l nuovo sito produttivo di Hydreco, a Parma.

A new plant for a new range

Hydreco “ redoubles “ in Italy. The new production site in Parma, which complements the historical site in Vignola, is responsible for the development of the new range of external gear pumps. Designed in synergy with Duplomatic MS, the new pumps, particularly sturdy and long-lasting, are used in mobile applications, such as earth movers, construction equipment, agricultural, forestry and municipal machinery and more.

Hydreco has expanded along the axis formed by the Via Emilia route by opening a new production site in Parma. The new plant, which complements the main site in Vignola, will be dedicated to the production of the new range of external gear pumps, a product range which, following standardisation of the offer on a worldwide basis, in terms of size, shape and displacement, is divided into Groups 1, 2 and 3.
Hydreco has already started producing Group 2 pumps and is beginning production of Group 1. These two series will be the highlights of Hydreco’s presence at the EIMA trade show, the international agricultural mechanization exhibition in Bologna, Italy, in October. The company plans to complete the range in early 2022 with Group 3 pumps. The new series are marketed using the acronyms HY1, HY2 and HY3. Two other versions, both related to Group 2, are also under development and partly already in production: a low-noise version and a version with a cast iron body.
We talked to Michele Guiati, Managing Director, about the objectives which the company intends to pursue with this range, the synergies within the Duplomatic MS Group and more.

The newly developed products are the result of shared work

“Speaking of innovations,” Michele Guiati began,”I would first of all like to point out that the highlights we will be presenting at EIMA are not just limited to the launch of new products, but also concern the synergies we are developing within the Duplomatic MS Group, Hydreco’s parent company. The opening of the new production facility in Parma is linked to the construction of the new range of external gear pumps”.
With the new product ranges, Hydreco now supplies the complete range of external gear pumps with aluminium body and cast iron flange and cover, equipped and available in multiple configurations and with different types of flanges, connections for the inlet and outlet ports and shafts”.
“The aim of the launch of the new products – Guiati continued – is to have a sufficiently complete range to embrace the multiple application requirements of our customers: if the mobile machinery sector (agricultural and construction machinery, municipal applications and so on) represents the main field of use, our external gear pumps also address purely industrial applications”.

 HY2 external gear pumps with aluminium body, cast iron flange and cover.
HY2 external gear pumps with aluminium body, cast iron flange and cover.

The focus is on performance

With Davide Vaccina, Managing Director, we went into greater technical detail: “The function of external gear pumps is basically to circulate oil inside hydraulic circuits: a function which is carried out on all the machines we have mentioned. For this type of pump, the performance aspect is particularly important. I am referring, for instance, to the pressure level which the pump can reach. To mention just one example, in the case of the HY2 pump, the maximum pressure in continuous operation is 260 bar, with a peak pressure which can reach 310 bar. The maximum speed which can be reached is 4,000 rpm. With the HY1 and HY2 pumps, we are able to cover displacements up to 31.7 cm3/revolution.
Hydreco pumps are tested to meet all the requirements of the machine circuits we mentioned. However, in addition to peak pressure, long working life is also a determining factor. To achieve this goal, a specific study was made on the pump body itself. We created a more robust and oversized body compared to the average pump body on the market; moreover, we worked on balancing supports and on gears, trying to optimize the performance of the pump in order to enable it to provide not only an answer to all requirements, but also a longer working life of the component. All this of course leads to added value for the machine manufacturer”.

Cooperation from the design phase right up to testing

In the design process, the synergy with the Duplomatic MS Group has been fundamental. “The first step – Vaccina concluded – was taken with the aim of extending the design software used by Duplomatic MS to the Hydreco world. Today we can take advantage of a common design environment and it is easier to interface our projects with the R&D area of Duplomatic MS, equipped with tools for FEM analysis, as well as fluid-dynamic analysis. The collaboration continues until the final testing phase for product approval, which is performed on Duplomatic test benches. In conclusion, I would like to say that this collaboration has led to the development of a range of products with important advantages over the ones already on the market. And this was the most important objective we succeeded in achieving”.