Graham vacuum ejectors: independent brand profile
Graham, from Batavia, New York, builds the steam jet ejectors and condensers that create vacuum in refinery towers, petrochemical plants and navy ships, with no moving parts. This profile covers its well-documented history, shows an AI assistant inventing its founder, and explains why such a specialised brand hardly appears in search data.
Independent profile by Vacuum Engineering Tools. We are not affiliated with Graham, receive no payment and do not sell pumps. Quotes are the opinions of individual users, not statements of fact by us. Brand names belong to their respective owners.
In short
Graham Manufacturing is the original operating business of Graham Corporation (ticker GHM). Harold M. Graham, a mechanical engineer who learned ejector design at Westinghouse, incorporated it in 1936; the present company was formed in 1941 by Graham, Frederick D. Berkeley and Scott Ross. It has been headquartered in Batavia, New York, since 1942 and has subsidiaries in Suzhou, China, and in India. Its products are steam jet ejectors, surface condensers, liquid ring vacuum systems and heat exchangers for defence, energy, refining and petrochemicals.
Verified facts
What users say
Steam ejectors are not hobby equipment. A search of Google’s index of reddit.com for Graham ejectors returned only the company’s own technical articles and marketplace listings, so there is no Reddit discussion to report.
Reddit blocks automated access, so thread titles, links and previews come from Google’s index of reddit.com (October 2026). Previews are excerpts, not the full comment.
From specialist forums
Ejector troubleshooting is a long-running topic on engineering forums such as Eng-Tips, but those discussions are about steam quality, icing and air leakage rather than brands, and the site blocks automated access, so we quote none here.
No quotable forum posts found.
AI fact-check: what ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude say
On 9 October 2026 we asked all four assistants the same question (who owns Graham, headquarters, founding, best-known series and what buyers say) and checked every answer against the manufacturer’s own pages.
| Question | ChatGPT (gpt-5.5) | Gemini (3.5 Flash) | Perplexity (Sonar) | Claude (Sonnet 5.5) | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who owns it? | ✓ Public company (GHM) | ✓ Public company (GHM) | ✓ Public, no controlling owner | ✓ Public company (GHM) | Graham Corporation (GHM) [Source] |
| Headquarters | ✓ Batavia, New York | ✓ Batavia, New York | ✓ Batavia, New York | ✓ Batavia, New York | Batavia, New York [Source] |
| Founded | ✓ 1936, Harold M. Graham | ✓ 1936, Harold M. Graham | ✓ 1936, Harold M. Graham | ✗ 1936, “Wilson S. Graham” | 1936, Harold M. Graham (present company 1941) [Source] |
| Products named | ✓ Ejectors, liquid ring pumps, condensers | ✓ Ejectors, liquid ring pumps, condensers | ✓ Ejectors, vacuum systems, condensers | ✓ Ejectors, liquid ring, condensers, Heliflow | Ejectors, condensers, liquid ring systems, Heliflow exchangers [Source] |
✓ correct · ~ partly right or outdated · ✗ wrong · ? cannot be checked against an official source. Answers condensed. Only Perplexity used web search; the other models answered from training data.
Graham is well documented, and three assistants were right throughout. Claude invented a founder, “Wilson S. Graham”, and added a note that the details were from memory. None of the four mentioned that Graham’s own history gives two dates: incorporation by Harold M. Graham in 1936, and today’s company formed in 1941 with Frederick Berkeley and Scott Ross.
Search interest compared
Google Trends data compared with other process vacuum brands (liquid ring, ejectors, rotary piston), web search, October 2021 to October 2026. “graham ejector” barely registers in Google Trends: refinery and petrochemical engineers search by application (“steam ejector troubleshooting”) rather than brand, and buy through engineering contracts.
Average search interest 2021–2026 (index)
Where people search for Graham
How to read this: of every 100 Google searches for these five brand names in United States, 3 were for Graham; the most searched brand there, Nash, had 31. It shows relative interest, not sales or market share.
| Country | Graham share | Rank | Most searched |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 3 % | 5th of 5 | Nash (31 %) |
Pulled on 9 October 2026 via DataForSEO. Terms compared: “nash vacuum pump”, “robuschi”, “sihi pump”, “graham ejector”, “kinney vacuum pump”. Relative values, not absolute search volumes; non-English searches are not included.
Technology fingerprint
Computed from our directory of 25 manufacturers: which technologies Graham offers and how common each is in the market.
| Technology | Makers in our directory | |
|---|---|---|
| Ejector | 1 of 25 | rare |
| Liquid ring | 9 of 25 |
Not in the range: Rotary vane, Screw, Claw, Scroll, Roots, Turbomolecular, Diaphragm
Closest alternatives
Manufacturers with the largest overlap in pump technologies.
Product series at a glance
| Series | Technology | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Steam jet ejectors | Ejector | Steam-driven vacuum with no moving parts, for refinery and process vacuum. |
| Liquid ring vacuum systems | Liquid ring | Often combined with ejectors as the final stage. |
Typical fit
- Refinery vacuum distillation
- Petrochemical and chemical processes
- Power plant and navy condensers
- Steam vacuum refrigeration
Useful calculators
Official owner resources
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Graham Manufacturing?
Graham Manufacturing is the original operating business of Graham Corporation, a US company listed under the ticker GHM. It is headquartered in Batavia, New York.
Is Graham Manufacturing UK part of Graham Corporation?
No. Graham states that it is not affiliated in any way with Graham Manufacturing UK, which is not an authorised seller or repairer of its products.
How does a steam jet ejector create vacuum?
High-pressure motive steam expands through a nozzle and entrains gas from the process, then a diffuser recompresses the mixture. Multi-stage ejectors with intercondensers reach deep vacuum with no moving parts.
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