Sun Hydraulics history

A Cornell University-educated engineer and former Naval officer with a Harvard MBA, Nixon had first met Koski in 1979 when as president of a hydraulics manufacturer, Double A Products Co., he attempted to buy Sun.

The two companies forged an alliance in 1982 but three years later Double A was acquired and the relationship was severed.

By 1985 Sun employed 170 people and despite its growing size had been able to maintain its cherished corporate culture.

In 1988, looking for a new challenge, Nixon contacted Sun and Koski invited him to join the company and take a year to "wander around and see what he thought he could do." Despite being offered three other more conventional job offers, Nixon opted to work for Sun.

Nevertheless, the company was not deterred from taking the next step in its development: going public in January 1997.

In 1998 Sun acquired its Korean operation, the first acquisition in company history.

Business turned around significantly in 2004, when sales jumped from $70.8 million the prior year to $94.5 million, and net income increased from $2.17 million to $7.83 million.

Kevin Meyer pointed me to his article on Sun Hydraulics, a publicly listed company, which he visited in 2008.

Steve Denning’s most recent book is: The Leader’s Guide to Radical Management (Jossey-Bass, 2010).

Sales in 2011 were up 35 percent over the previous year.

The company's expansion began in late 2016 when it paid $200 million for Enovation Controls, which expanded Sun's digital and electronic capabilities and its portfolio into new markets such as marine applications and recreational vehicles.

Helios is one of the largest manufacturing operations and publicly traded companies in Southwest Florida, posting $342.8 million in global sales in 2017.