EXPANSIVE HISTORY
SPD’s history begins in the late 1990s when entrepreneur and former CEO Magnus Andersson built the first prototypes. In 2004, the business moved to its current location in Sala and the company was listed on the stock exchange. Working in close collaboration with its customers, the company has developed high-quality products that have simplified work for the customer. Today, complete drilling rigs mounted on a remote-controlled machine are the top-selling product. They are purpose-built, they get the job done and they are durable.

In 2017, ABI, a global German company operating in the same industry and niche, bought into the company; SPD became a wholly owned subsidiary of ABI in 2023. The new ownership structure brings the expertise and financial stability that provides SPD with new competitive advantages.

SPD has expanded its business and market. Sweden is still the main market, but the company also sells to customers in Europe and the US. Five years ago, a new premises was built to accommodate all manufacturing operations. The former premises is still in use for service activities and testing. Soon a washing hall will be included at the site. The new premises has made it possible to streamline and increase production. In addition, SPD can manufacture the rigs based on forecast, which significantly reduces the customer lead time.

ON-TIME DELIVERY OF HYDRAULIC COMPONENTS
An important part of streamlining and increasing production is having the right components in stock. In close proximity to production is a special room where all hydraulic components are stored safely. This is where it keeps the crimping machine purchased from HydraSpecma back in 2003. Some hoses are still crimped on site, but these days SPD mostly buys ready-made hose kits from HydraSpecma to speed up and simplify manufacturing.

   – Assembly is relatively easy now. Everything is in place and is well marked so I only need to follow the purchase order. It's hard to say how much time it saves, but it’s a lot of hours, says Ronny Johansson, Assembler at Scandinavian Pile Driving AB.

In total, SPD purchases over 1,600 unique components from HydraSpecma. Everything from hydraulic hoses, press nipples and couplings to hydraulic motors and electronics. The total volume is increasing every year and is estimated to be close to 5 million in 2023.

Reliability of the supply of the components is of crucial importance to ensure production and delivery to the end customer. A delay to the end customer can result in major losses if the customer is left at a stand-still and the planned work is postponed.

   – Delivery precision is important to us, and we need to trust that our suppliers will deliver according to plan. In our day-to-day work, we have developed a well-functioning system to be able to quickly report critical levels to the purchasing department. HydraSpecma is one of our largest suppliers, mainly thanks to the fact that we can rely on them to deliver on-time. We also have good communication that allows us to plan and adjust if problems arise, says Joakim Eriksson, Purchasing Manager at Scandinavian Pile Driving AB

COST SAVINGS WITH CENTRAL LUBRICATION
HydraSpecma regularly visits SPD to ensure that deliveries are working as they should and to discuss solutions related to new development and the optimization of existing products. During a visit earlier this year, Jörgen Oskarsson, Account Manager at HydraSpecma, discovered that there was potential to optimize central lubrication in various applications.

   – We always try to find the best solution for the customer by looking at the entire machine's system. Central lubrication plays a major role, as it has an impact on all components, and that’s why I often put special focus on it. By installing our standard products in central lubrication, we were able to simplify assembly and maintenance while improving the lifetime of the components and reducing the company's costs, says Jörgen.

After a successful initial test, the company switched to central lubrication from Groenenveld BEKA's progressive system on all new machines. In addition, all employees in production and service have received training in both central lubrication and safe hydraulics.

   – By being observant and suggesting an optimized central lubrication solution, HydraSpecma has been able to ensure the quality and service life of our machines, and we have achieved significant cost savings. The fact that we also received training has meant that everyone quickly became familiar with the function and with how assembly and maintenance are carried out. It actually made it easy to make the change, says Joakim.

GOOD COLLABORATION PROVIDES SECURITY
With the new investments that have been made, SPD’s future looks bright. The goal is to continue developing and growing to meet the needs of customers today and tomorrow. Good cooperation with suppliers is valuable to SPD and it can act as a buffer when challenges arise. The long-term collaboration with HydraSpecma has been strengthened over time and is now a key partnership.

   – For SPD, it is valuable to have access to HydraSpecma's support and engineers. Getting help quickly and being able to turn to hydraulic experts when questions arise is reassuring and saves a lot of time, Joakim concludes.