History
1907 Founded as the “Rheinisches Kleineisenwerk August Ruhfus” (August Ruhfus small Rhine ironworks) the production range covered the range from angled and stamped parts to leaf and coiled springs for European railways.
1959 When the first honing machine was put into service the foundation was laid for the development of the manufacture of hydraulic equipment which was systematically expanded in the 60s and achieved its first major success in the design and manufacture of hydraulic pit props.
1964 The focus on the design and manufacture of complete cylinders was considerably increased and the hydraulic area consistently expanded.
1971 Against the background of the rapidly growing hydraulics department a new administrative building became absolutely essential.
1981 The realisation that a growing business needs clear and precisely defined procedures led to the production of the first quality assurance manual.
1982 The founding of “August Ruhfus GmbH Federn-Hydraulik”.
1994 By this time the production of hydraulic equipment had vastly exceeded the area of spring production; on economic grounds it was decided to discontinue the production of springs.
1996 Process definition first started in 1981 was confirmed in 1996 by the certification of the quality management system to DIN EN ISO 9001 by Bureau Veritas International (BVQI).
1998 Name change to RUHFUS SYSTEMHYDRAULIK GMBH because of the discontinuation of the spring production and the expansion of the hydraulics sector to complete systems.
2000 Reorganisation of the company processes and provision of materials.
2004 Extension of the turning process capacities by two more turning centres with driven tools (2,000 mm and 6,000 mm centre distance) and redesign of the turning area.
2005 Investment in another deep-hole boring lathe with 10,000 mm bore length
2006 Investment in another conventional lathe with 10,000 mm centre distance
2008 Investment in another turning and milling centre (x = 15,000, y = 1,100, z = 900 mm)
2009 Construction of a new assembly hall for the production of hydraulic cylinders with a total length of 20,000 mm and weight of 25 tonnes.
Introduction of a new (state-of-the-art) paint shop with a total length of 16,000 mm and width of 4,500 mm for coating large cylinders.
Introduction of a n NC-controlled welding plant (TIG/ SA) for welding cylinder liners and piston rods with a swing diameter of 1,200 mm and a max. total length of 15,000 mm.
2010 Relocation and expansion of the design department with the extended aim of creating a "think tank" and a specially secured expertise area.
Modernisation of an existing honing machine and extension of the honing length to 16,000 mm.
Reorganisation and centralisation of the existing deep-boring capacities.
2011 Founding of RMC Ningbo Ltd., Ningbo, China as a joint venture for the manufacture of smaller, high-quality cylinder components for standard cylinders.
2012 Investment in a Ruhfus-specific test bench with 5000 l tank volume, 100 l/min pump output and the electronic documentation of all relevant test information e.g. attenuation curves, test pressures, hold times, speeds, motion profiles, purity class of the test oil.
2013 ntroduction of a new production control system - FELIOS.
Expansion of the development and engineering activities in the area of power unit production. Redesign and enlargement of the area - power unit production.
Introduction of our own first cylindrical grinding machine (3,000 mm centre distance, 600 mm grinding diameter)
Relocation and enlargement of the quality assurance department.
Successful audit under - Module H - of the Pressure Equipment Directive and registration as a manufacturer of pressure equipment by Bureau Veritas.
2014 Commissioning of further CNC turning center for larger outer diameters of 1.000 mm and turning length of 3.000 mm.
2015 Commissioning of further CNC milling center for larger components (1.800 mm x 1.400 mm x 16.000 mm)
2017 Foundation of Ruhfus India, Mumbai.
Granting licence rights to Lajvar Hydraulic, I.R. of Iran, and purchase of shares.
Extension of hydraulic assembly with > 400 m2 secluded and extra clean space
2018 Continuation and further expansion into MARINE BUSINESS,
supported by DNV- GL and RMRS.
2019 New product sector successfully implemented: Hydraulic valve production from different materials
2020 Further investments in the machine park. Accompanying expansion of the product range. Establishment of the new management and implementation of a new optimisation structure.