Pioneers in Action

Venturing into uncharted territory and using their own expertise as a guide is something that many of our colleagues do every day. They break down barriers, think outside the box, and test new ideas – driving projects forward that demonstrate what’s possible when you combine expert knowledge with extreme determination. We spoke with some of them. 

Hydraulic Industry
“We offer our customers something truly unique!” 

Steffen Sandhöfner, Applications Development, LAB BU, Mannheim, explains how his team is taking the development of Additin® hydraulic additive packages to a new level with a new test bench.

"Our additives make up only about 0.6 percent of hydraulic oil – yet they determine whether a machine runs reliably or breaks down prematurely. And it’s precisely this stability that’s being put to the test today. This is because hydraulic systems have to work under tougher conditions than ever before – higher pressures, more compact designs, and rising temperatures cause the oil to degrade much more quickly. Oxidation and residue buildup become a risk. This is something that Bosch Rexroth – the global market leader in industrial hydraulics – has also recognized, which is why it has defined new requirements for protection against aging that go far beyond existing standards. Those who meet these requirements are technological leaders. One thing was clear to us right away: We don’t want to wait for others to do the testing – we want to set the benchmark ourselves and give our customers access to it. That’s why we’ve set up a new test bench in Mannheim – the only one of its kind outside the Bosch Group.

From Challenger to Setting Industry Standards
This makes me especially proud when I think about how far we’ve come. Just ten or fifteen years ago, we were a relatively small player in the market. We had good products, but we didn’t have the infrastructure to really showcase our strengths. Testing at external facilities was expensive, rarely available, and slowed us down. So we decided to go all in – through systematic investments in our team’s expertise and the ongoing expansion of our test facility, we have gradually established ourselves as a highly sought-after specialist. In the case of the new accelerated aging test bench, we’ve taken it a step further: We were involved in the design from the very beginning, provided samples, offered advice – and were the first in the world to purchase the system. Following the successful trial run, our premium package – the zinc-based Additin® RC 9200 N – is now being tested on the machine. Now it has to prove what it’s capable of: 350 bar system pressure, oil temperatures up to 90°C, and copper plates that act as oxidation catalysts to deliberately trigger accelerated aging processes. The reference oil alone has already shown us just how tough this test truly is.

From Measurement to Market Advantage
This is why we’ve already started completely rethinking our product packages. After all, that’s one of the major advantages of in-house testing – we can see every change as it happens and respond immediately. This means we no longer develop after the fact; we develop as we go. Our plan is to leverage this technological edge strategically and bring it to market before our competitors can catch up.

What excites me most is that we haven’t just set up a technical system, we’ve created an entirely new form of collaboration. This test bench demonstrates what’s possible when a customer-centric approach meets cutting-edge technology: We aren’t waiting to see how hydraulics evolve – we’re driving the evolution ourselves."