A Big Deal for Danfoss
The announcement that Danfoss had completed its $3.3 billion acquisition of Eaton’s Hydraulics Business was more than just a big business deal. As Eric Alström, president of Danfoss Power Solutions, acknowledged on Aug. 3 when the deal was finalized, it was a turning point in the industrial hydraulics business.
“The need for technologically innovative and industry-changing hydraulic solutions is as great as ever. We’re very pleased to complete this significant investment in our core hydraulics business so we can serve our customers and partners even better than before,” Alström said in a press release.
And earlier this year, he told Machine Design that one key to the deal was combining the research and development power of both companies to look toward the future of hydraulics applications in a wide variety of industries. “We will also continue our growth story by investing in new technologies in hydraulics, as well as digitalization and electrification.”
Electrohydraulic Applications Continue to Grow
The combination of electronic valves and actuators with hydraulic systems is hardly a new concept, but it has gained strength in recent years. From the growth in electrohydraulic actuators to the functional safety revolution electrohydraulics will drive, the merging of electronics, hydraulics, sensors and controls continues to evolve.
The future of motion and power systems now extends beyond hydraulics and pneumatics to a marriage of those technologies with IoT systems to improve motion control and drive greater process and energy efficiencies. How this all plays out will be interesting to watch.
About the Author
Bob Vavra
Senior Content Director, Power & Motion and Machine Design
Bob Vavra is the Senior Content Director of Power & Motion and its sister publication Machine Design. Vavra has had a long career in publishing, media and events. He has covered all aspects of manufacturing for the past 20 years and is a regular attendee at events such as IMTS and Hannover Messe. Vavra is also a sought-after webcast moderator and event emcee, and has presided over events in the U.S., Germany and China.