Hydraulics & Pneumatics May 2022

www.hpmag.co.uk HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS April/May 2022 29 hospitality area. Spot was in residence courtesy of the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC). Omnichannel At Fluid Power & Systems, Hydraulics & Pneumatics magazine took the opportunity to speak with exhibitors about current trends in the fluid power industry. Ian Simpson, managing director of Flowtech, believes it is very important that our industry embraces the omnichannel sales model. “We have to be aware that times have changed,” he said. “Many years ago, people didn’t trade through Internet access, there were trade counters, a salesperson knocking on the door or a sales office making and receiving telephone calls. However, now, like in the way the Amazon model has evolved, customers want the ability to trade with suppliers in various ways. They still want the trade counter and the salesperson knocking on the door, but now they also want the ability to trade online through a fully integrated e- commerce platform.” Rising to the lead-time challenge Simon Parsonage, chief executive of Flowfit, spoke of current lead-time challenges in our industry and explained that this is one of the main reasons that over the past couple of years the company has substantially expanded its stock levels in the UK. He added that Flowfit is also increasing its warehouse capacity substantially. “The industry is suffering on lead times so we’re investing heavily in stock and warehousing infrastructure,” said Parsonage. “Customers are often being quoted 12-month lead times, but manufacturers can’t wait - they need to find companies with good stock levels.” The continuing relevance and value of hydraulics Tim Gessner, European director of business development at Delta Motion, gave his views on hydraulics in the current technology age. “Since I started in the industry back in 2000 we’ve been hearing the rumours that hydraulics are dead and that motors are going to take over. There’s certainly a place for motors but there is still a great need for hydraulics in the market. Hydraulics have the ability to provide high levels of force, shock absorption and energy density that motors and linear systems simply can’t yet provide. At Delta Motion, we continue to grow and enhance the products, making them provide precise, even better control.” Gessner also made the point that there remains the believe in some quarters that hydraulics is a ‘dirty’ technology. “Well, we’ve been running hydraulics in our booth here the whole time and there’s no problem. Hydraulics have become very reliable, very clean and are necessary in the industry.” Living up to expectations DFA Media’s managing director, Ryan Fuller, commented: “Looking back at the success of the event, it was clear that our industry had been eagerly anticipating their return for some time and missed the benefits of in-person interaction as well as seeing equipment up-close. The past couple of years have proved challenging for everyone, but the shows rose to the occasion and proved themselves still to be highly valued. The team at DFA Media is now busy preparing for the exhibitions’ next outing in 2024.” Testimonials Just a few comments from exhibitors include: Fluid Power & Systems 2022 “The show was a great success. It was excellently organised and the team at DFA Media provided fantastic support – both during the planning stages and over the course of the event itself. This was our first opportunity, as the ‘new’ Flowtech, to meet so many key industry decision makers in one place and the show proved to be a superb platform. We took over 250 enquiries and had numerous high-quality discussions, which are developing into excellent opportunities.” – Ian Simpson, Flowtech “It was great to see current customers face-to-face again, but also new and prospective customers. Sometimes, you're a little uncertain who's going to come through the door, but this show has proved to be fabulous for us. One of our current focuses is to position ourselves as an organisation that is ready and able to support companies, automation development structures or engineering design teams in their desire to offer the best automation solutions and machine manufacturing, and the reception for this was fantastic. It's