Earlier this year, Robin Hodgson was tasked with fully bringing SFP Hydraulics into the Roth Hydraulics’ fold.
When Robin Hodgson left high school in the UK, he had a few options: continue onto the higher education route, leave for a Government Student Employee Scheme, obtain an apprenticeship, or drop out of school. He chose the third option, which put him into a life-long career in fluid power as just a teenager. He started his career as an Apprentice Mechanical Engineer working for a privately owned company called K&B Beattie Ltd, in his hometown of Ashington, in the North-East of England. KBB had two entities in Northumberland and Aberdeen, Scotland which supplied hose assemblies and hose and fittings to the oil & gas industry, which was economically booming at the time.
Robin Hodgson on the production floor at Roth Hydraulics (formerly SFP Hydraulics) in Katy, Texas — where the pace never slows.
Hodgson is truly one of those fluid power professionals who has held every job in the field, starting by sweeping the shop floor, and learning all aspects of the hose business. Before he honed in on sales and business development, he worked as a machinist, CNC machining programmer/operator, hose assembler, in coupling assembly, inspection/testing/packaging, global logistics, onshore/offshore installer/lead, manufacturing and production process, costing specialist, internal and external sales and business development/account management, IT specialist (SAP implementation and ERP/MRP process and trainer), finance and P&L ownership, and finally, management and team building.
“Throughout my career, I’ve worked in small companies which have required me to wear many hats, hence the experience in every department of the entire business process, and scaling up and growth initiatives,” Hodgson said.
The impact of people
Because Hodgson was so young when he entered KBB, many of those early managers had a great impact on his career and helped shape the professional he has become. He especially appreciates Ken Beattie Sr. and Brian Beattie of K&B Beattie Ltd for giving him a chance with his apprenticeship opportunity. It was there he learned the company values that formed his early working years. Additionally, his apprenticeship manager, Ian Latimer instilled a sense of pride, an unstoppable work ethic, a safety culture (especially for PPE) and quality values for all aspects. “Ian had a serious tone that demanded attention to detail but also a fair and rewarding side when you met those demands,” Hodgson said.
Hodgson talks strategy with Aleksa Samardzija, Head of Operations, at the company’s Katy, Texas, headquarters.
Ken Beattie Jr., Managing Director/Owner of K&B Beattie, took a chance on him and moved him into a sales role. “After an unbelievable networking opportunity to go and play golf in Holland and represent the company, I ended up playing with the head of Bluewater and the tournament organizer. I won the longest drive competition (by luck rather than design),” Hodgson said. This, ultimately, led to Beattie Jr. then offering him the opportunity to move to the USA and help establish a sales team of a greenfield facility in Houston .
“By this time K&B Beattie had been acquired by Phoenix AG out of Germany and, all of a sudden, I was employed by a global German corporate powerhouse. Later, Phoenix was acquired by Continental AG, a $20BB revenue company and I worked for the ContiTech division of Continental which in itself was a $6BB division,” Hodgson said.
He would like to give kudos to Peter Neale for helping with temperament on the job. “Peter is also from the UK and he was a long-term Phoenix employee who came to Houston as Managing Director of ContiTech Beattie (where by then I was the Global Sales Manager),” Hodgson said. “He was the last and most influential manager I worked for. He was multilingual, spoke German and French fluently and was calmness personified — to this day, when I have challenges with team members my wife always says to me ‘Be like Peter Neale.’”
Building Roth Hydraulics in the U.S.
Hodgson was appointed president of SFP/Roth Hydraulics earlier this year, bringing the bladder accumulator expertise of SFP together with the piston side from Roth. Now, the company has a well-rounded product line with a team of people well-versed in both technologies. “When you marry the two — piston accumulators and bladder accumulators — you’ve got the best of both worlds,” he said. “SFP has been playing in the oil and gas channel, but now, we’ve got the entirety of North America, South America, and multiple channels to get after.”
Bladder accumulators from Roth Hydraulics. cutaway view shows internal bladder separating the nitrogen gas from the hydraulic fluid. Reliable Energy Storage and Pressure Control.
Hodgson has been tasked with integrating the privately owned company into a much larger organization of Roth Hydraulics and positioning it for growth. “That entails retaining our own identity which has made the company successful so far whilst embracing and adopting the new cultures and best practices that have made Roth a global powerhouse and growing the company and positioning us for future success,” Hodgson said. “The most exciting aspect is leading the team through the upcoming challenges we will inevitably encounter and watching the team grow, learn and pass on the same values and knowledge that I have been fortunate to learn myself over the years.”
