By Christopher Kolbe, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at HYDAC Technology Corporation
Fluid Power World’s Mary Gannon sat down with Christopher Kolbe, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at HYDAC Technology, to discuss the mix of electronics and hydraulics that are shaping the future of fluid power, with a focus on HYDAC’s fluid system architecture approach.
Gannon: What is one industry assumption about hydraulics that you think is outdated, especially considering the technology you’re developing?
Kolbe: One thing that I think is outdated is that there is nothing left to change, that hydraulics is mature and at its peak. But when we look at our technology development and the integration of electronics with hydraulics, that notion is completely thrown away. When we come to our customers with a whole different system approach, we can offer a 20% increase in hydraulic efficiency. This can mean a significant reduction in initial cost of the vehicle, because we can have a smaller battery and a smaller electronic motor driving the hydraulics. Or we get longer run time. And both of those things are very important to the end customer.
Gannon: How do you break down the opportunities for improving hydraulic efficiency?
Kolbe: We look at three levels: components, subsystems, and full system architecture.
1. At the component level: You focus on individual parts — valves, filters, etc. Any pressure drop creates heat and wastes energy, so we redesign components to minimize that drop. For example, we use our Sustainmicron filter, which features a less restrictive filtration media and optimized valve flow paths. This typically yields single-digit percentage gains, but they’re relatively easy and quick to implement.
2. At the subsystem level: Here you look at how components work together. Take a lifting function: instead of just a valve, you consider the valve, plumbing, restrictions, sensors, and how they’re packaged — often into a manifold. With load sensing and electronic control, you can increase the valve opening electronically which in turn optimizes flow and pressure more intelligently, and that can deliver 10–15% efficiency improvements.
3. Finally at the system architecture level: This is where the largest gains are — 25% or more — but it requires rethinking the whole system with the OEM. One example includes gravity lowering a boom by electronically controlling valves and routing oil so you can sometimes lower without running the pump.
You can also use multiple pumps so low-pressure functions aren’t forced to operate at the highest system pressure, which otherwise just turns into heat.
The greatest efficiencies require upfront consultative approaches to the design. We must get involved early with the OEM on how they’re going to approach the solution and what their mechanical challenges are and what their mechanical devices are doing.
Gannon: At HYDAC, you call this your new “fluid system architecture” principle. What does that entail?
Kolbe: Fluid system architecture rests on three pillars:
1. Fluid power engineering – understanding hydraulic behavior and fundamentals.
2. Controls – both hydraulic and electronic, and how to apply them effectively.
3. System or vehicle knowledge – knowing what the machine does, its duty cycles, and what the OEM is trying to achieve.
When you bring these three together, you can design architectures that truly optimize performance, efficiency, and cost. It’s not just a fluid power problem, or just a controls problem, or just mechanical design — it’s the intersection of all three. That’s why collaboration and trust with the OEM are critical. You’re getting deep into their machine and business, so it must be a genuine partnership.
Gannon: How do you see the broader future of hydraulics in this context?
Kolbe: The future is about integration — electronics, mechanical systems, and fluid power working together. If you only understand one discipline, you tend to over-apply it. But some problems are best solved hydraulically, some mechanically, some electronically. When you understand all three, you know which lever to pull to get the best result. With today’s pressure for speed to market and the shortage of deep technical expertise, OEMs increasingly need partners who can bring that holistic view and help them move quickly and intelligently.
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