Select Bearings began as a collaboration between World Vision and the Messiah College Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research. World Vision commissioned the Collaboratory to study failures in rural hand pumps (specifically the India Mark II) and make recommendations for improvements in order to reduce down time and maintenance. Spearheaded by Tony Beers, the study concluded that the India Mark II handle bearings typically failed in less than one year of use.
Over the span of several years, Tony and his team developed and tested Select Bearings (formerly known as Better Bearings), including several visits to Ghana to install the design on live hand pumps.
In 2019, AlignedWorks, LLC came along side Tony and the Collaboratory to help make Select Bearings commercially available. Select Bearings orders and communications are managed by AlignedWorks.
Tony Beers currently serves with Brethren In Christ World Missions and the BIC Church of Zambia and continues to work closely with AlignedWorks and the Collaboratory in further testing and development of Select Bearings.