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23.10.2009: Black Bruin Motors 50 Years

The Jubilee Year of the Black Bruin Motors

It has been 50 years since the invention of the Finnish hydraulic, radial piston - cam lobe, motor. It all started in the late 1950's, when Finnish truck manufacturer's (Oy Sisu-Auto Ab) forestry trucks needed more pull force on the muddy and slippery forestry roads. An Engineer at Sisu-Auto, Mr. Ilmari Louhio, started a project with his partners to develop a new kind of fluid powered motor to give the truck needed additional pull force. The motors he created, installed as the wheel hubs in the trailer, had a wavy outer ring built-in: the cam ring. Pressurized fluid was fed through the center of the motor into the radial cylinders. The pistons in power stroke pushed rollers against the cam ring forcing the cam to turn and hydrostatic pressure was transformed into mechanical energy.

In 1959 the development work had progressed to prototype stage, which gave the development base for the Black Bruin motors you see in the marketplace today. After multiple changes in the ownership, the Finnish hydraulic motors are currently manufactured by Sampo-Hydraulics Ltd. Sampo-Hydraulics Ltd has focused into the production and development of the rotating house motors, which can be easily and safely freewheeled. The unique mechanical freewheeling is commonly used in applications where hydraulic power isn't either needed or available at all times.

The range of applications has expanded over the 50 years of history and today you can find Black Bruin hydraulic motors from assist drives in a trailer to fully hydrostatic transmissions in various applications. The compact size of the Black Bruin motor and versatility of hydrostatics frees the hands of the designer: you can have high ground clearance, low profile frame, get the narrowest possible width to pass tight clearances or a combination of all the above. Hydraulic fluid flow into a Black Bruin saves space and brings torque in places where mechanical axles cannot reach.

To celebrate the Jubilee Year of the Black Bruin motors, Mr. Mike Weltzien of Black Bruin's North American Distributor NAHI LLC was honored with the first ever Golden Distributor Award for his achievements. Mr. Weltzien started importing Black Bruins to North America in the early 80's and the seeds he has planted over the years have grown North America into our largest market area today.