As indigenous earthmoving and construction equipment players decide to push forward, we would like to cater to their hydraulic needs better, says Raj Dabholkar, Director, Tucson Hydrocontrols. Excerpts from the interview...

What are the innovations from Tucson for new-generation machines?
Tucson Hydrocontrols offers Hydraulic Integrated Circuits (HIC) packages that are created specifically for a particular circuit where two or more valves are needed, keeping in mind explicit installation requirements. The Screw-in Cartridge Valves (SiCVs), produced by Tucson in India, are mounted into machined manifolds which can be made in steel, aluminium or even SG iron. The SiCVs are connected internally depending on the circuit without the need for pipes, fittings and sealing washers. This permits the creation of compact, leak-free valve control system packages while eliminating the cost and time to individually connect the valves together. This capability satisfies many application requirements where available space for hydraulic components is limited. HIC packages are ideally suited for a quick and easy, low-cost hydraulic circuit, which has repetitive applications. This requirement actually led to the development of the SiCV concept in the first place.

What are the major solutions offered by Tucson towards cost and energy-efficient hydraulics?
With cost and time consciousness on the rise, an increasing number of mobile and industrial application companies are opting for more advanced HIC packages due to their potential benefits:

• Low installation costs
• Leak-free systems
• Reduced piping clutter
• Smaller system footprint

Companies are now opting for a more bespoke approach to their products with specifically designed systems for applications such as material handling equipment, earthmoving equipment, batching plants, crushers and screens, road making equipment, cement pumps, utility equipment, rock drills, agricultural machines and even mining machinery. Also, industrial applications for plastic injection moulding machines, press brakes, power presses, SPMs, heavy industries and hydraulic power packs for steel, textile and rubber mills. With its rising popularity in the market and with new applications being implemented at a rapid rate, their use has spread to encompass virtually every conceivable market where hydraulic systems can be applied.

How do you look at the electro-hydraulic solutions in the current market scenario?
Tucson has steered clear of manufacturing solenoid valves in India due to the dearth of good suppliers for coils and cores. Current manufacturers of solenoid components in India are far behind their international counterparts. With weak coils prone to failure and with an eye on aftermarket spares rather than a long service life, imported solenoids are finding more popularity than indigenous ones. But this does not mean that these systems are not popular. People are interested in adding a proportional dimension to their existing systems.

What are the products and technologies offered by Tucson for specific equipment segments?
Tucson has always been the go-to company for load holding valves, be it for excavators, cranes, backhoes or material handling equipment. We have now started catering to clients for complete hydraulic solutions as far as the main circuit is concerned. With complicated systems, it is always a hassle to procure various items from different suppliers and assemble and test on location. We design and manufacture the system at our end, assemble and test it and provide the complete package. With this, the customer is ensured that all parts are working fine and in tandem and only the final test is to be done. This exercise is being carried out for agricultural combines, excavators, underground mining equipment as well as drilling rigs.

What are the major challenges you face and what are the opportunities you look forward to in the coming years?
Along with our standard range, we also are now heavily catering to rock drill manufacturers with bespoke as well as standardised systems for these equipment. We are now releasing our line of HIC for excavator, crane, backhoe and utility equipment attachments as standard products. With a more robust structure than our competitors and capabilities to withstand the harshest and most unforgiving environments, these would be the prime focus with us. A more technologically significant product release is our Zero Differential Overcenter Valve. Capable of handling almost 350 litre of flow per minute, these are designed and manufactured for the first time in India without any foreign collaboration. We hope that as more and more indigenous manufacturers of earthmoving and construction equipment decide to push forward, we would like to cater to their hydraulic needs all the far better.

HIC packages are ideally suited for a quick and easy, low-cost hydraulic circuit, which has repetitive applications.