United Equipment Accessories

United Equipment Accessories contact details

Main office

2103 East Bremer Ave.
Waverly, Iowa 50677
United States

Telephone +1 319 352 3946

Email info@uea-inc.com

Website uea-inc.com

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Contact details as published by United Equipment Accessories, Inc., checked 2026-10-30. Specify Motion is not affiliated with United Equipment Accessories, Inc..

United Equipment Accessories product lines

Who UEA is

United Equipment Accessories (UEA) is a family-owned US manufacturer of rotating electrical and fluid connections. It makes slip rings, rotary unions and hydraulic swivels, and through its brands also makes stainless sealed slip rings (Alpha Slip Rings), precision through-bore slip rings (Fabricast) and hose, cord and cable reels (American Reels).

UEA’s roots in truck-mounted cranes still show: much of its range suits mobile hydraulic machinery, where a turret must pass hydraulic fluid and electrical circuits at once.

History and ownership

UEA started in 1952 in Vern Iserman’s garage in Waverly, Iowa, making remote-control kits for truck-mounted cranes. It patented its own slip rings in the early 1960s, added transmission controllers later that decade, cable reels in 1982, and hydraulic swivels and rotary unions in 2012.

Acquisitions have broadened the group: Alpha Slip Rings of Austin, Texas, in October 2018; American Reels (American Reeling Devices) in the first quarter of 2023; and Fabricast, a California slip ring maker, in late 2025. UEA describes itself as family-owned, with Mark Hanawalt as Chair of the Board and Deb Malek as CEO.

Product portfolio

Slip rings

• The pancake slip rings are low-profile platter designs for limited axial space, rated 10 to 15 A at up to 240 V DC, with 1.5 Gbps signal capability, diameters from 0.25 to 11.5 in (6 to 292 mm) and an operating range of -40 to +160 °C.
• The 5 Gbps Ethernet slip rings carry Ethernet at up to 5 Gbps alongside power, signal, encoder, coaxial and fibre-optic circuits, in housings sized to the application.
• The custom carbon-brush slip rings are built to specification, with wire-brush, weight-bearing, RF and wireless variants. Ratings are in UEA’s product guide.

The Alpha Slip Rings and Fabricast ranges have their own brand profiles on Specify Motion.

Rotary unions and hydraulic swivels

The rotary unions and hydraulic swivels range from 1 to 16 ports at up to 6,000 psi (about 41 MPa), with SAE ORB, BSPP, NPT, ORFS and four-bolt flange ports, for -29 to +121 °C. They handle hydraulic oil, coolant, water, air, gases, fuel and vacuum. A slip ring can be integrated inside the union’s steel housing, mounted semi-integrated on top or below, or kept separate to reduce heat transfer.

Technologies

• Combined fluid and electrical joints. The integrated option is the most compact and rugged, while separate units are easier to service.
• Brush choice. Carbon brushes suit power circuits in rugged equipment; wire brushes give compact, low-resistance contacts for signals.
• Contactless options. RF and wireless slip rings avoid contact wear for data where a physical ring is impractical.

See how to select a rotary union, capsule vs through-bore vs pancake slip rings and Ethernet through slip rings.

Industries served

UEA’s history and product pages point to truck-mounted and mobile cranes, aerial work platforms, off-highway and service vehicles, marine and subsea equipment (through Alpha), and industrial machinery.

Worked example: a crane turret

A truck crane turret needs eight hydraulic passages at up to 4,000 psi and twelve electrical circuits for controls and lighting. UEA’s union range lists eight-port designs from 3,850 to 5,000 psi, so the hydraulic side is within catalogue ratings. An integrated slip ring keeps the stack short; choose a separate ring if hydraulic oil temperatures are high or the ring needs regular service.

Things that catch engineers out

• Pressure versus port type. The rated pressure depends on the port standard; flanged ports often rate higher than threaded ones.
• Heat. Hot hydraulic oil passes heat into an integrated slip ring, so check temperature ratings for both halves.
• Data rates. If cameras or Ethernet devices sit on the rotating side, specify the data rate early rather than adding it later.

