SIC 3594 Fluid Power Pumps and Motors

SIC 3594

This classification covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing hydraulic and pneumatic fluid power pumps and motors, including hydrostatic transmissions. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing pumps for motor vehicles are classified in SIC 3714: Motor Vehicle Parts and Accessories.

NAICS CODE(S)

333996

Fluid Power Pump and Motor Manufacturing

Manufacturers in this industry produce pumps and drives for hydraulic and pneumatic power mechanisms, primarily for use in industrial and aerospace applications. Because fluid power devices can exert massive amounts of controlled pressure, they are commonly utilized to power aircraft landing gear, industrial presses and lifts, heavy earth-moving equipment, and other heavy-duty equipment. They also are integrated into smaller machines that require precise power transfer.

Fluid power systems combine cylinders, couplings, valves, pumps, and motors. A positive displacement hydraulic pump, such as a piston pump, is the part of the system that delivers the oil required to drive or control hydraulic machinery. It creates pressure in a series of short bursts. In contrast, impulse pumps, such as the centrifugal pump, deliver steady, continuous oil pressure with less vibration. Hydraulic motors typically operate in conjunction with pumps and are often used to precisely vary the rotational speed of various machines.

Pascal's law, which states that pressure exerted upon a liquid is evenly transmitted in all directions, was posited in the mid-1600s. However, pumps that could efficiently deliver high and controlled pressure were not introduced until the 1800s. Not until the mid-1900s, in fact, did hydraulic pumps and motors become a common means of power transfer. By 1987, the first year in which this industry was separately classified by the U.S. government, sales of fluid power pumps and motors approached $1.5 billion. Although industry revenues increased to nearly $1.8 billion by 1990, a recession halted sales and earnings growth for most competitors throughout the early 1990s.

Industry participants in the mid-1990s benefited from a moderate upturn in the United States and global economy that boosted pump and motor demand in the industrial sector. Unfortunately, vital aerospace and defense markets remained depressed and offered little hope for gains in the near future. The most successful competitors countered market malaise with...