Hydrolink – leaders in fluid engineering

Visions and Decisions

Hydrolink were established in 1989 after Mr. Kevin J. Roberts spotted an opening in the market for a good hydraulics service company. Initially, the company began with a focus on servicing hydraulics in the marine sector. They then continued to forge partnerships with high-quality brands and, in the process of this, Hydrolink identified there was a real opportunity in having a hub in Jebel Ali, Dubai. The company believed this would provide a synergy for everything it wanted to do. To bring all the elements of Hydrolink together, they built the Jebel Ali facility in 2006. It was important to bring together all the competence that Hydrolink had as a business, manage the logistics of parts sourced from manufacturers around the world, add value to their customers by engineering solutions, assemble the solutions locally to the highest standards and then train customers in their specialist field.

As Mr Kevin Roberts – Managing Director states “It was all about taking components and using them to create value added items such as Hydrolink power packs, pump sets, spooler systems, filtration packages and all the multitude of products we could build using the best in class components. The facility allows us to design in-house, build, and then sell the Hydrolink product.”

There does appear to be a natural process between all the channels that they have. The business started as a hydraulic services company so hydraulics is a key channel that they have taken to market. Hydrolink then added filtration. This seemed to them a natural step born out of the hydraulic system’s need for cleanliness and contamination control. With Hydrolink’s experience in industrial hydraulic filtration it made sense for the business to expand that into other areas of filtration such as process filtration and air filtration. Next, Hydrolink looked at pumps, always having been involved with oil hydraulic pumps it made sense to have water-based pumps but the company recognised they needed to focus on specific markets that aligned with their existing customer base, so they concentrated on triplex pumps and large centrifugal pumps.

While the channels may seem very distinct, there is a synergy between them in that they are all fluid driven or fluid driving. So in turn, the synergy across their business is fluids. A few years ago, Hydrolink broke out third party product sales from the existing channels. At that time Hydrolink had a hydraulics channel, a pumps channel and a filtration channel and they recognised a need to differentiate trading activities from their specialist engineering services. In late 2005 they initiated the change that would enable them to focus on service, design & build and product sales as separate entities.

LEAD: Facilitating Excellence

As the paradigm of fluid engineering in the Middle East, Hydrolink can boast many things that competitors cannot. Unique to Hydrolink is the nucleus of their operation – a 150,000 sq ft Logistics, Engineering, Assembly and Development (LEAD) facility, located in Jebel Ali.

The combination of component availability, engineering competence and assembly skills allows Hydrolink to offer an unparalleled end-to-end supply chain solution. Ultimately, the facility offers higher quality package solutions while reducing cycle times and placing products closer to market.

The facility operates a modified Japanese Kanban production process, which is an excellent example of the integrated Kanban system. The process flows minimize the amount of product in the assembly area. This results in a safer, more productive environment.

“We control everything in our business here and that gives us access to the complete resource of the Hydrolink group so when a customer comes to us and looks to the facility they can see everything that we do,” says Director of Corporate Services, Alan Bryden. Hydrolink have the ability to manage the logistics of fluid engineering components on behalf of component manufacturers from around the globe. This ensures that products are available for customers throughout the Middle East and Central Asia.

A large engineering team is based at the LEAD center to design value added products from the stocked components. The resulting products are then assembled at the leading edge Hydrolink facility.

A training team who offer education on fluid power applications and product training for end users and distributors further supports the total solution center.

ISO 9001:2000 and HYDROLINK

Hydrolink operate to ISO 9001:2000 standards and ensure compliance through constant internal monitoring and periodic assessment by Det Norske Veritas. Quality lies at the core of this company, where all processes and procedures are quality checked and assessed, reviewed for improvement and implemented with enthusiasm.

The Hydrolink belief is that being at the front end in terms of: quality; environmental awareness; documentation and safety – is paramount. There are always going to be leaders and followers in any market. Hydrolink strive to be at the forefront and want to be seen as a leader rather than a follower.

CHANNELS to Market

• Hydraulics Service Channel

The Hydraulics Channel provides high quality drive and control solutions together with a 24/7 service capability to the marine, offshore, oil & gas and industrial sectors. The channel specializes in a number of system applications and components that would be commonly found within these markets and offers a unique go between for potential customers – a ‘one stop shop’ solution basis The Hydraulic Service Channel includes added value facility assessments of hydraulic oils. The assessments ensure the Hydrolink product performs at optimum levels for longer periods. The oil tests are also available to customers who wish to perform analyses on their own equipment. The Hydrolink Hydraulic Service Channel dominates the region in the domain of fluid power application through meticulous attention to detail and pure understanding.

• Pump Sales and Rental Channel

The Hydrolink Pump Sales & Rental Channel compliments and synergizes with the Hydraulic Services and Filtration Solutions channels. This allows Hydrolink to present complete fluid engineering solutions to industry. Extensive investment in the pump fleet places Hydrolink at the top end of the fleet rental market. Hydrolink are therefore capable of supplying a vast range of pump products to a diversified client base.

