Total package

The UK is leading radical developments in the field of fluid power technology. While the solutions on offer are continually being improved and upgraded, change is also coming in the form of the service being offered.

'In the end-user market, many people are looking for a single-source supplier,' said a spokesman for

. 'Nowadays, when a sale is made it is more likely to be offering a solution rather than a product.'

Manufacturers and suppliers have to become more inventive to succeed in a changing market. 'There are more and more imports coming from the Far East and Eastern Europe, so companies such as ourselves are having to be more innovative in order to compete successfully,' he added.

'We are constantly looking for growth and higher margin markets. The winners will be those companies that are able to offer a complete selection of products to the market together with technical expertise. It is very hard to compete on cost alone now, so the aim is to work with the customer at an earlier stage and show them the value of what you can offer overall.'