HKX Acquisition Takes MPS into Construction Equipment

HKX Acquisition Takes MPS into Construction Equipment

Multi Parts Solutions has entered the construction equipment sector through the acquisition of HKX, bringing a specialist in excavator hydraulics and electronic control integration into a business previously concentrated on automotive and commercial vehicle markets.

The deal makes Monroe, Washington-based HKX the third operating division of MPS, joining MPS Automotive and commercial vehicle business ACC Heavy Duty. Financial terms have not been disclosed.

HKX has been developing auxiliary hydraulic systems for excavators since 1993. Its install-ready kits allow machines to operate equipment including hydraulic breakers, thumbs, shears, pulverisers, rotating attachments and other specialist tools. Increasingly, however, the work extends beyond pipework, valves, hoses and mounting hardware into the electronic and controls engineering needed to integrate attachments with modern excavators.

Briefing

• Multi Parts Solutions has acquired Washington-based excavator hydraulic and controls specialist HKX.
• The transaction establishes HKX as MPS’s third operating division and takes the group into construction equipment.
• HKX has developed auxiliary hydraulic systems for excavators since 1993.
• Its capabilities extend into electro-hydraulic and CAN-based control integration as well as conventional hydraulic systems.
• HKX will remain in Monroe under its existing leadership, with MPS providing additional engineering, sourcing, manufacturing and product-development resources.

Hydraulics and Machine Controls

Adding an auxiliary circuit to an excavator was once predominantly a hydraulic engineering exercise. Modern machines make the job considerably less straightforward.

Excavators increasingly use electronically managed hydraulic systems, configurable operating modes, proportional controls and communications between electronic control units. An attachment therefore has to receive the correct pressure and flow while its controls coexist with the machine’s existing architecture.

HKX has developed its business around this transition. Its systems can incorporate OEM joystick controls and monitor functions, while its integration work allows additional controls to operate through a machine’s electronics without generating error codes.

Attachment choice has expanded at the same time. A contractor may want the same excavator to operate a breaker on one project, a thumb or grapple on another and a shear, crusher or rotating attachment elsewhere, with each placing different demands on flow, pressure, return circuits and control.

HKX’s product range illustrates those engineering differences. Its breaker and thumb systems can accommodate single- or double-acting hydraulics, while shear applications require double-acting, high-flow circuits and can use two-pump flow. Other configurations combine rotation with attachment functions, increasing both hydraulic and control requirements.

The company has consequently built its position around model-specific engineering rather than treating auxiliary hydraulics as a collection of generic components. Kits include preformed tubing, mounting hardware and controls, with application engineering used to match the excavator and attachment.

Machine and Attachment Compatibility

The excavator population in the field is anything but standardised. HKX supports machines across a broad selection of manufacturers including Caterpillar, John Deere, Hitachi, Komatsu, Volvo, Kobelco, Case, Develon, Hyundai, JCB, Liebherr, SANY and Takeuchi, among others. Its catalogue also covers different machine weight classes and older models no longer in production.

Construction fleets can retain productive excavators for many years, while ownership changes through the used equipment market can put machines into applications their original buyers never envisaged. A conventional digging excavator may later be required for demolition, recycling, forestry, utilities or material handling, requiring hydraulic and control modifications long after it left the factory.

HKX says standard and custom systems can be configured for these applications, supported by machine-specific documentation including hydraulic and electrical schematics, installation drawings and parts information. For MPS, the combination of repeatable products and application-specific engineering provides an entry into construction without competing directly in the manufacture of complete machines or attachments.

Engineering Resources Behind HKX

MPS intends to retain HKX as a distinct operating business. The company will continue from its Monroe facility, where fabrication, CNC tube bending, kitting and application engineering are undertaken. Robert Burnett will remain vice president and general manager, with the existing management team continuing to run the operation.

MPS adds a larger engineering and industrial organisation behind the business, including sourcing, testing, manufacturing, quality and logistics capabilities. It also plans to apply its Sigma product development process to support expansion of the HKX range.

“HKX is an engineered-solutions business, which is exactly what Multi Parts Solutions is across every market we serve,” said Brian Cohn, CEO. “We are inheriting a talented team known for responsiveness, application-focused engineering and dealer collaboration, highly aligned with the same values we try to live every day at MPS of trustworthiness, teamwork and innovation. Our focus is straightforward: invest in HKX so the team can develop more products, support more customers and scale what already makes the business great.”

The acquisition gives HKX greater capacity to develop systems for additional machine models and attachments while retaining the dealer relationships and application knowledge around which the company has been built.

“Joining MPS gives HKX additional resources and capabilities while preserving the customer-first discipline that has defined this company,” said Burnett. “Dealers, OEMs and equipment owners can expect the same committed, expert support from the same team, now backed by greater resources for growth, innovation and long-term investment.”

MPS Moves into Construction Equipment

MPS has taken a relatively specialised route into construction equipment. Rather than acquiring a conventional parts distributor or attachment manufacturer, it has bought engineering capability around the interface between machine and attachment.

Much of HKX’s value resides in accumulated application knowledge across different excavators, attachments and control architectures. Supporting older machines adds another dimension, particularly where equipment remains mechanically productive but needs to accommodate attachments or applications that were not part of its original configuration.

The acquisition also gives MPS hydraulic and controls expertise with potential applications beyond excavators. The company already operates across automotive and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, although its immediate opportunity is more straightforward: HKX provides an established route into construction equipment through a business that already understands the machines, attachments and dealers it serves.

Key Industry Questions

1. What does HKX manufacture? HKX develops auxiliary hydraulic kits and control systems that enable excavators to operate attachments including breakers, thumbs, shears, crushers, rotating tools and other specialist equipment.
2. Why are auxiliary hydraulic systems becoming more complicated? Modern excavators increasingly combine electronically managed hydraulics, proportional controls, machine monitors and CAN-based communications. Adding an attachment can therefore require electronic and control integration as well as additional hydraulic circuits.
3. Does HKX only support new excavators? No. The company offers systems for current and out-of-production machines, giving dealers and owners options for modifying older equipment for new attachments and applications.
4. Which excavator manufacturers does HKX support? Its current catalogue covers machines from numerous manufacturers including Caterpillar, Komatsu, John Deere, Hitachi, Volvo, Case, Develon, Hyundai, Kobelco, JCB, Liebherr, SANY and Takeuchi.
5. Will HKX continue operating independently? HKX will remain an MPS operating division based at its existing Monroe, Washington facility under its current leadership.
6. What does MPS bring to HKX? MPS provides additional engineering, manufacturing, sourcing, testing, quality, logistics and product-development resources.
7. Why would an excavator need an aftermarket hydraulic kit? A machine may have been supplied without the auxiliary hydraulic configuration required by a particular attachment, or its duties may change during its working life. An aftermarket system allows it to be adapted to additional tools and applications.
8. Were financial terms of the acquisition disclosed? No. MPS has not disclosed the transaction value.

Strategic Takeaways

1. MPS has entered construction equipment through specialist engineering capability rather than conventional machinery manufacturing or distribution.
2. HKX’s accumulated knowledge of different excavator models and attachment requirements is a significant part of the acquired capability.
3. Electronic controls are making aftermarket attachment integration more technically demanding alongside traditional hydraulic engineering.
4. Support for older excavators creates opportunities around extending machine versatility and productive working life.
5. MPS’s wider engineering and product-development resources could allow HKX to expand its machine and attachment coverage while retaining its specialist operating model.