Crane manufacturer Hidrokon makes lighter, safer and higher-capacity components with Strenx® steel

“Weight is a critical factor in our designs. Our goal is to make our crane components both high strength and light weight,” says Hidrokon’s founder Memiş Kütükcü, adding that Strenx^® steel products are known globally for their reliability – something that is especially crucial in the crane industry, where safety is of paramount importance.

“For a company like Hidrokon that prides itself on reliability, it’s important to offer a safe product, made of safe material, to our customers,” he continues.

Hidrokon’s location is in Anatolia and the company was founded in 1993 as a joint venture between three business partners but has operated as a family business since 1997. These days, Memiş Kütükcü runs the company alongside his son, Yıldırım Esat Kütükcü and daughter, Sevde Kütükcü Aydın.

Several types of cranes and components

Hidrokon develops, designs and manufactures four principal crane product groups. The first is the knuckle boom crane, its flagship design, that continues to be in great demand mainly on the domestic market. The second is the loader crane series, developed both for the European and global markets.

The third is the telescopic boom crane, which is used for applications on vehicles, mainly in the Far East and Eastern European markets. The last product category is marine cranes that are used in applications such as fish farming and fishing net collection. Other Hidrokon product ranges include heavy recovery trucks and aerial lifting platforms. In addition, the company has undertaken custom projects in Turkey, such as self-propelled telescopic cranes and numerous defense industry projects, and it has also built catenary maintenance vehicles and fire trucks for foreign customers.

Lighter machines with Strenx^® steel

In 2015, Hidrokon introduced SSAB’s Strenx^® high-strength steel into its production. The company currently uses Strenx^® 700 E, Strenx^® 700MC Plus, Strenx^® 960 E, Strenx^® 960MC, Strenx^® 960 Plus and Strenx^® 1100 E products across its various applications.

“With the use of Strenx performance steel, we’ve been able to produce lighter, higher-capacity machines,” confirms Kütükcü.

Since mobile cranes are mounted on vehicles, the weight of the crane and the capacity of the carrier vehicle are decisive factors for Hidrokon. As Kütükcü explains, the lighter the structure and higher the capacity of the machine that is placed on a vehicle, the more efficient the project will be. Hidrokon customers also report that machines produced with Strenx^® performance steel last for a much longer time due to a more refined design.

Perhaps most importantly, Kütükcü admits that upgrading from mild steel to Strenx^® high-strength steel has significantly increased the reliability of his company’s products and, when Strenx^® products are combined with Hidrokon engineering, the company is able to produce high-quality cranes without any safety concerns.

Processing benefits of Strenx^® performance steel

While increased strength and safety, reduced weight and extended durability may be the most crucial advantages offered by Strenx^® steel, there is still more. Kütükcü admits the material has also delivered considerable benefits to Hidrokon’s manufacturing process.

“Cutting, bending and welding of high-strength products such as Strenx steels are extremely critical and can be difficult operations, but the workshop properties of Strenx make our job much easier in this regard,” he says.

Constant optimization

At Hidrokon, recent product development projects using Strenx^® performance steel have shown very promising results when it comes to weight reduction and load capacity.

“Strenx steel is one of the most important factors in the weight optimization of our machines,” continues Kütükcü. “Moreover, we are constantly optimizing our products to make them even lighter and we have also been able to reduce the thickness of Hidrokon’s products by using Strenx in their production.”

According to Kütükcü, Hidrokon’s customers express on average between 95% and 96% satisfaction in its machines, with many confirming that they are especially happy with the mechanical behavior of the material, in addition to hydraulic capabilities and operator comfort.

A partnership based on a shared vision of the future

Kütükcü acknowledges that, for Hidrokon, SSAB is more than just a supplier, it is a solution partner. In his own words: “SSAB is always with us as we venture forward, and we constantly carry out development activities together. We get all kinds of support from SSAB, in terms of marketing, brand strategy, and operational issues.”

Kütükcü goes on to explain that the partnership not only supports Hidrokon’s product development but also the companies’ shared vision of the future:

“We know SSAB is carrying out serious studies towards a fossil-free steel target. As a company that has obtained the zero-waste certificate from the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization in Turkey, we will also be looking to implement similar processes,” he says.

My Inner Strenx^® means trust

In 2016, Hidrokon joined the My Inner Strenx^® program – something Kütükcü says makes good business sense.

“The Strenx brand is globally renowned so, of course, we place the My Inner Strenx label on our products. Thanks to this program, our customers can recognize the features of Strenx products and end users can access the authenticity proof by using the QR code,” he says, concluding: “In short, the trust in Strenx reinforces the trust that customers have in our machines.”