It was heartening for me to see the name P.K. Guha come up in a press release this week, when it was announced that he had launched a new company, Hydraulic Management Group.
P.K. has been around for a long time, going back to the days when Vickers was a dominant force in the industry as a stand-alone company. It’s still not uncommon to find hydraulics experts who start off introducing themselves by saying, “I was an old Vickers guy…” The mystique remains.
P.K., who did a nice interview with us a while back—see it here—is many things. Intense, knowledgable, quick-witted, persistent, and above all, truly dedicated to promoting fluid power technology. In recent years, he has been an outspoken proponent of the aftermarket industry, trying to build respect for a market that he felt was looked down upon. Guha continually preached that aftermarket companies could compliment the current hydraulic manufacturers and continue to provide otherwise obsolete parts to the engineering community. His other passion is pushing for fluid power manufacturers to design more efficient products, as you’ll see from his commentary here, “Efficient hydraulic components of the future can save energy.” (A great read, by the way!)
P.K. is based in the Detroit area, and I’m always amazed how he is able to balance his truly global travels with his love for his family. Somehow, he has managed to do it for decades. And as he is one of the most passionate “hydraulics guys” around, I will be tuning in to see what happens with this latest adventure of his.
I wonder if there is any relation to the hydraulic master who taught me a great deal. His name is Uma Guha.