November/ December 2021

25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION FOCUS seeing some interesting developments as we move back towards some sort of normality. For instance, we are being told that many of our European competitors are now offering extremely long delivery times. It’s not clear if this is COVID-19- related or Brexit-related, or a combination of both, but it does seem that the European supply chain is strained at the moment.” Anderton explains that by looking closely at the company’s own supply chain and production methods and taking advantage of Its recent move into a brand new 75,000 sq. ft manufacturing facility, Slack & Parr has been able to offer customers a fast turn-around and sometimes deliver directly from stock. “We are aware that our products are relatively expensive because of the quality we offer,” says Anderton, “ but being able to supply our customers with this level of quality, on a very quick turn-around, means the price becomes largely irrelevant. We are picking up lots of business from our European competitors due to this. We have also identified that to continue to prosper as we move into the next few years, this quality and technology advantage needs to grow with us. In early 2022 we will be launching a new product that pushes our quality even higher, but again is available with the same fast turnaround. Having said all of that, our orderbooks are full at the moment, but the constant challenges keep us on our toes. Automation and improved efficiency are very much a must have for us going forward rather than a nice to have.” With regard to the supply chain, Löffler explains that Jubilee Clips’ usual distribution partners continue to be invaluable to the company and are doing a great job. In addition, Löffler points out that Jubilee Clips’ online business via its partners’ e-commerce platforms has been constantly growing over the past few years – an outlet that didn’t exist some 25 years ago. Concerning the pandemic, Löffler explains that this naturally had an impact on Jubilee Clips to some extent due to people – internally and through the company’s distribution channels – having to isolate. “However, things returned to normal pretty quickly,” he says. “In fact, our order book is now at capacity once again.” Gunter points out that over the past two years or so, delivery times from Europe, the US and some other territories have generally become longer and in some cases prices have risen. “However, we will have to wait and see how this situation develops over the next few months to a year or so because the precise reasons for slower delivery times are currently not easy to determine,” he says. “Of course, we are now in a post- Brexit environment and the pandemic is still impacting the ways companies do business to a certain extent. At the moment, it’s not easy to determine whether certain supply chain or cost issues are mainly due to Brexit, the impact of COVID-19 or indeed other factors.” The rise of electronics So, what of trends that could gain major traction over the next 25 years? Wright believes control systems will definitely become more electronic regardless of what the operative power is, be it hydraulics, compressed air or electric. He maintains that things such as micro controls within a device will become more prevalent too. “We’ve seen it in pneumatic cylinders where you can control the stroke more granularly,” he says. Wright also believes we will see more sensors on things such as valves and actuators to determine whether something has actuated or not, or whether something’s overheated or has come out of alignment etc. “It’s all about more logic being built in, even more machine learning capability,” he says. “However, as with so many things, it often comes down to the market reaching the right price point for more companies to come on board.” Keep believes there is a great future for integration of fluid and electronic technologies, particularly in renewable technologies including: hydrogen transportation applications, advanced electrical generation and tidal wave barrier projects. “These will all play an increasingly prominent role in all our futures as we next enter the next stage of containing the temperature limits set at COP26,” he says. Looking to the future, Löffler comments that markets reliant on fossil fuels will of course need to adapt to changing regulations and customer requirements. “Indeed, we are already seeing interest in emerging energy sectors such as windfarms,” he says, adding: 48 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS November/December 2021 www.hpmag.co.uk Elaine Slater, managing director, Hydraulic Projects Ltd Neil Anderton, hydraulics and industrial director, Slack & Parr.