Founded in Detroit on August 19, 1958 as Racine Seco Sales & Engineering Corporation, RHM Fluid Power has supplied over a half century of service to the automotive, machine tool and industrial equipment markets of Michigan and beyond. Today our customers and systems are found in all corners of the world.
In those early years, RHM was primarily an hydraulic distribution company selling pumps, valves and accessory components. The name changed in 1960 to Racine Hydraulics of Michigan, an independent distributor for hydraulic equipment manufacturer Racine Hydraulics. Recognizing, even then, the importance of added value, RHM created a systems division in 1975 to design, build and test hydraulic systems for OEM and end-user applications. In the four-plus decades since, RHM has distinguished itself as one of the premier fluid power system build facilities in the country with literally tens of thousands of systems delivered and operating worldwide. A system built by RHM in 1998 has been called one of the largest, if not the largest, single hydraulic installation in the world! It included over 10,000 hp of electric motor input and required fourteen flatbed trucks to transport. Big or small, RHM has positioned itself as the standard for hydraulic systems design and build.
A new facility in Grand Rapids, new markets outside of Michigan and the desire to branch out into new technologies lead to yet another name change in 1980, that of RHM Fluid Power. Through the 1980s and ’90s, RHM expanded into the fields of industrial lubrication, compressed air systems, lubricating oil systems, metal cutting coolant systems and the many product support technologies that surround these disciplines, including electrical controls and panels. With the guidance of product specialists and the backing of world-class supplier partners, RHM positioned itself to offer its customers complete fluid power control of their industrial machinery. Today, RHM is partnered with global leaders in each of its primary fluid power technologies including Eaton / Vickers Fluid Power, Ingersoll-Rand Air Compressors, SMC Pneumatics and Sun Hydraulics to name a few. For low and high pressure coolant systems, RHM has trademarked the name PowerKool and has developed its own line of coolant, filtration and chip removal systems.
Knowing the importance of international quality standards, RHM achieved ISO-9002 certification in 1996 for it’s Detroit, Michigan facility. With an upgrade to ISO-9001 in 2004, RHM has maintained its quality systems registration uninterrupted every year since with extremely clean surveillance audits every six months. Today, the RHM customer base comes not only from Michigan, but Europe, Asia, Africa and throughout all the Americas . The little company with eight employees in 1958 has come a long way!
