The Italian branch of Hydreco, the global specialist in hydraulic solutions for a range of sectors, is set to grow off the back of recent market trends. Managing Director Michele Guiati speaks about the latest company developments and its plans for the future.
Hydreco, the designer, manufacturer and distributor of products servicing the transport and mobile hydraulics sector, has a 100 year combined history in developing solutions through a rich heritage of legacy companies. “The history of some of our predecessors goes back all the way to the early 1900s,” says Mr Guiati. The joining of David Brown Hydraulics, Powauto and Hydreco in 1997 brought together some of the most respected products, people and heritage brands in the business, and formed a strong hydraulics group, rebranded in 2013 to operate under its current name.
Italian competence
With a workforce of over 110 people, Hydreco operates four manufacturing sites located in the UK, Italy, Australia and India and three sales offices in the USA, Norway and Germany. “Geographically, our operation covers the whole world, although the biggest market remains Europe,” noted Mr Guiati.
The Group’s transport hydraulics product range covers power take-off units, pneumatic joysticks, pumps, valves, cylinders as well as vehicle accessories. Going off-road, Hydreco can provide a very wide range of solutions, based on gear pumps, control valves, pilot valves, handles, manifolds, ECU, displays and other electronic devices. Each of the four production facilities focuses on a different product range: the UK plant primarily makes hydraulic steering units, the Indian company produces mainly gear pumps and the Australian facility specialises in power take-off and remote controls.
Mr Guiati explains that Hydreco Hydraulics Italia, which employs 21 people, is responsible for the development and production of the joystick range: the remote controls that are applied for off-road vehicles used in agriculture, construction, material handling, lifting and similar industries. “We supply the joysticks both to our sister companies within the group and to external customers in Italy and in several other countries including Germany, France, Canada and the United States. A significant example of our capability is represented by the timber crane market, where we have gained a strong competence that led to us being the prime servicer of the main OEM’s in the forestry industry in such countries as Sweden, Austria, Poland, Italy and many others”.
Stronger in partnerships
Mr Guiati affirms that the company is fully on track with the latest market requirements. “The sector has recently increased the focus on electronics to provide more accurate and powerful controls to the traditional hydraulics functions. We can now provide a fully electronic joystick, as well as ECUs and other electronic solutions, supporting the most used communication protocols and signals in the mobile market and easy to integrate with existing hardware and software environments.”
“The integration of the electronic and the traditional hydraulic sides is called mechatronics. This is something we work on a lot, in order to develop not just components but complete solutions in line with our customers’ requirements. Working with customers to provide solutions that meet their needs has always been a key factor in our competitiveness.”
Hydreco Hydraulics Italia targets small to medium sized businesses, offering not only advanced products but also engineering support. “Flexibility combined with the highest level of support is another of our business strengths, and one that our customers highly appreciate,” Mr Guiati affirms.
The company’s performance is enhanced by its supplier network, of which roughly 90 per cent is located in the region. “The Emilia-Romagna region is known as the ‘Mechanical Valley’, boasting a high number of companies with excellent engineering skills. We have trusted, reliable suppliers who provide top quality components at competitive prices - the two factors that make our range very attractive”, Mr Guiati points out. “We design and engineer everything in-house, component by component, and our suppliers provide the physical parts. This partnership works very well and helps to keep our plant extremely effective and efficient. Our suppliers are an integral part of our successful operation.”
Right place, right time
Hydreco Hydraulics Italia can rely on an abundance of technical skills provided by the people living and working in the area. “This region is well known for its technical talent, which was also one of the reasons why this company was founded here. We are proud to have excellent and highly competent people, and we value them greatly,” says Mr Guiati.
With the increasing demand for cutting edge technologies, the company expects to continue to grow over the next few years. With the support from their integrated supplier network as well as the other entities within the group, Hydreco Hydraulics Italia is well placed to make use of the new opportunities emerging in both existing and new markets, deploying its expertise to provide just the right technical solutions for its customers.
“We will be exhibiting in April at Bauma, the world’s leading trade fair, in Munich, presenting our latest products and solutions. I would like to take this opportunity to cordially invite our customers, suppliers and all business partners to our booth to see the latest results of our journey through our technological and hydraulics expertise for themselves,” concludes Mr Guiati.
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