For 50 years Hydraulic Controls has been regarded as one of Australia’s most trusted fluid power experts
Founded in 1972 by entrepreneur aeronautical and mechanical engineer and inventor Ray Evans, Hydraulic Controls continues a strong family tradition of quality, precision and service to become one of Australia’s most trusted experts in the field of fluid power.
Based in Brookvale, NSW, this private family business continues to expand, employing 18 people in the manufacture of hardware that controls some of the nation’s most complex hydraulic machines. The company has the ability to design and make to order requirement specifications or schematics or draw from its large stock holding of 20,000 plus items such as valves, solenoid valves, control valves, manifolds, hydraulic integrated circuits, hydraulic pumps, Ifield pump motors, servo motors and more.
With a consistent 99.7% on-time delivery the company services customers from large multi-national OEM’s to sole traders, covering a diverse range of industries including mining, maritime, contracting, agriculture, materials handling, industry, manufacturing to theatre stage lifts and virtually anything that moves. Hydraulic Controls in-house manufacturing includes manifold CNC machining, surface treatments, valve checks, directional flow and pressure control, hydraulic integrated circuits, build to print etc. with full material traceability and metrology. In-house testing facilities to 500 bar and flow to 100Lpm
“To ensure we provided the best service, highest quality and competitive pricing to our clients we needed to give our team the best possible machines and Okuma became the brand of choice,” said Managing Director, Leonard Patchett. “As a global business with an outstanding name and with direct factory representation in Australia, Okuma keeps raising the bar in precision, quality and service and this aligns perfectly with our vision. Our investment in one of the world’s most advanced fully optioned Okuma machining centres positions our company as a world class manufacturer today and into the future,” he said.
According to Leonard the performance from Okuma is exactly what we hoped for and more, with regular contact, training and helpful advice ensuring that the company can fully utilise the machine’s amazing capabilities in Smart Manufacturing. Operating the Okuma machining centre outside business hours with known accuracy and stability has minimised power consumption and freed up valuable time in the day for bespoke, one-off and short lead time requests.
“Our current and proposed Okuma machining centres are integral components of our energy-saving, designed to mitigate our environmental impact,” said Leonard Patchett.
With advanced new machining centres on the horizon, diversification has been a key factor for this precision engineering company as it looks at new business opportunities in areas such as defence, industry and export.
Already fully accredited to ISO-9001, ISO1 4001 and ISO 45001 and with DISP underway, the company is well placed to achieve its development goals.
Whilst the bulk of sales are made to Australian customers, significant exports are being achieved via these customers with direct export sales also growing.
‘If you want to employ the best machinists, they want and deserve to best machines to advance their experience, knowledge and operational skills using the latest technology. Such investment in this technology has proven to excite the operators and to provide an air of confidence in the future for the company. The knowledge that they will receive advanced and ongoing training on this equipment adds to the excitement,” said Leonard Patchett.
Providing a distinct market advantage and service to industry, the company has over the last 50 years built up an extensive library including rare technical data sheets covering products regarded by some as obsolete, thus allowing these to be serviced.
Fluid power technology makes machinery and equipment come to life and the team at Hydraulic Controls has a deep knowledge and passion for hydraulics backed by decades of engineering experience to take them well into the next 50 years.
“With its rich history, Hydraulic Controls is well equipped to leverage advancements in Okuma technology, supported by the comprehensive training we offer, to strengthen its already strong market position,” commented Steve Norbis, Northern Regional Manager – NSW and Queensland, Okuma Australia.