When to choose a pancake ring

A pancake ring puts its circuits on concentric tracks of a flat platter rather than along a drum. That makes it short axially but wide, so it suits turntables, medical scanners and antenna pedestals where height is limited and diameter is not. UEA’s pancake range spans 0.25 to 11.5 in in diameter and -40 to +160 °C, which covers most of these cases.

Global and UK presence

UEA lists its main office in Waverly, Iowa, and no UK office or distributor on the pages we read. UK engineers can request quotes directly.

What to send when specifying a slip ring or union

Send the electrical circuits (current, voltage, signal and data types), speed, bore and envelope, environment and IP rating. For unions, add the media, pressure, flow, port standard and number of passages.

Specify Motion is independent of UEA and is not a distributor for the company. Our engineers can help source UEA products or propose equivalents from our supply network on published figures; see find a replacement or the slip rings hub.

United Equipment Accessories history: key dates

1. 1952Founded in Vern Iserman's garage in Waverly, Iowa, making crane remote-control kits
2. 1960sPatents its own slip rings (early 1960s) and adds transmission controllers (late 1960s)
3. 1982Cable reels added to the range
4. 2012Hydraulic swivels and rotary unions added
5. 2018Alpha Slip Rings of Austin, Texas, acquired (October)
6. 2023American Reels (American Reeling Devices) acquisition completed
7. 2025Fabricast acquired (late 2025)

United Equipment Accessories slip rings

Pancake slip rings

Pancake slip rings

Low-profile platter slip rings for limited axial space, 10 to 15 A at up to 240 V DC, 1.5 Gbps signal capability, 0.25 to 11.5 in (6 to 292 mm) diameters and -40 to +160 °C.

Ethernet slip rings

5 Gbps Ethernet slip rings

Slip rings that carry Ethernet at up to 5 Gbps alongside power, signal, encoder, coaxial and fibre-optic circuits in custom housings.

Rotary unions and hybrid joints

Rotary unions and hydraulic swivels

Hydraulic rotary unions with 1 to 16 ports at up to 6,000 psi (41 MPa) and -29 to +121 °C, available integrated, semi-integrated or separate from a UEA slip ring.

Slip rings

Custom carbon-brush slip rings

Custom carbon-brush slip ring assemblies built to specification for mobile and industrial equipment, with wire-brush, weight-bearing, RF and wireless variants in the range.

Frequently asked questions

What is the UEA website?

United Equipment Accessories' official website is uea-inc.com. It covers UEA's slip rings, the Alpha Slip Rings range, rotary unions and hydraulic swivels, with links to the Fabricast and American Reels sites, a product guide PDF and contact pages.

What is UEA's phone number and email?

UEA's main office publishes +1 319 352 3946, a US toll-free number of 800 394 9986 and the email info@uea-inc.com. The contact page also has a quote request form.

Where is UEA based?

UEA's main office is at 2103 East Bremer Ave., Waverly, Iowa 50677, USA, where the company started in 1952. Its Alpha Slip Rings business came from Austin, Texas, and Fabricast is in South El Monte, California.

Who owns UEA?

UEA describes itself as family-owned since its founding in 1952. Its company overview lists Mark Hanawalt as Chair of the Board and Deb Malek as CEO.

Does UEA have a UK distributor?

UEA lists no UK office or distributor on the pages we read. UK engineers can request quotes through uea-inc.com. Specify Motion is independent of UEA and can help source its products or propose equivalents.

What does UEA make?

UEA makes custom carbon-brush and wire-brush slip rings, pancake, Ethernet, weight-bearing, RF and wireless slip rings, the Alpha range of sealed stainless slip rings, rotary unions and hydraulic swivels, and through its brands Fabricast precision slip rings and American Reels hose and cable reels.

Sources

1. UEA: home page
2. UEA: company overview
3. UEA: contact
4. UEA: slip rings
5. UEA: pancake slip rings
6. UEA: 5 Gbps Ethernet slip rings
7. UEA: rotary unions and hydraulic swivels

Figures are summarised from the sources above and from manufacturers' published data on the date shown. Always confirm against the current datasheet for your exact part.