Hodgson noted that sometimes, the most essential aspects of running a business are the least exciting. “While it may not be the most exciting part of the job, dealing with administrative processes, compliance requirements, audits, reporting, and documentation is essential,” he said. “These activities don’t always generate revenue directly, but they provide the foundation that allows a company to scale, operate safely, and maintain the trust of customers, employees, and stakeholders. The exciting projects often get the spotlight, but success is usually built on disciplined execution behind the scenes.”
The current transition of SFP to Roth is probably his biggest career challenge to date, but he’s up for it. “Success is not guaranteed. It requires, hard work, determination, difficult conversations, failures, change and learning. But what I have learned over the years is that when goals and objectives are clear, direction is provided, support is provided and information is transparent and open then these are the core values that facilitate that success,” he said. “We will be successful because everyone is working with this mindset and our customers will be the beneficiaries of the process.
The Roth Hydraulics USA team with a selection of the company’s bladder, piston and diaphragm accumulators at its Katy, Texas facility.
“This almost feels natural to me — it feels like everything I have done before was geared towards this very role. This is almost the easiest part; it’s simply a change in name and not a change in company. SFP Hydraulics compliments Roth Hydraulics and enhances the Roth portfolio and catalog,” he said. “I would consider it a marriage made in heaven where we can take the best of what we do and add the best of what Roth can do and bring it to North America and across the world and become a familiar and global brand name that people know and trust.”
What’s easy here, said Hodgson, is that there are several long-term employees at SFP, like Christine Hughey, Inside Sales Manager, who knows its market, customers and products like the back of her hands. “Christine has dedicated more than 25-plus years to the accumulator industry, beginning with Olaer USA before joining Parker following the acquisition. She later became employee number one at SFP Hydraulics and has played a critical role in building the company’s reputation for customer service, technical expertise, and responsiveness,” Hodgson said. “Her experience and commitment represent the type of long-term industry knowledge that continues to drive success throughout the fluid power sector.
“We also have Visu Muga, Head of Engineering & New Product Development, with more than 15-plus years’ experience in engineering and who has worked hand-in-hand with Christine together across the same companies. They both also joined SFP Hydraulics in the early days,” Hodgson said. “Together they form the backbone of experience and knowledge within the company and are going to be equally responsible for the further development, training of new employees, and growth of the company as we diversify into new industries with the new products. With them at the helm and with the backing of Roth they can now look forward to maximizing their full potential.”
A flourishing career and future
Hodgson has spent his entire career working in the fluid power space and wants to show how wonderful it is to young people. “Engineering and fluid power is applicable across multiple industries and global footprint,” he said. “It literally moves the world, inside and out!”
After his own wonderful experience as an apprentice, he wants to introduce an apprenticeship program at SFP/Roth Hydraulics. “I don’t see apprenticeships as often as I used to and I feel like the majority of the world overlooks this, looking at college or university as the gold standard. But there’s still a need for the hands-on learning,” he said. “I was able to successfully learn a trade, learn invaluable life skills and values all while being paid to do so. Who wouldn’t want that opportunity?”
As President of Roth Hydraulics USA, Hodgson is focused on uniting SFP’s bladder accumulator expertise with Roth’s piston technology under one global brand.
Although the industry has changed over his career with more technology and automation, the relationship side of fluid power is still strong. Hodgson said it’s still critical to have trust, reliability and the ability to solve customer problems. “Looking forward, I believe we will continue to see increased automation, smarter hydraulic systems, improved condition monitoring, and greater integration of data and diagnostics,” he said. “At the same time, there will always be a need for skilled technicians, engineers, and hands-on problem solvers. Fluid power may not always be visible to the public, but it remains one of the critical technologies that powers industries around the world. The biggest challenge facing our industry is attracting and developing the next generation of talent. That’s why apprenticeship programs, mentorship, and hands-on learning opportunities are so important.”
But he plans to provide similar opportunities to continue to grow the industry. “Fluid power has given me opportunities I could never have imagined as a 16-year-old apprentice in a small town in Northeast England,” he concluded. “It allowed me to learn a trade, travel the world, build lifelong friendships, raise a family in another country, and lead businesses and teams that I am incredibly proud of. If I could go back and do it all again, I’d choose the same path without hesitation.”
Filed Under: Accumulators, Components
