Jens Nielsen

In 1886, Jens Nielsen invented the internal gear pumping principal while designing a pump to remove excess water that was seeping into his limestone quarry from a nearby creek. In 1904, Nielsen enlisted George "Shorty" Mathes to construct his gear pump design. In 1911, Nielsen built the first internal gear pump, founding the Viking Pump Company. The Viking Rotary "Gear-Within-A-Gear pump (the first of its kind) was placed on the market that year. In 1915, Viking Pump Company won the Panama Pacific Award for internal gear design.