Hycontrol's roots go back to Hymatic Engineering Limited, a company formed in the 1930s that supplied valves to the Aerospace industry. In the early 1970s, a separate division called Hymatic Industrial Controls was formed to supply the process control industry.
In 1977, HIC was approached by a Canadian manufacturer of ultrasonic level measuring instrumentation to market and distribute their products in the UK. At the time, the use of ultrasonic technology for industrial measurement was in its infancy, and the collaboration was hugely successful. As a result, an opportunity arose for managers and private investors to purchase the business assets and create a new company, Hycontrol Limited, in 1983.
Hycontrol's initial range featured solenoid valves, proximity, and pressure and temperature switches, with the distribution of ultrasonic equipment. However, in 1987 the distribution agreement with the Canadian company ended. This setback led to Hycontrol designing level measurement equipment in-house, first utilising ultrasonic technology, then building on this success over the next decade to add new technologies such as microwave, FMCW radar and TDR.
Hycontrol now sells directly in the UK and through a worldwide distribution network; our first overseas office opened in Beijing, China, in 2002. The turn of the millennium also saw an expansion into the field of safety systems, firstly setting industry standards for the prevention of bitumen overspills utilising ground-level test (GLT) equipment and then pioneering comprehensive silo protection systems to prevent over-pressurisation. Most recently, the acquisition of Charis Technology in 2013 has added a unique range of foam monitoring equipment to an already burgeoning portfolio.
