PERFECT PITCH Hydra Tech, based in the Danish town of Vrå, is a world-class manufacturer of custom hydraulic cylinders. The company has a large engineering and design department and produces cylinders for the offshore and marine industries. Joseph Altham interviewed Kim Weidemann, CEO of Hydra Tech, to find out about the company’s activities in wind power and its recent acquisition of AVN Energy.
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ydra Tech has been making hydraulic cylinders since the 1970s. In the beginning, the focus was on cylinders for cranes and forestry equipment. Today Hydra Tech makes hydraulic cylinders for various applications including mining equipment, steel mills and lock gates. In 1989 Hydra Tech began to produce hydraulic cylinders for the offshore and marine industries, and these industries are now the company’s main customers. “Essentially, hydraulic cylinders help you move something that is difficult to lift,” said Mr Weidemann. “They also allow you to automate processes. For the offshore industry, we produce hydraulic cylinders for cranes, as well as drilling cylinders for rigs and platforms.” On ships, Hydra Tech’s cylinders are used in hatch covers and marine cranes. In the offshore environment hydraulic cylinders must be
capable of withstanding extreme conditions, so Hydra Tech treats quality and safety as top priorities. “In the offshore industry, the cost of a breakdown can be devastating. Quality of work and traceability of materials is a basic requirement.” All Hydra Tech’s production sites are certified to the international quality management standard, ISO 9001:2008. The company works with a number of regulatory certification agencies, including DNV, Bureau Veritas, ABS and Lloyds Register, to ensure that the necessary safeguards are in place and that all cylinders meet the appropriate standards for durability.
Acquisitions Hydra Tech’s main factory is at Vrå, in the north of Jutland. This factory has its own testing centre. “Every product is extenIndustry Europe 93
