HYDRASEARCH
IN SEARCH OF PERFECTION
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HYDRASEARCH
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PROFILE
In search
of perfection
Supplying the world’s navies with mission-critical equipment is no easy task. But with over 60 years of design and manufacturing experience, Hydrasearch has developed the specialised knowledge and an extensive product portfolio that has made it a trusted partner for the supply of various precision naval components to the US Navy and many others. But the navy isn’t its only customer. Hydrasearch also has a dominant presence in leisure boating and commercial maritime, and now, the company is exploring a brand new segment. Patrick Garrett, Vice President of Sales at Hydrasearch, dropped the gangway for Richard Hagan.
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ydrasearch, based in Stevensville, Maryland in the US, manufactures a substantial catalogue of highly specialised componentry for a variety of maritime markets. In order to comprehensively cater for the specific markets in which it operates, the company is divided into three main divisions: Hydrasearch Defence, Hydrasearch Recreational, and Hydrasearch Commercial. Hydrasearch Defence represents the company’s signature operational activity. Components produced within this division can be found on all major US Navy ship platforms, including submarines and nuclear combatants, as well as many other naval ships worldwide. The product offerings from Hydrasearch Defence include Replenishment at Sea and Underway Replenishment hardware, high-pressure hoses and fittings, critical systems hoses and fittings, and aerospace fittings. Hydrasearch’s Refuelling at Sea (RAS) equipment is a particular highlight. It is one of only three companies in the world that produces a full line of RAS products. As such, these products are used by navies around the world. Hydrasearch Recreational is organised around its venerable Buck Algonquin brand. Via Buck Algonquin and the brand’s 65-year history, Hydrasearch has successful, long-standing supply partnerships with many major boat builders. It manufactures a wide variety of equipment for this market, including deck hardware, drivetrain parts, exhaust fittings, valves, steering hardware, strainers, hoses and clamps, plumbing and related fittings, thru-hull fittings, and coupling and shafting accessories. Hydrasearch Commercial, meanwhile, is the company’s newest division and is targeted at the commercial marine industry from workboats, offshore support vessels, oil rigs and tugs to ferries,
cargo ships, barges and defence vessels. Its product portfolio includes vent check valves, raw water strainers, deck drains, 100R5 hydraulic fittings, sounding tubes, full cast stainless steel rudders, air pipe heads, international shore connections and a variety of valves and brass pipe caps.
Hydraulic history Hydrasearch opened its doors in Annapolis, Maryland in the US in 1962 as a think tank to support hydraulic research and design for the defence industry. At the time, it specialised in the manufacture of hydraulic valves and components. Remarkably, only months later it was acquired by DVCC, Inc (today called the Dixon Group). DVCC, Inc would include other companies, such as Dixon Valve & Coupling, LLC and Buck Company, LLC. Years later, during the 1970s, Hydrasearch branched out into designing and manufacturing solutions to allow naval ships to refuel at sea. Refuelling at sea systems would go on to become a major part of its portfolio, and today it supplies the equipment worldwide to South America, the UK, Australia, Italy and Spain and to storied customers such as Rolls-Royce. Emboldened by its growing success with those systems, Hydrasearch decided to further its relationship with the defence industry in 1989 by pursuing Qualified Product Listing (QPL) status for its components. Hydrasearch successfully gained QPL status for a number of fittings over the decades that followed and today, they are a large portion of the company’s revenue, as Patrick Garrett, Vice President of Sales, confirmed: “QPL fittings are our biggest seller by dollar value. We’re on 12 different QPLs right now and we’re looking to add five more by the end of 2022.”
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HYDRASEARCH
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PROFILE
In addition to its QPL achievements within defence procurement, in 2021 Hydrasearch became a single-source hose provider to the US Navy, including its submarine fleet, for large-bore critical hose and hose assemblies for hose sizes ranging from five to twelve inches.
Turning a profit in metal Hydrasearch’s entire operation is housed at one site, spanning 63,000 sqft at its cutting-edge headquarters in Stevensville, Maryland. “It’s a complete machine shop,” said Mr Garrett. “We’re a manufacturer but we pride ourselves on turning metal. We have 12 CNC machines and a variety of manual machines. We fabricate the entire process starting from raw materials like bronze, steel, aluminium, nickel, hastelloy and titanium, through to complete, finished goods.” Quality control is centred on Hydrasearch’s high-tech testing capabilities and quality lab. It has the ability to test hoses and everything else in scenarios including underwater tests, liquid field testing, hot oil tests and various others. Two portable 3D scanners are able to quickly check dimensions whilst a high-tech optical comparator obtains optical measurements at high speed. Speaking of a horizontal mill that was recently added to the shop floor, Mr Garrett commented: “It increased our envelope
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size from around the 12 inch range to a 20-by-20 inch envelope. Its design reduces new project setup and run times as well.” Another highlight for 2022 was the addition of three welding bays to the shop floor, effectively insourcing a process that was previously outsourced. The welding operation is currently being geared towards meeting Tech Pub 248 & 278 Navy Welding Certifications to allow it to contribute meaningfully towards demanding naval projects. Hydrasearch employs over 60 staff at its headquarters, which is impressive, but it’s a drop in the ocean of the 1,400 employees working underneath the Dixon Group. Mr Garrett revealed Hydrasearch directly benefits from the significant pool of manufacturing and financial resources available within this large industrial group. “The Dixon Group has three North American-based foundries, which we will use as often as we can; however, we will work with as many as 12 other foundries outside of our core group to manage any supply chain issues we may encounter.
“Our group gives us access to extensive 3D printing facilities that give us the capability to rapidly prototype tools and patterns, which has dramatically sped up prototyping times, from months down to weeks or even days. The Dixon Group also has ten other manufacturing facilities in the US, plus worldwide distribution.”
Reaching for the sky Today, Hydrasearch continues its reputation for innovation, evolution and diversification that has defined its journey for over 60 years. Its latest growth plans are boldly taking the company into the aerospace market. As part of these efforts, the company is working towards meeting and completing AS9100D manufacturing requirements. AS9100 is a widely adopted and standardised quality management system for the aerospace industry and according to Mr Garrett, it’s expected to be a real evolution for Hydrasearch’s manufacturing processes. “Entering the aerospace industry will make us and our processes better and more efficient,” he noted. “The quality requirements in aerospace will be impactful for us not only in that market but in maritime as well. It’ll see us working more with unmanned vehicle programs and external engineering groups.” Meanwhile, Mr Garrett revealed that the company’s Buck Algonquin brand is reaping the fruits of a surging leisure boating market, particularly in the US. “We’ve seen a great increase in new business. Our recreational and commercial lines enjoyed a 45% increase in revenue in 2021 and it’s not showing signs of letting up in the near future.” The company’s ongoing commitment to its relationship with the US defence industry was recently rewarded in the form of a special government grant.
“We were selected as one of the candidates for the Advance Procurement Funds for the Surface Combatant Industrial base within the FY20 Appropriations Act,” Mr Garrett revealed. “We were awarded a six figure grant to help the Navy shipbuilders and our industry partners continue to provide products on schedule and at an affordable cost to the US Navy, in support of enhancing domestic industrial capabilities.” In concluding, Mr Garrett highlighted the importance of the company’s relationships with both its customers and its suppliers for its success. “Our customers are just as important as our suppliers,” he remarked. “We couldn’t have one without the other. There are so many barriers to entry in this market, that we really need one another. Our vendors hold us to our promises just as we keep our promises to our customers.” n
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