Equipment and Machinery

Hydraulic Steels Australia : Largest range stocked in Australia

Owners Stephen and Teresa Holt from Hydraulic Steels Australia explain how their business has expanded rapidly even through the pandemic.

Hydraulic Steels Australia has expanded rapidly. The operation’s new facility in Brisbane is now fully commissioned. Managing Director, Stephen Holt explains, “Our expanded capacity has enabled us to stock up with a new range of special hydraulic steels. These include hollow bars; 1020 bright mild steel; and 1045 turned and polished bright steel. We also stock pre hardened and tempered 4140 precision ground bar, which is used in most industry sectors for a wide range of applications, but particularly pins and bushes. There has been an increased demand for these special hydraulic steels.”

The company was recently appointed as the exclusive distributor in Australia and New Zealand of Cromax® made by Swedish company Ovako. “We are extremely proud to have Cromax® amongst the steels we sell. Cromax® bars and tubes have become acknowledged as the world’s premium steel product for hydraulic components due to its unmatched quality, engineered for the toughest Customers. Ovako’s Cromax® technology is trusted worldwide by a wide range of companies in industries such as earth moving equipment, materials handling, mining equipment, forestry machinery, agricultural equipment, industrial hydraulics and pneumatics,” commented Stephen.

The move to the new facility has also seen some changes. General Manager Brock Nason, advised that they have expanded their range of band saws. “We are in the process of purchasing an Everising P150C, which is a high production circular saw with an automatic feed. This has a blade speed of 30–125 rpm, which is ten times faster than standard band saws,” says Brock. The company has not just been investing in stock and hardware. Brock describes the company’s new stock holding and traceability systems. “We are implementing a fully integrated paperless system. All our products will have a Unique Identifier (UID) traceable code. These changes are driving speed and efficiencies.”

Finance Director, Teresa Holt also explains that they have innovative plans afoot. “We are currently working on a far-reaching customer ordering portal. This will seamlessly integrate with our existing stock holding and traceability system, which means that customers will know exactly what we have in stock. This will also be a game changer in that we will be able to offer steel products to customers globally and not just to the wider Australasian region.”

With so much going on, EEM asked Stephen if the ongoing COVID pandemic had presented any challenges. “Yes we have been affected, but we’ve been extremely fortunate. We had put in an order for a significant volume of stock just before the pandemic broke and although this was delayed by a few months, we have not experienced quite as much disruption as many other steel distributors who now have depleted stocks. Some of these guys are doing it tough and we feel for them. As the pandemic spread, we quickly made further orders, which are now in transit. This means that our existing and future customers can rest assured that we are well stocked with the largest range of hydraulic steels in Australia. We can offer a superior service where continuity of stock is guaranteed.”

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