Learn how Swiss-based Thomy Leibacher, founder of Leibacher Hydraulics+Electronics, supports both design and camaraderie in fluid power.
I say over and over again, it’s the people in the fluid power industry that have kept me here so long. Connecting with entrepreneurs, engineers and innovators is inspiring. But add to that, the kind and welcoming personalities you find at every turn and you can’t go wrong.
You don’t even have had to meet a person in this industry to know them and consider them an industry friend. Thomy Leibacher is one such person. She shines like a beacon of joy, her fire emojis on LinkedIn a testament to her passion for the industry and her support of those advancing the industry.
From apprentice to expert
Like many in the industry, Leibacher got her first taste of hydraulics very young. She was a 17-year-old apprentice with a manufacturer of industrial valves for controlling steam, gas, water or contaminated water in power plants. Her teacher and mentor there worked with her to build a flow rig to measure the pressure loss on the valves. This hooked her and she continued with this work, learning how to design and produce seals on poppet valves and using metallic materials for seals in high-temperature and high-pressure applications.
Thomy Leibacher shows her work on valve design in her company, Leibacher Hydraulics+Electronics.
She worked the gamut of valve design, from machining valve parts, assembly, testing for leaks, and setting up PID controllers on air-driven valves. It was there she learned when and where different high-quality materials should be used, such as stainless steel, Inconel and other high strength materials.
Having gotten a taste of the work, Leibacher decided to attend evening school to become a mechanical design engineer. Throughout the 1980s, she worked in mobile hydraulic sales, gaining valuable sales training while on the job. She began to work with more hydraulic technologies over these years, learning stack valves and customized manifolds, pressure-compensated external gear pumps, orbital hydraulic motors, hydraulic cylinders on construction machinery, and even special hydraulic cylinders with integrated positioning sensors for use in hydro power plants.
Inspired valve designs
She spent the next couple decades working in valve design, even relocating from Zurich to Chicago for her dream job. She had met Connie Kosarzecki in 2006, and was inspired by his valve designs. “I never met someone who understood how to keep the valve design simple and sturdy as he did,” she said.
Thomy Leibacher has been involved in valve design since the start of her career. Here and below are simulations of her logic element size 40 ratio1:1.06. This valve ratio works for check valve and directional valve function up to 9,000 psi in high flow applications.
After nearly four years in the U.S., she returned home to Zurich and eventually started Leibacher Hydraulics+Electronics, working as a reseller for Kosarzecki’s existing product line at Command Controls Corp. She now designs and sells her own cartridge valves, slip-in DIN cartridge valves, actuators, power packs, closed-loop circuits, and test benches.
“My job keeps creativity and curiosity vivid,” Leibacher said. “I stay focused and well-organized in project management, staying up to date on standards.”
Mornings are focused on managing multiple projects, and she often breaks in the day for exercise, whether it is running or ice skating, which she shares with her friends regularly on LinkedIn. “In the morning, I experience a blast of new ideas and focus on tasks and priorities. In this sequence of booting up my working day I need to be undisturbed to organize all this in my project management tools. We keep today’s data and information at our fingertips,” she said.
Part of a diverse community
Leibacher loves the fluid power industry, and has worked at manufacturers both large and small, like her own company, throughout her career.
“The most rewarding part,” she asserts, “is the constant evolution and the diverse applications of valves.” She acknowledges the challenges — navigating complex standards, cultural nuances, and the evolving landscape of fluid mechanics. Her commitment to diversity and inclusion fuels her belief in cultivating teams that blend varied expertise and perspectives, essential for tackling industry complexities.
“Engineering is everywhere. It is a great place for people who like analytic work and developing new solutions for machinery functions. The work includes materials, design, project management, all the production processes like turning, drilling, milling, grinding, honing, heat treading, forging, powder metal processing, brazing, soldering, welding and many others,” she said. “It is a never-ending playground for creative people.”
Thomy Leibacher says her job keeps her creativity and curiosity vivid.
She added that while there is value in larger organizations, she believes the varied experiences you gain at small manufacturers is so important. Her vision favors small, agile local production, fostering innovation in a globalized economy. “I believe in small, powerful local organizations and production,” she said. “They keep skills, training and culture for young talents vivid and it’s a good motivation to push your own new product line.”
As for the future, Leibacher has seen the industry evolve over her career, with more digital electronics in hydraulic applications and valve controls. Reflecting on the industry’s evolution, she highlights the transformative role of digital electronics and sensor integration in hydraulic systems. While she embraces technological advancements, she remains a proponent of balanced integration, cautioning against over-reliance on electronics at the expense of robust, mechanical solutions.
“By using digital electronic cards, the remote support process and adjustment has gotten much easier compared to analog electronics. Sensors and price decreases have pushed the concept of closed-loop circuits in mobile and industrial hydraulic applications. BUS interfaces offer high speeds to drive any hydraulic signal to and from the valves in fractions of second,” Leibacher concluded. “But to be honest, although I am a huge fan of electronics, sometimes, the simple valve without any electronics will be good enough.”
Connect with Thomy Leibacher now at linkedin.com/in/thomy-leibacher-69423514/ or visit her website at leibacher.com/.
Filed Under: Components Oil Coolers, Valves & Manifolds, Women in Fluid Power
