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Fluid Power Equipment and Servicing for Manufacturing and Heavy Industry
On a manufacturing or heavy industry site, the heavy industry equipment that stops production is rarely the big machine. Usually it’s the compressed air behind the clamps and actuators, the hydraulic power unit behind the press, the extraction over the welding bay or a worn-through hose.
Control Gear Group, specialists in compressed air and industrial equipment, is a family-run fluid power business founded in Treforest in 1973. We supply, install, service and test those systems for manufacturing plants, fabrication shops, steel and other energy-intensive operations. Our engineers work on site across South Wales and the South West, and we supply UK-wide.
What Does a Heavy Industry Site Need From a Fluid Power Supplier?
Buyers on these sites tend to weigh the same four things: uptime, energy cost, compliance and fewer suppliers to manage.
Control Gear supplies and services compressed air, hydraulics, pneumatics, dust and fume extraction, filtration, hose and industrial tools from one team.
Each of those systems also carries its own legal duty, from pressure system examinations to LEV tests.
The systems overlap. Wet air shortens the life of pneumatic valves, and contaminated oil wears out hydraulic pumps. Regulation 19 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 requires suitable means of isolating work equipment from all its sources of energy. On a press with pneumatic and hydraulic circuits, that means trapped air and stored hydraulic pressure as well as the electrical supply.
One specialist across the whole chain also means one set of service records and nobody blaming the other contractor when a line goes down.
50+
years of industrial equipment experience
Compressed Air Supply, Servicing and Energy Audits
Compressed air is our core business, and we’re an Atlas Copco Premier Distributor. Atlas Copco is one of the world’s largest compressed air manufacturers. For manufacturing plant we supply rotary screw, piston and oil-free Class 0 compressors, variable speed drive (VSD) machines, AIRnet pipework, dryers and SMARTLINK remote monitoring, and our page on compressed air for the manufacturing industry covers the range in detail.
Servicing, Repairs and Hire
Our engineers then keep it running with planned servicing, repairs on Atlas Copco and other makes, and hire compressors for temporary capacity.
Heavy industry is hard on compressors. The Atlas Copco GA Xtreme range is built for dusty, hot operating conditions, and containerised or IP-rated enclosures keep grit out of the machine, as our page on air compressors for the mining industry explains.
Energy Audits and Leak Detection
On an energy-intensive site, every kilowatt the compressor house wastes shows up on the electricity bill. Leaks, artificial demand and fixed-speed machines running unloaded are where it usually goes.
Our energy audits log your system’s demand over a full week, map it against what the compressors are actually producing and use ultrasonic leak detection to find and tag the losses. You get a costed report that shows which changes pay back first, whether that’s repairing leaks, adding a VSD machine or recovering compressor heat for process or space heating. It’s one of several testing services run by our compressed air division.
That report also supports larger organisations preparing for the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme. The qualification date for ESOS Phase 4 is 31 December 2026, with compliance notification due by 5 December 2027.
Written Schemes of Examination
Under the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000, a pressure system must not be operated until a written scheme of examination, drawn up or certified by a competent person, is in place. Air receivers, protective devices and connected pipework typically fall within it. Fines for health and safety offences in England and Wales are unlimited.
We draw up Written Schemes of Examination for compressed air systems and carry out the inspections, alongside breathing air quality testing to BS EN 12021 and flow monitoring. Hire compressors come with a WSE too, including the portable machines on our construction industry compressors page.
Hydraulic Repair, HYDAC Systems and Accumulators
Presses, shears, clamps and handling equipment all depend on hydraulics, and failures usually trace back to contaminated oil, overheating, worn pumps and cylinders or a burst hose. Our engineers repair pumps, motors, valves and cylinders, carry out oil sampling and condition monitoring, and run proactive maintenance packages.
Our hydraulics team works with Bosch Rexroth, Parker Hannifin, Eaton, Oilgear and Moog, and we’re an official partner of HYDAC, the German hydraulics and filtration manufacturer. We design, build and commission HYDAC-based hydraulic power units, and from the HYDAC range we supply:
- Filtration and fluid care units
- ISO 4406 particle counting sensors
- Valves, manifolds, pumps and oil coolers
Accumulators store energy, so a charged one is a hazard during maintenance. We describe ourselves as one of the largest suppliers, repairers and recertifiers of hydraulic accumulators in the UK, with a same-day removal, recertification and refit service and Written Schemes of Examination where they are needed.
For heavy rotating plant such as conveyors, bearings and mill equipment, we also supply and install centralised and point-of-use lubrication systems from Bijur Delimon, Alemite and Graco.
