When a large equipment manufacturer needed a long term solution to protect against costly coupling failure on their excavators, they turned to Renold Hi-Tec Couplings of Halifax, England. The company previously used rubber-in-shear couplings which were failing after 4,000 hours of operation. Each time a coupling failed the excavator had to be stripped down and the coupling replaced. This was proving costly as the excavator runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week and any unplanned downtime means that the cost per tonnage, of material excavated, increases. The coupling is fitted between the diesel engine and the gearbox, which has three outputs. These outputs drive three hydraulic pumps which in turn drive all the motions on the excavator. As these excavators are used on very demanding applications, good coupling life is very important. Renold therefore recommended the HTB-GS rubber-in-compression coupling. The HTB-GS has already far exceeded the 4,000 hours life of the rubber-in-shear coupling and is still going strong, according to Renold.