Doing the basics right and close liaison with clients have lead to Jonel minimising the impact of the global recession according to Director Suren Surendran.

“When the economic down turn first became obvious we consulted with industry veterans and their message was pretty clear – in the boom times everyone gets work, but during a recession the cowboys miss out. If you have been around a long time and have a good reputation with customers you will do okay, and so it has proved to be” he said.

“Like everyone else we have heard of a lot of bad news from the industry and but we have been pleasantly surprised how busy we have been over the last six months. Work flow tends to be a little erratic, but it does keep coming” he said.

According to Surendran the company has been humbled by the concern shown by customers wanting to know that we are still okay and for providing a continuing stream of work.

“I guess it shows that if you do right by people they remember you and try to look out for you too. That has always been our approach, and is not something that we are about to change” he added. “They certainly seem to appreciate the fact that we are a one-stop hydraulic shop. There is no need to get used to multiple suppliers, people and styles. Just one phone call to Jonel – that is all it takes. In an environment where time pressures are increasing, they seem to place a lot of importance on this.”

“Even after you have been in business as long as Jonel – 25 years and counting – you do sometimes wonder how people hear about you. When we recently got an email enquiry from  the middle of the Pacific, we thought it must have been a previous client but it turned out to have been all due to the power of the Internet”.

“This Pacific project, air freighted to Auckland at great expense, was to refurbish two large compactor cylinders with a length of approx 3.5m each and weighing well over a ton. While it wasn’t an overly complex project, there where a number of unexpected challenges such as a 220mm diameter shaft which required straightening, heavily scored barrels which needed grinding out and new custom sized seals throughout” he said.

“Our approach has been to earn the respect of our customers by combining good old fashioned service with leading edge technology and training, and this is working for us. Our staff focus on rapid turnaround times to meet clients’ operational demands as well as providing specialist in-house technical expertise so it’s a real credit to them that our customer base is growing” he said.

Jonel Hydaulics Director Suren Surendran says good old fashion service with leading edge technology has helped the company to grow.

Experience key to hydraulic servicing success

Twenty five years experience in hydraulic ram repairs provide Jonel Hydraulics with a key competitive advantage according to company General Manager Graeme Cooke.

“We’ve always specialised in ram (cylinder) repair and our team has a lot of expertise in both the diagnosis of problems and the actual repairs. Our specialist equipment means we can cope with almost any type of ram so we can service a wide range of industries with their different equipment requirements” he said.

Cooke, a Hydraulics industry veteran, said investment in both full workshop facilities as well as their mobile service has enabled the company to successfully respond to all types of challenges. The company is totally driven by the turnaround time of our service so the customer is not inconvenienced.

“Most of our work involves repairing hydraulic cylinders, valves, pumps and hoses as well as custom manufacturing any hydraulic parts. For instance we manufacture anything between 3 – 10 shafts a day.” he said. “Common hydraulic cylinder problems are external oil leaks, internal by-passing and damaged or broken shafts. If these problems are not repaired straight away more serious and expensive damage can occur.”

“Rams that do multiple stokes and work hard should have a regular seal inspection. We implement a WOF system so clients can keep on top of their equipment maintenance”.

“Honing is another of our specialised services. We find that proper honing of cylinder tubes – which removes scores and ridges – results in true round and parallel shape. This extends the life of piston seals, and generally the working life of cylinders. We can hone anything from 30mm to 900mm diameter tubes. Our experience and knowledge enables us to come up with solutions and designs of sealing systems that don’t leak.” he added.