From its first storefront on Diversey Street in Chicago in 1969, Hydro has grown into an expansive service network that supports rotating equipment users worldwide. Our extensive footprint ensures that we can deliver our hallmark quality and exceptional customer service to clients across the globe.
Our geographic expansion has been accompanied by the growth of our engineering capabilities and our application knowledge. While all Hydro facilities are guided by the same processes and standards, we have also developed targeted capabilities, tooling, and experience in our individual locations to serve their local markets. This service base is complemented by our centralized global engineering division, with experts in disciplines such as hydraulic design, metallurgy, and vibration analysis and troubleshooting.
By leveraging a diversity of expertise and resources, we can cater to the unique needs of each customer, ensuring timely and effective solutions that uphold our high standards of excellence. Some examples of niche capabilities within our network that can be leveraged by Hydro’s customers include:
- Our clean room at HydroTex Deer Park
- Reciprocating pump repair, troubleshooting, and engineered upgrades
- High-capacity vertical pump repair and re-engineering at Hydro East
- Nuclear safety-related and code repair, parts, and new units at the HydroAire Madison St facility
- Access to expedited cast parts through Hydro Parts Solutions
- 5-axis machining, including milled vane impellers, at HydroTex Dynamics
- Oil field services equipment through Hydro Middle East
Our growth has strengthened—not diminished—our commitment to local service excellence. Each service center combines on-site, dedicated engineering resources with established local supplier networks to deliver timely, effective support. We believe that communication is the cornerstone of successful collaboration, and we work hard to foster a culture of transparency and engagement.
Find your local Hydro service center here.
One of the key milestones in HydroTex Dynamics’ development was the time spent with Dr. Elemer Makay in the late 1980s and early 1990s perfecting the radial gap modifications (commonly known as A Gap, B Gap, and C Gap) on multistage diffuser-style pumps. Dr. Makay was a pioneer in battling impact loading and discharge recirculation in multistage pumps, failure modes that had historically caused high vibration, premature wear, and shaft failures for this equipment. He partnered with Jim Shaffer, founding partner of HydroTex Dynamics, in applying modifications that would combat these failure modes to drastically improve mean-time-between-repairs.
Under the leadership of HydroTex Dynamics’ VP, Pete Erickson, they have continued to build upon this foundation by investing in advanced tooling, developing experienced shop talent, establishing a responsive field service unit, and fostering deep customer relationships grounded in trust and transparency. In 1995, they purchased the Pacific BFI line of BB5 pumps for North America, adding to their experience base in high energy, multistage pumps. They have on-site capability to perform 5-axis machining and can supply milled vane impellers with an industry leading turnaround time. While not currently certified, they are ISO compliant and follow all ISO practices.
Many of our aging facilities are still using the pumps that were purchased and commissioned during plant construction. Despite the age of this equipment, effective maintenance strategies and upgrade opportunities can extend useful life for decades more. Older pumps are often more robust than current designs, which take advantage of new manufacturing technologies to reduce the raw materials needed for construction. However, vintage equipment has its downfalls as well. It is important to understand the challenges we face when operating and maintaining vintage equipment so that we can stay ahead of potential sources for decreased reliability.
To maintain safe, reliable and cost-effective operation, it is important to ensure pump systems are optimized. When approached with the need to optimize a pump system, many end users will look to purchase new equipment for the changed demand. This can be a costly and time-intensive endeavor, as new equipment installation is often accompanied by baseplate and piping modifications that require the system to be taken offline. In contrast, modifying the existing equipment to meet the new system needs provides a custom solution that maintains the original footprint, can be completed on a more aggressive timeline and often provides a more custom fit to the system.
By combining reverse engineered data, analytical tools and engineering expertise, a comprehensive approach can be developed to understand and modify hydraulic performance. This process allows pumping equipment to function exactly as required by the system that it fits within.