We would all like to forget 2016 – it was a tough year for Hydra-Tech and many other companies involved in gas and oil. When the barrel bottomed out at less than $40 a gallon in December of 2015, people in the know predicted a tough business year ahead – they were right.
2017 provided a nice rebound to a down year even though the price of a barrel stayed below $60 for most of the year. What we found most interesting was that in conversations with customers, vendors and competitors at the World of Concrete, WWETT, and ConExpo trade shows in early 2017, you could sense the optimism and excitement for where people believed the economy and business were headed.
With 2017 turning out to be a good year and a few orders we believed would come to fruition in 2018, we budgeted high, although not without some skepticism. Some orders we thought we would get never came through. Fortunately a few orders we weren’t expecting to get were placed. The backorder grew and suddenly we faced those “good” problems that so many others we talk to have complained about – too many orders and not enough manpower.
Clearly for some of our customers this year was also an engine grab – companies trying to get the last of the Tier 3 / IT4 engines before having to move to Tier 4 Final engines. With little more than 6 weeks left in the year we are working hard to get equipment built and orders shipped before the end of the year. We continue to believe that doing right by our customers, manufacturing quality reliable products, and being the best that we can be at what we do we will continue to have success. And a week away from the Thanksgiving holiday, we would like to thank our loyal customers for their confidence in our products and trust in our company, Hydra-Tech Pumps. We will work to continue to provide solutions to your hydraulic pump dewatering needs and earn your business every day.
