__________________________________ Sun
Hydraulics
a QuickDesign to cutting chips with no manual programming.”
Growing globally through sites in Germany, England, Italy, South Korea, and China means Sun carefully balances a wider geographical footprint with serving customers locally in the Americas. Though valve manufacturing was primarily centralized in the US, Steve explains that strategy has changed lately.“ The recent tariff policies have led to accelerated valve manufacturing in other parts of the world, and the net result has been increased customer responsiveness.” He credits the shift as a likely contributor to Sun’ s continuing growth.“ We’ re always estimating market share by region to see where we have opportunities to grow. Each geography is unique, but we feel we have the right products and services to be present everywhere.”
Innovative products are always being launched at Sun, and a new flow sensor is currently on the horizon – an offering named QMEH, which Steve reveals has generated a large amount of interest prior to entering the market.“ Likewise, I’ m excited about the next version of our ENERGEN product, which has numerous improvements over the first generation.” Numerous automation projects and new grinding equipment are also on the agenda, both intended to shorten lead times for customers. However, Steve is eager to emphasize that none of it would be possible without Sun’ s global employees.
“ It’ s difficult to find people who do what we do,” he tells us.“ We recently developed an apprenticeship program in collaboration with the state of Florida for CNC machinists, who receive state certification if they go through our program. For two years in a row, we’ ve received a Florida Manufacturer Employer of Choice recognition, based on surveys from our employees. They’ re the ones who differentiate us and make Sun what it is.” ■
www. sunhydraulics. com
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