Hydrolink maintain a large stock of Centrifugal, High Pressure and Ultra High Pressure (UHP) pumps and pump sets for immediate delivery.

Hydrolink design and build UHP pump sets at the Jebel Ali LEAD facility. The company stock a wide range of High Pressure, Ultra High Pressure and Centrifugal units. In addition, Hydrolink can manufacture pump sets on a bespoke basis. Included in the pump portfolio are specialized Hydrojets. Hydrojetting is the surface preparation of steel using high-energy water to remove coatings, corrosion products and other surface contamination such as oil and grease.

• Filtration Solutions Channel

The Hydrolink Filtration Solutions Channel provides a single point of contact for a full range of contamination control products and services. From industrial hydraulics to process application, the Filtration Solutions Channel is able to provide the answers to customers contamination control needs.

The filtration engineering division of Hydrolink provides a complete partnership to cover technical, product and service requirements for a broad range of fluid filtration, purification and separation applications. Hydrolink assist by maximizing productivity and profitability, which in turn helps achieve peak operating efficiency levels.

Hydrolink enjoy a reputation of being not just filter suppliers but consultants for contamination control. Compressed air is almost always heavily contaminated with particulate and liquid impurities. An adequately designed air drying system, along with coalescing filters, ensures that only clean, dry air reaches the point of use downstream.

Covering design, supply and installation of desiccant and refrigerant compressed air dryers, Hydrolink provides air-drying solutions to a wide variety of applications, including instrument air applications with stringent dew-point requirements. Factory trained engineers provide service backup for Hydrolink supplied equipment. Hydrolink Filtration Solutions can be applied to a diverse range of industry quarters:

Refineries; Onshore/Offshore Oil Applications; Marine Applications; Engineering industries; Municipalities; Pharmaceuticals.

Products and Partners

Hydrolink are able to provide a range of products tailored to the specific requirements of the customer and can do so with the knowledge that the company has vast experience in both on and offshore system integration. Ultimately, the product range allows Hydrolink to provide the Middle East’s finest integrated hydraulic, filtration and pump solutions. And this in turn, is why component partners are happy to associate themselves with Hydrolink.

First and foremost, Hydrolink components are sourced from companies that have longstanding track records for excellence in their field, not just in the Middle East, but the entire world. Notwithstanding, the Hydrolink eye for detail is multifaceted so the story does not end with quality alone. Because of this, Hydrolink can service the oil and gas market with several key tools that are of essential value both on and offshore. Amid an array of products that Hydrolink can manufacture on a bespoke basis are systems such as: CT Units for a number of applications; Spoolers for all applications including downhole; Hydrotest Pumps (1000 bar at 80 litres per minute); Nitrogen Skids.

VISION 2020

With the future in mind, Hydrolink still maintains the native ambition that was evident in its conception back in 1989. The company now aims to exploit new market opportunities, and to continue with the very same organic growth pattern that has seen it transform into the regions leading fluid engineering provider. The future starts now. For the past five years Hydrolink has experienced year on year growth in excess of 40%. Projected annual growth for 2008 an onward falls slightly below this threshold at 35%. Even still, this is a remarkable story attached to a remarkable company.

With infinite scope in the oil and gas sector, and increased demand, Hydrolink aim to capitalize. The product diversity initiatives have acted as a foundation for the success experienced, success which has been galvanized with the construction of the headquarters in Jebel Ali. “We have the products and skills that the market can benefit from and the market is ready for our products. Also, we have good relationships with many of the big players in that market and that will help us to match that 35% growth,” said Kevin J. Roberts, Managing Director.

Indeed, the expansion of the Hydrolink LEAD facility in Jebel Ali epitomizes the ambition and tangible potential that exists within. Initially the facility was to last for the next ten years. Only a year after moving into the headquarters, expansion plans are well underway. Current projections indicate that even with the expansion, the facility will only last for four years given the prolific growth pattern.

However, the key to success does not exist in either premises or booming markets, according to Alan Bryden: “We are growing fast. The key for us is not about finding premises, it’s not about having access to markets the markets exist and the ability to find premises exist. The key is in human capital … to ensure we have this we have to continue setting up training programmes.”

Hydrolink have the best people in the market place because of this very reason. Investing in these human futures will rubber stamp success. The security of human capital is one of the very reasons Hydrolink is posting double-digit growth on a yearly basis.

The market is looking for high quality players such as Hydrolink who can support and assist. This is about providing the highest level of service in the market place and being big enough to support the key players who operate there. Hydrolink care enough to provide the best products, the best service and the best support and are available 24 hours, seven days a week.

At every level in the organization they are available to offer support. Their door is always open, the phone is always on and they aim to deliver.

“We know in our own minds that we are as good as our customer. We have to make our customer as strong as possible and we do that by building, expanding and delivering top line service.”