Bosch Rexroth South Africa Group Company Hytec Engineering has moved beyond its niche offering of hydraulic cylinder manufacturing, repair, and maintenance to include general engineering work and the manufacture of hydraulic manifolds. The decision to diversify its offering took approximately six months and included extensive market research and a facilities audit, with the latter used to ensure that the engineering team could meet all clients’ expectations.

Manufactured from locally sourced and certified materials, the manifolds are engineered and manufactured at the company’s engineering facility in Spartan, Johannesburg. To ensure that all manifolds are manufactured to exact specifications, two CNC (Computer Numerical Control) vertical milling machines and various specialised tools are used.

“The decision to include hydraulic manifolds in our engineering offering was made as it was a good fit to our existing skillset, facilities, and process,” explains Hytec Engineering’s General Manager Andre Lindeque. “Clients seeking these manifolds benefit from their compact design, which simplifies installation and space requirements, as well as limiting any hydraulic pipe installation requirements,” he adds.

The company manufactured its first manifold in August this year and subsequently received a large manifold order from fellow Group Company Hytec South Africa’s Cape Town office. This order is earmarked for use in production equipment for end users in the agricultural industry.

The average turnaround time from raw material to completed plated manifolds is five working days for a batch of 50 – equivalent to 18 manifolds per shift. The material used is guaranteed by the supplier, and Hytec Engineering offers a full guarantee on workmanship. “The only required replacement parts are the valves fitted to the manifolds,” Lindeque points out, “and we offer a no-charge exchange for items not in the specification of the order.”

Hytec Engineering can manufacture most manifolds within a certain size limitation. “Our CNC milling machines are capable of machining manifolds to maximum dimensions of 350 mm (h) x 650 mm (w) x 625 mm (d), or X-axis 650 mm, Y-axis 625 mm, and Z-axis 575 mm, which is limited to tooling used,” Lindeque stipulates. The table load capacity is approximately 850 kg.

Hytec South Africa installs and commissions all Hytec Engineering manifolds onsite and to customer specifications. The company also provides all aftersales service agreements, onsite repair, and maintenance. “We encourage clients to supply the required valves or equipment that need to be fitted to the system,” Lindeque says. “This enables us to do a complete function test prior to delivery.” Clients are invited to witness the function tests to ensure correct, expected operation, which guarantees that the manifold was manufactured as per the information supplied.

“Most African customers do not have access to the engineering capabilities we have on our doorstep,” Lindeque opines. “Bosch Rexroth South Africa aims to be the premier supplier of hydraulic equipment across the whole hydraulic supply spectrum. From industrial to mobile applications, manifolds form an integral part of most hydraulic systems. This means that we can offer a complete solution to our clients, from supplying complete systems to parts and equipment for their requirements. Offering this service to our clients will enable maximum growth of the Group in a market that requires as much assistance as we are able to offer.”