Michael Ference Fluid Power Marketing

Attention all manufacturers of fluid power components and systems:  Send us your press releases.  We now have an excellent channel of media products to promote your product information.  In print, we offer Fluid Power World and Design World.   Both magazines feature a New Products section. Online, we have four websites where your product information can be featured including Fluid Power World, Hose Assembly Tips, Mobile Hydraulic Tips, and Pneumatic Tips. By submitting your press releases to us, information about your products will be used by all of our resources.  Each of these websites also has its own e-newsletter. So, send us your press releases.  You can send them to me at mference@wtwhmedia.com

This is exciting.  We will publish the first-ever issue of Fluid Power World in August and we are making the preparations for it now.  We have some great editorial planned with Mobile Hydraulics in Mining, Pneumatics in Packaging, Reliability of Industrial Hydraulics, and a Focus on Seals. In addition we will feature new products and some association updates.  The issue will be sent to a qualified audience in print and digitally.  It promises to be an excellent fluid power resource. If your company would like to advertise in our inaugural issue, please contact me at mference@wtwhmedia.com or call me at 408-769-1188.

I have written before about the need for innovation in fluid power for the continued growth of the industry.  This is still very true and our National Fluid Power Association has addressed this on a regular basis.  While fluid power is a very mature industry, we cannot take for granted that business will continue to come our way, we must be innovative. The Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power is one organization that has worked with the NFPA over the years to research and innovate.  The NFPA continues to look for ways to keep the process going for the good of our industry. Innovation can also be tied into workforce development.  As emerging engineers find our industry more innovative, they should also find it more attractive.  Our NFPA has also made workforce development a priority.  Add to these two elements Inclusiveness and you have the three main initiatives of the NFPA, Technology, Workforce, and Inclusiveness. If your company is involved...

If your company sells fluid power components like valves, cylinders, pumps, seals, or hose assemblies, send us your information for publication on our websites. Here is an example of a hose protector from Fittings Unlimited that appears on our Hose Assembly Tips website.  By simply sending us your product photo and description, your fluid power related products will qualify for publication on our websites including Hose Assembly Tips, Fluid Power World , Pneumatic Tips , and Mobile Hydraulic Tips . You can simply send them to my attention at mference@wtwhmedia.com.  I will be happy to forward them to our editors for publication on the appropriate website.  When you do so, you will be helping us because our audience wants your product information.  So, thank you in advance.

The National Fluid Power Association has done a great job of defining, promoting, and representing the fluid power industry through the involvement of member companies.  The member companies include fluid power component manufacturers and distributors, suppliers to the industry, educators, and other interested parties. WTWH Media and Fluid Power World are active members of the NFPA.  I am proud to serve on the Board of Directors for the NFPA where new ideas are exchanged for the progress of the industry.  The Board is made up of industry leaders whose best interest is a healthy and vibrant fluid power industry. This is a huge responsibility that I take very seriously.  It also keeps me very well informed about the NFPA.  If your company can be described in any of the above listed groups, consider joining the NFPA.  Here is a link to our website.

Check out this latest 2014 IFPE video from Ryco.  It is a new idea because the commentary is in Spanish. IFPE Video This is an effort to understand how we can best reach out to the largest audience possible.  It may be our first multi-lingual attempt to convey fluid power information.  I hope you like it.

Video presentations of products are an important part of our content at Fluid Power World.  Here is a link to our website  where you will find a video from Webtec right on our homepage. With multiple content platforms, we reach out to the fluid power engineering audience with opportunities to learn about fluid power in the format that the engineer prefers.  Video presentations are an important part of our content. On our Fluid Power World homepage, you will find a link to more fluid power videos.  This link will take you to the Design World video library where many fluid power videos reside providing our audience with a wealth of information.  In invite you to visit http://videos.designworldonline.com/browse/fluid-power If your company has instructional video that you would like to include on our websites, please contact me for information on how to do that.  Michael Ference mference@wtwhmedia.com

