Saab Seaeye Buys Hydro-Lek
UK-based ROV manufacturer Saab Seaeye has taken over manipulator and ROV tooling maker Hydro-Lek. Saab Seaeye's managing director, Jon Robertson, sees a clear synergy between the two companies since manipulators and tools are both key elements in the design and function of underwater vehicles.
Formed 20 years ago, Hydro-Lek has long supplied manipulators and hydraulic components to Saab Seaeye for its ROV systems.
Jon Robertson expects that the acquisition will bring greater product content to Saab Seaeye through vertical integration and is an important step in the company's growth strategy. Customers will gain from advances in systems integration following the blending of technologies that will create new and higher levels of integrated solutions.
The ability to offer a turnkey solution embracing both ROV systems and tooling technology will bring significant benefits to the market, according to Jon Robertson. He also believes that the new resource will accelerate the development of tooling for the company's innovative hybrid vehicle range.
Both Hydro-Lek and Saab Seaeye customers will benefit from a fresh engineering partnership that will yield new systems and components backed by Saab Seaeye's reputation for innovation and commitment to engineering and quality standards.
These developments will also draw upon the collaborative engineering relationship with the Saab Group in Sweden that has already helped create innovative new concepts in underwater technologies.
Such collaboration will benefit from Saab Seaeye's 'Technology Toolbox' concept that has already won an award for innovation. The Technology Toolbox distils core technology across the range into a common architecture that creates the lowest number of parts, at the least possible cost for the highest possible performance and quality.
Image: Charlotte Mott, managing director of Hydro-Lek, and Jon Robertson, managing director of Saab Seaeye.
