What Hydro Electronic Devices does

Hydro Electronic Devices (HED) is a privately held, family-owned company incorporated in 1986 and headquartered in Hartford, Wisconsin, that designs and manufactures rugged electronic control systems for mobile equipment original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The company sells a platform of three interconnected product lines: CANLink control modules (gateway, high-current, I/O controllers, and telematics), sunlight-readable CAN bus displays ranging from 4.3-inch to 15-inch, and programmable tricolor LED keypads. All products communicate via J1939 and CANopen protocols and are engineered for harsh mobile environments with IP67/IP6K9K sealing, operating temperatures from -40°C to +70°C, and shock/vibration resistance.

HED serves construction equipment, military vehicle, vocational vehicle, material handling, agricultural, and aerial work platform OEMs, with primary focus on the first three verticals. The company operates a direct B2B go-to-market model where application engineers work alongside customer engineering teams through a structured stage-gate process to develop customized control solutions. Revenue is generated through hardware sales of both standard catalog products and custom-engineered control systems with full system design capabilities, on a quote-based, project-by-project pricing model with long product lifecycle support of 10-20 years.

The company maintains an extensive certification portfolio including CMMC2.0 Level 1 for U.S. military supply, ISO 13766-1 and EN 13309 for construction machinery EMC, and ISO 19014-3 for functional safety of machinery control systems. Manufacturing is U.S.-based in Wisconsin with global component sourcing, and the company employs 101-250 people. Leadership includes Paul Ludwig as President and CEO and Steve Magee as Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

Name

Hydro Electronic Devices

Legal name

Hydro Electronic Devices, Inc.

Website

https://hedcontrols.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Hydro Electronic Devices (HED) designs and manufactures rugged CAN bus electronic control modules, displays, and keypads for construction, military, and vocational vehicle OEMs, operating a direct B2B engineering partnership model with U.S.-based manufacturing in Wisconsin.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Equipment Electronic Controls

NAICS

Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Instruments For Meas & Testing Of Electricity & Elec Signals (3825)

akta.pro primary industry

Ruggedized/Harsh-Environment Electronics Manufacturing (IP-rated, shock/vibration, wide-temp) (IMAGAGAF)

Keywords

• Mobile equipment controls
• CAN bus systems
• Electronic control modules
• Vehicle control modules
• Rugged displays

Headquarters

HQ city

Hartford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Electronic Control Systems Sales: HED generates revenue through the sale of rugged electronic control modules, CAN bus displays, and keypads to mobile equipment OEMs. The company provides both standard products and custom-engineered solutions with full system design capabilities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

HED designs and manufactures rugged, sealed electronic control systems for mobile equipment OEMs, centered on a CANLink platform that combines programmable control modules (gateway, high-current, I/O, body and telematics variants), sunlight-readable CAN bus displays, and software-controlled tricolor LED keypads. Products communicate via J1939 and CANopen, operate from -40°C to +70°C, and meet IP67/IP6K9K sealing for construction, military, and vocational vehicle applications. The company also delivers custom-engineered, application-specific solutions alongside its standard catalog.

Product overview

HED (Hydro Electronic Devices) designs and manufactures rugged, dependable electronic control systems for mobile equipment OEMs. The product portfolio is a platform-plus-modules architecture consisting of three interconnected product lines: (1) Control Modules - the central processing units including gateway controllers (CL-103), high current controllers (CL-305, CL-307, CL-310, CL-311), I/O controllers (CL-4002, CL-4003, CL-446, CL-449, CL-450, CL-451), and telematics modules (CL-T27); (2) Displays - CAN bus human-machine interface panels ranging from compact 4.3-inch (CL-709) to midsize 5-7 inch (CL-713, CL-714) to widescreen 12.3-15 inch (CL-715, CL-716) displays; and (3) CAN Keypads - tricolor LED programmable interfaces in various configurations (1x4 through 4x3 plus CL-630 jog dial). All products communicate via J1939 and CANopen protocols and are designed for harsh mobile environments with wide temperature ranges, shock/vibration resistance, and IP67/IP6K9K sealing. The CL-T27 enables IoT connectivity with OTA programming capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CANLink Control Modules

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced wire harness complexity enabling cleaner vehicle builds
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• TTControl: A HYDAC subsidiary specializing in rugged electronic control systems and HMI displays for mobile machinery, off-highway vehicles, and specialty equipment. TTControl is the most direct head-to-head competitor to HED's CANLink platform across construction, agricultural, and material handling OEMs.
• STW (Sensor-Technik Wiedemann): German manufacturer of rugged electronic control units, I/O modules, displays, and telematics for mobile machines, commercial vehicles, and off-highway equipment. Highly comparable to HED in product architecture, target segments, and ruggedization specifications (IP67, -40°C to +85°C).
• Stoneridge: Designer and manufacturer of highly engineered electrical and electronic components, sensors, and systems for commercial vehicles and mobile equipment. Overlaps with HED in commercial vehicle electronics and HMI, with comparable rugged mobile applications.

Broad incumbents

• Bosch Rexroth: Major supplier of hydraulics, electric drives, and electronic control systems for mobile machinery, factory automation, and engineering. Overlaps with HED in mobile equipment controls but operates as a much broader portfolio incumbent with vastly greater R&D and global reach.
• Danfoss Power Solutions: Global supplier of hydraulics, electronic controls, sensors, and telematics for off-highway and mobile equipment. Directly comparable to HED in mobile equipment controls (PLUS+1 platform) but with significantly broader product portfolio and global footprint.
• Parker Hannifin: Diversified motion and control technologies company with electronic controls, electromechanical systems, and HMI products serving mobile, industrial, and aerospace markets. Competes with HED in mobile equipment controls as part of a much wider portfolio.
• Curtiss-Wright: Defense and industrial electronics provider with rugged computing, controls, and signal processing solutions for military vehicles and harsh environments. Comparable to HED on the military/defense segment and ruggedization requirements, though broader in scope.
• WABCO (ZF Friedrichshafen): Now part of ZF, WABCO supplies braking, stability, and electronic control systems for commercial vehicles and vocational trucks. Comparable to HED in vocational vehicle electronics but operates at much larger scale and broader scope.
• Moog Inc. Precision motion control company with rugged electronics, controllers, and actuation systems for industrial, aerospace, and mobile applications. Similar rugged control competencies as HED, particularly in defense and harsh-environment applications.

Emerging players

• B&R Industrial Automation (ABB): Machine automation specialist acquired by ABB, offering controllers, I/O, and HMI for industrial and mobile applications. Provides overlap with HED in rugged HMIs and control modules, with growing presence in mobile equipment and specialty vehicle segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hed
• Xx.com/HED_Inc

Compliance23 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hydro Electronic Devices