How in-house development, electrification, and acquisitions are widening Sun Hydraulics’ offering in fluid power
In a garage in Sarasota, Sun Hydraulics (Sun) began in 1970, when founder Bob Koski grew dissatisfied with the performance of existing cartridge valve technology. This passion drove him to design his own product, including his own novel lapping process to make nearly perfect spherical seats. More than five decades on, the Florida-based company is a division of Helios Technologies and a leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance screw-in hydraulic cartridge valves, manifolds, sensors, and electronics.
With solutions that control force, speed, and motion as integral components in fluid power systems, the division still works to the same rule today: if a process doesn’t reach the required standard – build it in-house. “What differentiates our products is quality and performance,” opens Steve Meislahn, Managing Director (Americas), who joins us to discuss electrification within the industry, acquisitions, and the importance of internal development at Sun.
Elaborating on the company’s competitive advantages, Steve explains that such high quality and performance comes down to the manufacturing processes it developed in-house. “We run our own heat treat department because suppliers struggle to meet the tolerances we require.” This led to the firm insourcing every process after rough turning, including grinding, honing, and hardboring. “Another factor is our large number of SKUs. The majority are mid to low volume and finding suppliers to run these parts economically is difficult, as our tolerances are generally measured in millionths of an inch.” These heat treat recipes and finishing processes have been developed and refined for 56 years and are a critical part of Sun’s intellectual property, strengthening the manufacturer’s performance, reliability, and durability.
Through acquisitions, the company sells under more than one brand, with Sun being the largest, but both Daman Products (Daman) and NEM form part of the family too. Its Mishawaka, Indiana facility brings all US custom manifold manufacturing under one roof – a positive move for Sun and its customers. “We acquired Daman in 2022, during a time when our initiative was to focus more on manifolds and integrated packages,” reflects Steve. “Besides being a great company we’ve known for years, the acquisition accelerated the creation of a separate business unit focused solely on those products. After a period of integration, I’m happy to say we have a driven team that is executing better than ever.”
Beyond the manifold business, Steve points to a wider shift across the sector. “Electrification is a major trend in all areas of hydraulics,” he states. “Hydraulic control can generally be achieved hydromechanically, but there is a limit to what can be achieved – using sensors and data can further improve control, automate functions, and make machines easier to use.” With customers using electrohydraulic products in a large percentage of designs, Steve says their expectations are not only for Sun to provide these products, but also to support them with electronics, programming, and control expertise.
Keeping pace with those expectations falls to the Koski Center of Engineering Excellence in Sarasota, the heart of Sun’s research and development (R&D) function. Its work includes a product called ENERGEN™ – a direct result of Sun’s new Product Preceding Technology initiative, designed to look at macro trends in the market and determine what changes might affect the company. “We research those trends and design products or technologies to ensure we’re ready to react,” details Steve. “ENERGEN materialized from a discussion about battery electric vehicles and electrification. It was created to use hydraulic flow that might otherwise be wasted and turn it into electrical power. It’s been one of the most talked-about releases in the past few years.”
Another example of Sun’s engineering excellence is the ability to create custom products in the wake of online customer requests, via a website link, along with its manifold and integrated package design software, QuickDesign. “Customers can design their own manifold and receive a quote in minutes,” he adds. “We developed our own CAM system, so we can go from a QuickDesign to cutting chips with no manual programming.”
Growing globally through sites in Germany, England, Italy, South Korea, and China means Sun carefully balances a wider geographical footprint with serving customers locally in the Americas. Though valve manufacturing was primarily centralized in the US, Steve explains that strategy has changed lately. “The recent tariff policies have led to accelerated valve manufacturing in other parts of the world, and the net result has been increased customer responsiveness.” He credits the shift as a likely contributor to Sun’s continuing growth. “We’re always estimating market share by region to see where we have opportunities to grow. Each geography is unique, but we feel we have the right products and services to be present everywhere.”
Innovative products are always being launched at Sun, and a new flow sensor is currently on the horizon – an offering named QMEH, which Steve reveals has generated a large amount of interest prior to entering the market. “Likewise, I’m excited about the next version of our ENERGEN product, which has numerous improvements over the first generation.” Numerous automation projects and new grinding equipment are also on the agenda, both intended to shorten lead times for customers. However, Steve is eager to emphasize that none of it would be possible without Sun’s global employees.
“It’s difficult to find people who do what we do,” he tells us. “We recently developed an apprenticeship program in collaboration with the state of Florida for CNC machinists, who receive state certification if they go through our program. For two years in a row, we’ve received a Florida Manufacturer Employer of Choice recognition, based on surveys from our employees. They’re the ones who differentiate us and make Sun what it is.”
