Ron Claus

With more than two decades in the fluid power industry, Ron Claus has led the System Seals engineering team to develop a number of breakthrough products in mining, metal processing, wind energy and oil and gas.

Through a uniquely collaborative process, Ron partners with OEMs to develop custom seal technologies specific to applications that improve performance and reliability beyond existing products. One significant case came in 2016, when Ron was presented with chronic grease leaks from large wind turbines using legacy nitrile lip seals.

The challenge led to the development of the Vortex Seal – an innovative reverse-thread design that acts more like a pump than a traditional lip seal. This disruptive technology pumps grease inward to prevent leakage outward.

Ron was responsible for designing, testing and qualifying the design in house before implementing it in the field. The new product proved to be a significant disruptor in the industry with immediate success among major turbine OEMS, such as WEG, GE Wind and Siemens Gamesa.

With a degree in aerospace, Ron has published and presented several technical articles. He has continued his education in the United States and Germany and has been co-awarded multiple U.S. patents. Ron’s innate ability to solve complex problems has made him the industry’s go-to person for engineering proposals, technical calculations, failure analysis and custom sealing solutions.

Ron was instrumental in the development of OEM seals for the injection molding industry that quadrupled the life of the seal and allowed the manufacturer to extend warranty periods. He developed a cutting-edge bearing seal for the world’s largest manufacturer of farm equipment that forever changed the performance expectations for severely contaminated conditions.