Dust and Fume Extraction With LEV Testing
Welding, grinding and machining all put something into the air that shouldn’t reach a worker’s lungs. The HSE’s safety bulletin on mild steel welding fume confirmed that mild steel welding fume can cause lung cancer and that general ventilation alone does not adequately control fume from indoor welding. Local exhaust ventilation comes first.
As an authorised Nederman distributor and Gold Channel Partner, we supply from our dust and fume extraction range:
- Welding fume extraction and extraction arms
- Mobile and stationary filters and fans
- Oil mist collectors for machining coolant
For grinding and shot-blast dust, including combustible metal dust, Nederman’s combustible dust collectors are designed to help sites meet ATEX requirements.
Under regulation 9 of COSHH, LEV must be thoroughly examined and tested at least once every 14 months, and the HSE’s LEV guidance says the records must be kept for at least five years. Our certified engineers carry out those tests and measure the system against its design performance, not just whether the fan is running.
Pneumatics and Automation From Festo and IMI Norgren
Pneumatics was the foundation of our business in 1973, and it still drives much of the clamping, positioning and handling on a production line. As an official Festo partner and an authorised IMI Norgren distributor, our pneumatics division supplies valves, cylinders, air preparation and valve islands, including Norgren safety valves designed to ISO 13849-1 for machinery safety functions.
On older machines, our engineers retrofit valve terminals to replace scattered legacy valves, troubleshoot sticking cylinders and carry Festo spares. We also build custom pneumatic control panels, test rigs and automated assembly cells, with workshop repair and planned maintenance behind them.
For packaging and end-of-line machinery, see our page on air compressors for the packaging industry.
Industrial Tools and Hand-Arm Vibration Testing
Grinders, chipping hammers and scalers are standard kit in fabrication and foundry work, and the HSE names foundries among the industries where hand-arm vibration is a known risk. The Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 set an exposure action value of 2.5 m/s² A(8) and an exposure limit value of 5 m/s² A(8).
We are an authorised distributor for Atlas Copco Industrial Tools, including turbo grinders, chipping hammers, nutrunners, bolt tensioning and torque equipment. Our IOSH-certified engineers carry out on-site HAV surveys, vibration analysis and trigger-time risk assessments, and we repair, service and calibrate tools in our workshop. See our industrial tools and automation page.
Hose, Filtration and Process Valves
A hose takes more wear than most components on a heavy site, and a burst hydraulic hose means hot oil at pressure.
Hose Assemblies
Hose Assemblies
Our BFPA-certified hose team makes up hydraulic and industrial hose assemblies to order using Eaton, Gates, Parker, Manuli and Bridgestone hose, with pressure testing and certification. For steam, high temperature and vibration, our stainless steel metallic hose meets Class 1 of EN ISO 10380 and the Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU.
Oil and Coolant Filtration
Oil and Coolant Filtration
Clean oil is the main defence against hydraulic failure. We’ve been an authorised Pall industrial filtration distributor for over 20 years and are official distributors for 3M Cuno. Our industrial and process filtration team covers hydraulic and lube oil filtration, water removal, purifier hire and condition monitoring, along with coolant filtration and HYDAC AutoFilt back-flushing filters for machining.
Process Valves
Process Valves
We also supply process valves for steam, condensate, compressed air and industrial gases, including globe, gate, ball, butterfly and check valves with actuators.
Talk to Control Gear About Your Site
Where each division fits on a heavy industry site:
- Plant air and compressor house: Atlas Copco compressors, dryers, pipework, energy audits, leak detection, WSEs
- Presses and handling: hydraulic repair, HYDAC power units and filtration, accumulators, lubrication
- Welding and grinding bays: Nederman fume and dust extraction, LEV testing
- Production lines: Festo and IMI Norgren pneumatics, custom control panels and test rigs
- Steam and services: process valves, stainless metallic hose
- Fabrication and finishing: Atlas Copco tools, HAV testing, blast cleaning equipment
- Gases and cooling: Atlas Copco nitrogen and oxygen generators, process chillers
We hold ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 accreditation.
One limit is worth stating. We can supply the extraction, test the LEV and write the pressure system scheme, but your COSHH assessment and isolation procedures belong to your site. If a process has changed since they were last reviewed, update them first.
If you are planning a shutdown, an energy review or a compliance catch-up, send us your compressor list, hydraulic asset register or LEV records. Our Treforest team will book a site survey and come back with one plan across every division.
Get in touch
Contact Control Gear today
Tell us about your site and we’ll come back with the right service, audit or system recommendation.
- Visit us Heol Groeswen, Treforest Industrial Estate, Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taff, CF37 5YF
- Call us 01443 843126
- Email us enquiries@control-gear.com
Mon–Fri · 09:00–17:00
24/7 emergency call-out available