate and the most economical on the market.
