Research and Innovation

There are many keys to success for manufacturing companies in America.  Two that come to mind often lately are research and innovation and they are very connected.  This is true for the companies that manufacture and sell fluid power components.  In fact, at this year’s National Fluid Power Association Annual Conference in March, one of the speakers presented on the need for innovation, including a need in fluid power technology.

I am speaking of research in more than one regard.  On one hand, component manufacturers need to continuously do research and development of products to create new and better products.  The next generation of fluid power components is actually an ongoing development.  The Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power is one example of where fluid power research is being done and we have reported on that in the pages of this magazine.

This type of research works very closely with innovation.  In order for component manufacturers to develop products that answer the needs and demands of machinery in today’s market, they need to do research.  They need to keep probing for lighter, faster, quieter, and better components to compete in the U.S. and world market.  It is my belief that our manufactures are and will continue to win in this arena.

Another kind of research, the kind that we at H&P can help with, is the kind that lets manufacturers know how to best approach the marketplace.  This type of research involves marketing and advertising and our Marketing Services department was created several years ago to help our clients with these kinds of questions.  We offer custom research that asks questions like why and how do you buy?  We can help manufacturers to understand the market better.

We have produced some good market research studies recently.  One is titled OEM Outlook that reviews the current state of the industrial OEM marketplace.  Our Marketing Services can help our clients with tasks like Search Marketing, SEO, and eListening.  They can also develop mobile apps and websites.

Equipped with information, fluid power component manufactures can and have moved forward with new and more functional products in the marketplace.  They continue to innovate and move our industry forward.  If you should receive a survey from us asking about the fluid power industry and certain aspects of our technology, please help us out with your answers.

NAHAD Hose Safety Institute

One of the services provided to members of the Association for Hose & Accessories Distribution (NAHAD) is the Hose Safety Institute.  Of course, safety is a major concern for OEMs, distributors, users/operators, and repair personnel involved with hose assemblies.

The stated goals of the Institute are:

 

Promote and maintain the NAHAD Hose Assembly Guidelines;

Identify emerging issues and critical applications related to hose assemblies;

Serve as a forum for addressing industry issues, providing appropriate input to the NAHAD Standards Committee and ensure ongoing industry dialogue and communications;

Provide educational resources and tools to Institute Members and to end-users who support hose assembly quality, safety and reliability; and,

Identify and engage industry organizations and related agencies involved in, or impacting, hose safety, quality and reliability.

 

These goals are taken directly from the Hose Safety Institute web page found at this link.  As a part of this misson of hose safety, NAHAD has produced a Hose Safety Institute Handbook that can be found and purchased on their website.

 

Our specific interest at Hydraulics & Pneumatics is Chapter 7 that addresses Hydraulic Hose.  The sections of this chapter include Introduction to Hydraulics, STAMPED, Hydraulic Hose and Hose Selection, Coupling Selection, Hose Assemblies:  Length, Orientation Measurement & Testing, Accessories and Equipment, and Cleanliness Considerations.

 

I encourage all manufacturers, distributors, and users of hydraulic hose assemblies to refer to the NAHAD Hose Safety Institute website to consider the purchase of this Handbook.  As safety remains a top consideration, NAHAD helps to define safety best practices.

What Can Research Do for Your Company

I think that marketing research is more important today than ever to companies in the industrial world.  The reason is that they have so many marketing opportunities available to them.  The best way to approach the marketplace is with solid marketing intel gathered through various means.

We at Hydraulics & Pneumatics can provide our advertiser customers with great marketing research because we have access to fluid power market and product knowlege and we have access to decision makers in the marketplace.

We have several recent examples of excellent market research that we have conducted.  One is the OEM Outlook 2013 Annual Report.  This piece of research is full of useful information for marketers of OEM products.  If you would like a copy, please contact me.

Another really great research tool that we produce is our AIM Readership Survey.  We conducted one over our March 2013 issue and the results tell us a great deal about our readers, their receptability to marketing messages, and their methods for getting information.  Again, I would like to tell you more if you are interested.  My number is 216-931-9352

Search Marketing from Hydraulics & Pneumatics

As I have mentioned before, we have many new capabilities here at Hydraulics & Pneumatics to help fluid power companies to market their products most effectively.  Do you want to drive traffic to your website, generate leads, and have trackable ROI? Of course, most companies tell me that they do. We can help you with the portfolio of products that we offer from Penton Marketing Services.

Search Marketing reaches prospective fluid power buying customers and prospects at the moment of relevance - when they are actively searching for solutions - making it the best channel to bring leads to your website. Our service is cost-effective and completely measurable. Search campaigns generally deliver great return on your investment.  Our introductory SEO product offers a one-time analysis of your site, your competition, and delivers a coomprehensive selection of top performing keywords in your search engine marketplace.

Our SEO programs are based upon the most effective optimization techniques to improve your company's natural search engine rankings and drive more qualified visitors to your website. This is the service that many companies are seeking. We focus our SEO efforts on program-specific, high-volume keywords to help push your natural website rankings to the top of search engine results ovet time.
I would like to discuss this with a representative of your company in further detail. Please send me an e-mail at michael.ference@penton.com. Our programs deliver results and we want to partner for success with fluid power companies.

Helping Farmers to Feed America

The July 2013 issue of Hydraulics & Pneumatics will feature Mobile Hydraulics in Agricultural Equipment.  This article highlights innovative design techniques that give hydraulics the power and precision to operate agricultural equipment safely, efficiently, reliably, and with the highest productivity.  The agricultural machinery industry is one of the largest consumers of fluid power components.

You can find lots of archived technical information on the H&P website under Applications - Agriculture.  Here, you will find articles, news, and product reviews that pertain to agricultural equipment.  Engineers seeking design tips and maintenance best practices turn to our website for such details.

The ag market is one that does fluctuate with the changing economy.  However, producing food is a necessity of life and thus, farmers eventually replace their machinery.  If your company sells into the agricultural market, then consider advertising in our July issue.  The ad closing date is June 14, 2013.  Please contact me with any questions.

2013 NAHAD Annual Meeting & Convention

If you get a minute, please check out my article on the Hydraulics & Pneumatics website http://hydraulicspneumatics.com/events/nahad-2013-annual-meeting-convention

We Cover Filtration in H&P

Our promise at H&P is to deliver excellent fluid power content every month, in print and online.  For May, we told our advertisers and readers that we would deliver a filtration article in May.  It is an excellent article too.

Keeping hydraulic fluid clean is essential to maximizing machine reliability and longevity, which ultimately reduces downtime.  The May issue of H&P examines techniques for excluding and removing contaminants from hydraulic systems.

The title of the article is Condition Monitoring Made Easy and it is authored by Jeff Ruth of Hydac Corp. Filters keep systems running efficiently and reliably by trapping contaminants that would otherwise circulate through the system. Eventually though, any filter would become clogged, so specifying any of several indicators will let operators know when the filter has reached it's capacity.

You can read the entire article in our May issue or visit the archive on our website. While you are there, you might consider getting more information about hydraulic filters in our Technologies - Hydraulic Filters or Fluid Power Basics - Fluid Cleanliness. These are both excellent resources for technical information about hydraulic filtration.