High times for HUSCO: valve specialist announces major new business, major facility expansions and significant new valve technology - industry news

Diesel Progress North American Edition, March, 2004 by Mike Brezonick

With the mobile equipment and component markets finally coming back to life over the last few months, you're seeing a lot of smiles around the industry these days.

But you'll pardon the folks at HUSCO International if their smiles seem just a little wider than most. Because the Waukesha, Wis., electro-hydraulic valve and control specialist has been the recipient of a lot of good news lately.

First and foremost, Agustin A. Ramirez, HUSCO international's chairman and chief executive officer, announced obtaining over a dozen new multi-year contracts and commitments expected to he worth in excess of $500 million in sales over the term of the agreements. The contracts are for programs in each of HUSCO's major divisions and subsidiaries, Ramirez said. The divisions include Industrial Products which serves construction and material handling equipment markets; the Agricultural Products Division; the Automotive Products Division; and the company's European and China operations.

Ramirez added that the new programs will create approximately 200 jobs over the next six years, half of which may be located in Wisconsin.

In anticipation of the new business, HUSCO expanded its facilities in the U.S. and China. The company's White water, Wis., plant has grown by 50,000 sq.ft. and a new 30,000 sq.ft, facility has been built near Shanghai, China. Components and systems for the new pro grams will be produced at the expanded facilities, along with the existing sites in Waukesha and Runcorn, England.

The new operation in China will provide access to the fast growing China market and will help HUSCO lower component costs in its other facilities, the company said. Additionally, the Chinese operation will also provide low to medium technology products to markets outside of China.

Among its new business contracts are a number of automotive programs, featuring products designed to serve the new and rapidly developing market for electrohydraulic controls to improve automotive engine fuel efficiency and power while lowering exhaust emissions. "In the past year, HUSCO has penetrated automotive markets for CAM profile switching, cylinder deactivation and high pressure fuel injection controls; markets which are expected to expand rapidly in the near future;' said Mark Sefcik, vice president and general manager of the Automotive Division.

HUSCO's initial automotive business development efforts resulted in a $100 million contract in 1996 to provide electrohydraulic controls for Mercedes-Benz high performance suspension systems as part of a Daimler Chrysler developed technology called Active Body Control (ABC). Expertise developed from this five year, clean sheet of paper product development effort allowed HUSCO to develop a significant presence in the engine management system controls market. "Four major new commitments have been received, two which are located in Europe. Developments in engine management controls will drive a high rate of growth for HUSCO's Automotive Division (located in Whitewater, Wis.) for the next five to 10 years," said Ramirez. "The automotive market is very challenging to serve, but HUSCO's automotive manufacturing facility" is world class, and its proprietary products are highly engineered and provide superior performance."

HUSCO has also secured over a dozen major contracts/commitments in its traditional off-highway market resulting in a major expansion of its electrohydraulic control products for agricultural tractors, off:" highway suspension, material handling equipment, and construction equipment.

"Even though our non-automotive markets were weak in 2003, the new commitments will drive substantial off highway business growth during the next three to five years;' Ramirez said, adding that he expects 2004 sales to increase more than 20% followed by a similar sales increase in 2005.

One of the segments leading that growth, Ramirez said, is off-highway suspension products, which is a derivative of technology developed by the automotive division. This technology is designed to substantially increase the capabilities of equipment such as farm tractors, where greater speed and a smoother ride results in higher productivity and longer careers for farmers, he noted.

Perhaps most significant of all is the news that HUSCO has secured major commitments From mobile equipment manufacturers for its new highly proprietary Intelligent Control Valve (INCOVA) system. The new INCOVA technology is drastically different than traditional off highway controls, Ramirez said. "In traditional off-highway controls, the valves are in one or two assemblies located remotely from the work functions," he noted. "INCOVA puts electrohydraulic proportional poppet valves and integral electronics near the work functions in a distributed lash ion. The valves are controlled by a system coordinator--an electronic controller--which interfaces with the machine master controls.

"The comparison with existing technology is analogous to an old mainframe computer compared to laptop computers."