The Eaton sales team pursued the company’s large-bore cylinder business by establishing relationships with engineering and purchasing personnel at SMS Demag’s Duesseldorf, Germany, headquarters.

“We worked hard to explain and demonstrate the advantages of Eaton cylinders versus competitive cylinders,” says Markus Albrecht, key account manager, primary metals for Eaton’s Leverkusen, Germany, operations.

“We emphasized the importance of our global presence that includes long-term product support, regardless of end-user locations,” adds Huib Stevens, area manager at Eaton’s Hydrowa cylinder production facility in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

“We explained that the technical expertise behind our custom XL Series cylinders and the manufacturing excellence of our Eindhoven facility are unmatched,” Huib continues. “We reinforced our strengths in engineered solutions by presenting case histories of custom cylinder projects that required ingenuity to get the job done.”

SMS Demag gave Eaton a serious look when they realized how Eaton’s aggressive technical and design assistance might help them troubleshoot issues with hydraulic cylinders needed for machinery to cut thick aluminum plates. SMS Demag needed to equip two cutting machines with a pair of cylinders with the mission of creating synchronized movement to activate the shears.

SMS Demag engineers debated about changing the construction of the machine’s design in order to compensate for the impact of excessive force on the cylinder head. Extensive design work with Eaton engineers resulted in a special construction for the cylinder head that eliminated bending movement in the cylinder rod.

Eaton’s technical expertise and creativity in cylinder design made great strides in solving SMS Demag’s challenge.

“Our new business with SMS Demag marks an important first step in Eaton’s long journey to market leadership,” says Steve Burdette, global sales manager for primary metals.

“It further reinforces Eaton’s commitment to this segment, as well as positions Eaton to be recognized as a serious player in the global primary metals arena.”

Two pairs of Eaton Hydrowa cylinders in hardened, chrome-plated carbon steel were produced at Eaton’s Eindhoven facility and delivered to SMS Demag in 2008. The hefty, 20,000-pound cylinders range in bore sizes from 420-780 mm and strokes from 700-900 mm. They are capable of generating forces from 450-1,500 tons at 280 bar (4,000 psi).

For more information visit www.eaton.com.