About Us.

Hydro-Gear is the driving force inside the most trusted machines on the planet. We’re the world’s leading manufacturer of drivetrain solutions - things like hydrostatic drives, transaxles, and fully electric drive systems. Whether it’s a heavy-duty industrial machine or a residential mower, we’re the reason our customers keep moving forward.

THE MOST IMPRESSIVE THING WE’VE BUILT OVER THE YEARS?
OUR REPUTATION.

Success is not a destination. It’s a culture. A way of doing business. And an expectation you have for the companies you work with.

We take great pride in our commitment to your ongoing success. Living up to our corporate Vision Statement which promises “Long-term success for our customers, people, suppliers, and Hydro-Gear.”

And that success is achieved through strong and lasting relationships with both our customers and our employees.

FORWARD THINKING.


We are very proud to have become the world leader we are today. But we didn’t get here by resting on past successes.  We are always looking toward to future and that means continuous innovation in our products, our processes, and our protection of the environment. 

Be sure to check out our all new electric drive systems. 

 

 

 

A BRIEF HISTORY.

For over 30 years, Hydro-Gear’s goal has been to provide products and services that meet our customers' rigorous requirements and exceed their expectations. The company is headquartered in Sullivan, IL, and operates four manufacturing facilities, with offices around the world.

How’d we get here? Here’s the short version: 

  • Danfoss (Ames, IA) produced a hydraulic transmission for OEMs.
  • Agri-Fab (Sullivan, IL) produced an axle assembly for OEMs.
  • OEMs would pair them together.
  • 1991 - Hydro-Gear was founded as a joint venture to create and manufacture transmission and axle combinations before supplying the OEM.
  • The rest is history.

Today, Hydro-Gear is a world leader in the design and production of precision drive solutions, serving multiple industries and exporting products worldwide.

Testimonials

Barreto Mfg. Inc. - Greg Barreto, President

"Barreto Manufacturing started using the Hydro-Gear BDP-10 almost 30 years ago when we designed our first all-hydraulic trencher. That Hydro-Gear model is still used on several pieces of our equipment and has been a compliment to the durability that we engineer into our products. We look forward to our continued success with Hydro-Gear products in our current line of equipment as well as in future design applications."

DR Power Equipment - Bill Wooden, Engineering Manager

"Our experience with Hydro-Gear has been nothing but outstanding. The support and response provided during our product development process helped us make decisions quickly and with confidence. The technical expertise of the Hydro-Gear team allowed us to evaluate and optimize our product design to fulfill the functional requirements and the needs of our customers."

ABI Attachments - Nate Smith, Director of Engineering

"As a small OEM, I’ve found Hydro-Gear extremely easy to work with even though our company isn’t buying millions of dollars of product. Always quick to respond and offered very helpful design suggestions as we developed our machine. Quality and delivery were great as well, when we went into production."

Excel Industries Inc. - Spencer Willis, Advanced Development Engineer

"Working with Hydro-Gear is great. Their industry knowledge and engineering team bring reliable drive systems to our industry. Their customer focus and dedication to relationships make working with Hydro-Gear enjoyable."

Stinger Equipment - Brian Moore, President

“I’ve worked with Hydro-Gear for the past 27 years and they’ve always been a wonderful supplier, always worked with us to meet any challenges that have been presented.”

Mean Green Mowers - Joe Conrad, President

“We started using Hydro-Gear several years ago. We needed something innovative, efficient and economical for what we are doing in a very competitive world and the folks at Hydro-Gear have been extremely helpful.”

Ariens Co. - Nick Ariens, Executive Vice President

“We are excited to continue working with Hydro-Gear. The innovation is great. Product quality is fantastic. All the people are engaged and passionate and that’s what we like to see out of our suppliers.”