Fluid partners
To be more valuable partners, hydraulics distributors are a source for innovations, sub-assembly and more
By Ken Brack -- Industrial Distribution, 6/1/1999
Fred Phillips, director of advanced engineering for Vickers Inc., compares a capable fluid power distributor to a well-equipped auto service shop. Phillips expects his car dealership to have the diagnostic tools required to determine what's wrong with his vehicle in one session. The shop should have access to all the right parts and be able to install whatever is needed. Backyard mechanics need not apply.Similarly, to excel in providing hydraulic systems, he says distributors should support a full line of products and demonstrate total systems knowledge.
Some distributors take the analogy further. Unlike a typical auto shop, they become partners with key customers such as steel mills, automotive parts and machinery manufacturers. Partnering means performing functions such as the sub-assembly of components in kits, doing proactive maintenance and being a source for hydraulic innovations.
"All of the manufacturers [end users] will be pressuring their distributors to be more capable in providing solutions and not just passing boxes," says Phillips. For example, he expects the use of electronic controls for pumps and valves will continue to increase.
"The implications for distributors are they must increase the skill set with electronics if they're going to provide system solutions," he says. Vickers, which had $1.1 billion in total sales last year, was acquired by Eaton Corp. in April.
Distributors that sell hydraulic components say they are up to the challenge. The opportunity for them is sizeable, as sales of hydraulic fluid power equipment are expected to grow at an average of 5.5 percent annually from more than $8 billion last year to $12 billion in 2006, according to Business Trend Analysts, Inc. Innovations in electrohydraulics -- which improve productivity with precise acceleration, velocity, positioning and flow -- and more effective sealing methods help improve the customer's bottom line.
"Our role is to provide the fluid power system and keep customers informed on what options they have on new components and fluid power technology," says Bruce Gonring, an account manager at Midwest Fluid Power in Toledo, Ohio. "That's a role we've been fulfilling."
Lean on me
For two years, Midwest Fluid Power has packaged thousands of parts and assembled items like hydraulic power units for a manufacturer of plastic injection molding machines, which make interior parts like instrument panels for cars. The machines are loaded with hydraulics and electronic controls and they run continuously.
Gonring, an engineer who leads a team of five specialists who take care of the plant, says one line item order form for the plant typically includes hundreds of products.
Gonring says the goal is to deliver fluid power, lubrication and proactive maintenance solutions to satisfy customers' objectives: up time, productivity gains, economy and reliability. "We package solutions using product lines we represent or best in class alternatives," he says.
In addition, Midwest Fluid Power acts as a consultant to keep customers up to date on fluid power technologies, new products and short cuts. "Our people are frequently in customers' plants investigating ways to improve manufacturing productivity and quality," he says.
"They don't have to be fluid power experts," says Gonring. "They just have to know that what they get from us will work."
He sees demand for such services increasing. "It's definitely headed that way. We're working on a similar approaches with other customers."
Larry Peterson, president of Midwest Fluid Power, agrees that in many cases end users no longer have enough technical support in-house to focus on hydraulic systems. "They really need people who know their machinery and how to apply it," he says.
Pumps of steel
In another case, Ontario-based distributor Wainbee Ltd. is building a niche with steel rolling mills that use hydraulic power units. Wainbee works with an engineering firm called Quad Engineering Co. Ltd. that specializes in projects for plants around the world, such as a Co-Steel Lasco mill in Whitby, Ontario.
Garry Rodger, hydraulic sales manager at Wainbee, says his firm assembles power units that provide longer life for pumps. Without the use of variable volume piston pumps and L-shaped power units or reservoir units, Rodger says a pump could start without having oil in its inlet and suck in air, which causes early failures.
"We've been partnering with them about three years," says Rodger. "We've been fortunate enough to be awarded hydraulic power units, cylinders, shoes and fittings to take it to the plant floor."
Wainbee also provides backup power units, a spare that is mounted and in a matter of minutes can be swung around and put in place.
"It all depends on customers and what they say down time costs them," he says. "For steel mills, they just can't live with down time. So we've always built it with 100 percent backup and customers always pay to have that assurance of constant power."
Another service Wainbee provides is a three-year leak proof warranty. To prevent oil leaks, the distributorship utilizes a seal lock technology, which involves a series of fittings. Wainbee is certified by Parker Hannifin Corp. to build power units.
Other distributors such as Omaha, Neb.-based Precision Industries Inc. provide similar services like contamination control during systems upgrades and offering longer warranties.
Keith Butts, vice president of PI's hydraulics-pneumatics group, says one key thing customers have asked for is to track repairs and the usage of products with bar coding. He expects PI will adopt bar coding which interfaces with a preventive maintenance software program.
Using those tools will enable PI to precisely monitor equipment, receive feedback from the end user, and plan and automatically order parts for maintenance. PI operates an ISO 9002-warranty repair shop.
Overall, Vickers' Phillips says distributors should be aware of four main factors driving hydraulic innovations. Those include environmental concerns [reducing leaks, noise, total fluid volume using different and fluid chemistry]; improving efficiency; ease of use and global issues such as finding after-market replacement parts and field service.
Learn about water hydraulics
Economic and environmental forces have propelled water to a prominent place as a hydraulic fluid. Information about this is available at the National Fluid Power Assn.'s Web site at www.nfpa.com.
Highlights include:
Introduction to the use of water hydraulics
Learn about the environmental and fire safety advantages, and how it meets a number of application challenges.
Status report on the field of water hydraulics
Explains the benefits and how advancements have enabled engineers to take advantage of its performance features.
Water hydraulic products
Available on NFPA's Fluid Power Product Locator. This central location will help your search for more information on products and the NFPA members who manufacture them.
NFPA's Water Hydraulics Committee
Lists companies on the committee and links to their home pages.
Links to other sites
Provides direct links to other Web sites with information and publications on safety, disposal and environmental issues, technical papers, research and seminars.
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