EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. … Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation today announced that its recently-introduced LifeSense™ hose has received a 2012 Gold Award as one of industry’s best new products of the year in the fluid/pneumatic power category of New Equipment Digest magazine’s King Awards competition.  The King Awards, named in honor of the magazine’s long time editor, Bob King, were established to recognize superior industrial product innovation. The Gold Award is the top award in this competition.  

More than 6,000 votes were cast by readers of both the print and digital editions of New Equipment Digest to identify “significant and inventive products that enable all involved in manufacturing to do their jobs more efficiently and effectively.”

“We are honored to receive a Gold Award based on votes cast by the readers of New Equipment Digest,” said Jeffrey Finch, Eaton senior vice president and general manager. “They represent a cross-section of customers who will benefit from the impact LifeSense technology is having, and will continue to have, on the hydraulic hose industry.  This new technology is re-shaping the way fluid conveyance products will be specified, used and maintained in the future.”

Eaton’s LifeSense hose uses patented technology to monitor the health of hydraulic hose assemblies while they are in use and notify the user as they near the end of their useful life. Field testing is confirming that the warning time is sufficient to allow routine replacement of the hose without unscheduled downtime.

Not only does LifeSense hose dramatically reduce the incidence of hose failures in the field, it also virtually eliminates the waste inherent in the current practice of replacing hoses on a time-based schedule. That practice results in literally millions of feet of perfectly good hose being discarded every year.

Users have a choice to wait for a hose to fail or in cases where a failure can’t be tolerated, deploy a preventive maintenance program.  Eaton’s testing shows that most hose preventive maintenance results in only slightly more than half of its potential life getting utilized.  The cost savings can be significant when one factors the labor and hose replacement cost eliminated due to longer service intervals as well as reduced unscheduled downtime.  Safety improvements and environmental friendliness are also enhanced by reducing or in most cases eliminating hydraulic hose related oil spills.

Eaton’s Hydraulics business is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of a comprehensive line of reliable, high-efficiency hydraulic systems and components for use in mobile and stationary applications. Mobile and stationary markets include agriculture, alternative energy, construction, forestry, manufacturing, material handling, mining, oil and gas, processing, transportation and utility equipment. Eaton’s Hydraulics Group provides customer-driven solutions under product names such as Aeroquip®, Boston®, Char-Lynn®, Eaton®, Hydrokraft®, Hydrowa®, Hydro-Line®, Integrated Hydraulics®, Synflex®, Vickers®, Walterscheid™, and Weatherhead®. For more information, visit www.eaton.com/hydraulics.

Eaton Corporation is a diversified power management company with more than 100 years of experience providing energy-efficient solutions that help our customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power. With 2011 sales of $16.0 billion, Eaton is a global technology leader in electrical components and systems for power quality, distribution and control; hydraulics components, systems and services for industrial and mobile equipment; aerospace fuel, hydraulics and pneumatic systems for commercial and military use; and truck and automotive drivetrain and powertrain systems for performance, fuel economy and safety. Eaton has approximately 73,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 150 countries. For more information, visit www.eaton.com.