These are still very good times for the fluid power industry.  Even though 2014 got off to a weak start through the first half, expectations as much better for the second half.  That is the brief financial review for the industry. Now, with regard to the technical report on fluid power, I invite you to subscribe to our newest publication, Fluid Power World .   For a rough estimate of what makes up this industry, it is about 50% mobile hydraulics, 25% pneumatics, and 25% industrial hydraulics. The first issue of Fluid Power World  will reflect the makeup of the industry with a feature article on Mobile Hydraulics in Mining.  For more information about mobile hydraulics, I invite you to visit our mobile hydraulics website titled Mobile Hydraulic Tips . Pneumatic components, sub-systems, and systems make up about 25% of the overall fluid power market and our first issue of Fluid Power World will report on pneumatics in packaging applications. This is a...

In August, we at WTWH Media will publish our first-ever print and digital issue of Fluid Power World.   This should be the start of a great journey for our company in providing excellent fluid power content to a qualified audience. I have the greatest respect for the fluid power industry.  This technology is essential to virtually all manufacturing and service industries.  With that being the case, we have structured our editorial calendar to cover all aspects of fluid power technology.  In our first issue, our lineup will include:   Mobile hydraulics in mining applications Pneumatics in packaging applications Reliability in industrial hydraulics Focus on seals If your company manufactures and/or sells fluid power components to a technical customer base of fluid power engineering professionals, please consider advertising in our first issue.  Contact me for details at mference@wtwhmedia.com.  The closing date is July 7.

I want to call attention to an initiative by the International Fluid Power Society (IFPS) to call out fluid power professionals for their contribution to industry and society in general.  They have declared June 19th to be Fluid Power Professionals' Day. They are asking their members and all working professionals involved with fluid power technology to get involved to recognize fluid power with a multiple point plan.  Click here  for access to that plan.  In the continuing effort to draw attention to the workforce by not only the IFPS but also the National Fluid Power Association and Fluid Power Distributor Association, this effort will help to make the profession more well known. Get involved, help to promote the industry through your participation.

Our new website, Hose Assembly Tips, covers both hydraulic hose, fittings, and assemblies as well as pneumatic.   Here is a link to a product that appears on our new site from New Age Industries featuring Thermobarb Plastic Fittings. The reason that I mention this is that I want to remind all of the pneumatic hose and fitting manufacturers and distributors to send us products for placement on our new website.  Providing the most current information about hose assemblies is the mission of this new website and e-newsletter and adding product information really helps our audience. If you have not yet had a chance to visit our other new website, Fluid Power World , I invite you to visit that as well for both hydraulic and pneumatic content and again, send us your information for posting.  If you have any questions, please contact me.

There are many opportunities for a manufacturer of industrial components to advertise their products to prospective new customers.  What is the best approach? In deciding the best approach to advertising, a lot depends on the specific objectives of the advertiser. Do you want to increase your brand awareness?  Are you interested in featuring a specific new product?  Sales leads for your distributors and sales team? These are all good reasons to advertise and they can all be addressed with a good advertising campaign.  I usually recommend a combination of print, web, and e-mail messages sent out to a qualified audience. For fluid power component manufacturers, we offer Fluid Power World in print and multiple websites and e-newsletters.  Please contact me at mference@wtwhmedia.com for a custom ad program for your company.

I am anticipating a very good forecast from Alan Beaulieu at the 2014 NFPA Industry & Economic Outlook Conference.  What am I basing this on?  Last year Alan said that the first half of 2014 would be soft but things will pick up later and heading into 2015. Alan Beaulieu is from the Institute for Trends Research and a key person for me in terms of understanding the economic condition of the fluid power industry.  The Conference will be held at the Westin North Shore in the greater Chicago area on August 11-13. If you have not yet registered, now would be a good time to reserve your place at the 2014 Conference.  You will come away with great information from Alan and many other featured economic speakers who will address the fluid power industry and the many markets that it serves. I hope that Alan says that he was right last year and that we are heading for good economic times over the next few years.  I will get back to you on that.

