Assuming that they are correctly designed, installed and maintained, hydraulic systems should have an operating life of decades. Even in the harshest environments, such as steel production and offshore, you’ll probably find pumps and manifolds which were first installed before half your workforce were born. With such pressures placed on these systems it’s vital that they are manufactured to the highest of standards and tested for suitability. Oilgear has invested in its UK manufacturing and testing facilities to ensure that it offers industry leading reliability and efficiency for the industrial, energy and mobile markets.

Oilgear’s UK headquarters, based in Leeds, is one of Europe’s leading centres of excellence for the manufacture and testing of hydraulic components. Backed up by a strong engineering department, the facility is able to build bespoke systems for applications as diverse as sub-sea ROVs, offshore rig motion compensation systems and movable seating in football stadiums. The site has been manufacturing hydraulic components for over 60 years and boasts modern machining and bespoke built test rigs.

Kieran Doyle, Oilgear UK Managing Director, comments: “On the face of it, the principles of hydraulic technology are well established so there isn’t much scope for revolution. But that doesn’t mean there is no room for evolution, and that is what we’re committed to as a business.

We continually strive to improve our manufacturing techniques and use high quality materials to ensure we make continuous gains in terms of performance. We design and build our own test rigs to allow us to accurately test our products for a multitude of scenarios – we also use these facilities within our aftermarket service which allows us to retro-fit and adapt older components to meet modern day performance standards.”

On-site capabilities include lean manufacturing of components and the design and assembly of complete systems, including integrated control panels. All parts are subjected to extensive quality control procedures, ensuring that ISO9001 standards are met – as well as a variety of industry standards. The test rigs include pressure and flow tests for pumps, valves and manifolds as well as a multi-fluid test rig for mineral oil, water based fluids, Skydrol, glycols and biodegradables.