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 Earthmoving and construction equip-ment, agricultural tractors, fork lifts, industrial power units and specialised applications like garbage truck superstructure operation, cooling fan of a bus and the steering system of a speed boat rely on their hydraulic muscle power to ensure efficiency and reliability. The hydraulic muscle power that these systems depend upon, day-in and day-out, are made up of hydraulic components and fluid conveyance parts.
Specialising in the field of such and more diverse hydraulics is US-based Eaton Corporation, which clocked sales of US$15.4 billion in 2008, and has a global presence across 150 countries including India. In India, the company's hydraulics operations are based at Pune, which was acquired with the global acquisition of Aeroquip Vickers in April 1999. In addition to hydraulics manufacturing, the operations are also a centre of excellence for gear pumps, says Lavanya Wadgaonkar, the spokesperson for Eaton (India). According to her, the company also operates a design centre and a commercial vehicle transmission plant out of Pune.
Catering to the mobile and industrial applications, the hydraulics business of Eaton in India also doubles up as a significant export base. Announces Nitin Chalke, the managing director of Eaton Fluid Power (India), “We export steering control units, fluid control valves and more, and most of these are direct exports rather than through our global bases.” Nitin, who took over in May 2009, states that the first thing he did was to look at the company's strengths and presence in the domestic market. “We identified the growth areas and found out that we are strong on the mobile platform. We are therefore now stressing upon the industrial platform,” he states as a matter of fact.
Eaton's hydraulic product range, marketed under the brand names of Char-Lynn, Aeroquip, Walterscheid, Vickers, Eaton, HydroKraft and Hydrowa, is roughly broken into three categories – power, control and fluid conveyance, and accounts for products like lines, fluid conveyance hoses, pumps and motors and fluid controlling devices like valves. While the mobile segment forms the core competence of the Eaton's hydraulics business in India, according to Nitin Chalke, the thrust of the company is clearly on the industrial segment. Areas like the power and energy sector, which is growing at about 80 per cent. To cater to this sector and other similar sectors like the construction industry, primary metals, metal forming, automotive, pulp and paper, entertainment, etc., under the industrial segment, the company has been adding manpower and equipment.
Ask Nitin Chalke if Eaton has been adding capacity, and he explains, “The nature of business under the industrial segment is often of the turn key type. For this type of business we have the needed capacity.” To cater to and further penetrate into the industrial hydraulics segment the company has been adding manpower at the front and back, which involves working with the end customers from the initial stages. It is worth mentioning at this stage that the Indian operations of Eaton was instrumental in designing and developing the hitch valve, a type of a flow control valve. Avers Nitin, “The hitch valve was designed by the engineering centre in India.”
With the aftermarket presence in hydraulics taken care of by a distribution channel in both mobile and industrial segments, Eaton's capabilities, says Nitin Chalke, include commissioning of equipment, servicing and modernising. “We offer customised systems solutions as needed,” he adds. Eaton at Pune has a test facility where various processes like prototyping, testing and production can be carried out. Capable of doing the whole chain, under the industrial segment, the company is laying greater thrust on oil and gas, railway, primary metal and work metal markets. “We are building capacity based on customer requirements,” remarks Nitin. “Recession was a learning experience. It taught us to look at sustainable, efficient and innovative solutions. Post recession we are seeing positive signals coming in from the end market. We are thus emphasising on short and mid-term planning,” he adds. Pointing at the hydraulic products on display, Nitin sums up: “Eaton is a well respected name in the market.”
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