Well, we are not quite there yet, but our newest website Fluid Power World  has lots of fluid power content and I invite you to visit and see for yourself. It is a great new source for fluid power information.  If your company manufacturers and sells fluid power components, please send us your product information for posting on our site.  If your company uses fluid power components in your system design, please visit our website and tell your co-workers about it. Also, coming in August will be our first ever issue of Fluid Power World.   There is still time to reserve your ad space and still time to subscribe.  If you have any questions, please contact me.

And that is what this press release , found in Hose Assembly Tips is all about.  The product is the CEJN Series 165 Flat Face Couplings and they are designed to make connecting and disconnecting easier. If your company designs, maintains, or uses fluid power systems, either hydraulic or pneumatic, you are probably interested in easier connections.  So, if you find this press release interesting, I invite you to visit Hose Assembly Tips often.  You can also go to the Design World Subscribe page  and sign up our e-newsletter.

Here is a link to another video taken at the IFPE 2014.  It features Prince Manufacturing and their mobile cylinders and valves. Prince Manufacturing from IFPE 2010 With the IFPE Show being co-located with ConExpo/ConAg, it is a great venue for mobile components because of the machinery displayed.  Together the shows are probably the largest display of mobile equipment in the country. Mobile hydraulics is the largest segment of the overall fluid power industry making up nearly 50% of the total component sales and shipments.  We at Fluid Power World/Design World have an entire website dedicated to mobile hydraulics and it is called Mobile Hydraulic Tips  and I invite you to visit. If your company makes mobile components, please send them to me for posting at mrference@wtwhmedia.com.

Here is more great content from the 2014 IFPE Show held in Las Vegas back in March.  It is actually a video and here is a link Bailey International Corp. IFPE Video I thank our videographer, John Hansel, for all of his excellent video work from the IFPE Show this year.  This video is done with the help of Blake Moore of Bailey who not only does a great job of explaining his products, he actually reviews the basics and the benefits of the component groups. This video really looks more like an informercial because it is so informative.  With engineering technical content, including fluid power, the advertisements are usually as informative as the editorial.  In this case that is true on video too. Please go to our video page on Design World Online for lots of great videos on fluid power component systems.  You might also want to check out our newest website, Fluid Power World Online.

See our Pneumatic Tips website  and you will find a very unusual story there about 8 crazy animal robots.  Actually, this fun story is about real robots that, when you dig deeper into the story, you find out that they are actually very useful. Here is my favorite The Bionic Kangaroo developed by Festo's Bionic Learning Network.  Product innovation often involves pushing the envelope of creativity.  Some of our best inventions come from projects like this one. To learn more about pneumatic innovation and development, visit our Pneumatic Tips website often.

Visit our Hose Assembly Tips website for information about products that make great hose assemblies.  One product that may not come to mind immediately are the blades used to cut hose before the assembly is made. We feature a product from Cut-Off Blades that should be of interest for anyone cutting and crimping hose assemblies. Our Hose Assembly Tips website considers all aspects of making reliable hydraulic hose assemblies. If your company makes connectors of any kind, send us your press releases for inclusion on our site. We also produce an e-newsletter that include information on hose assemblies and it is titled Mobile Hydraulic Tips.  If you are interested subscribing, you can do so from the Design World Online website.

Here is a link to a video taken at the 2014 IFPE Show in Las Vegas.  It features an explanation of accumulators offered by Wilkes & McLean. Wilkes & McLean from IFPE IFPE 2014 was such a great display of fluid power components of all types.  Accumulators are really useful components in a variety of fluid power systems.  As Steve Kopfman of Wilkes & McLean explains in this video, there are many interesting applications. For more explanations of fluid power components and systems, please visit our websites:   Mobile Hydraulic Tips,    Pneumatic Tips , and Hose Assembly Tips.   If your company makes and sells products that should appear on these sites for our audience to review, please send them to me.

Transducers play a key role in hydraulic and pneumatic systems.  They add to versatility to the brute force.  We offer information about transducers on our websites and in our print publications.  In August, we will be launching Fluid Power World. At the IFPE Show in March, we interviewed Mark Hoffman of Rota Engineering to gain insights into their products and you can see the interview by clicking on this link: Rota IFPE Video Thanks Mark for adding to the excellent content found on the Design World website.  We really appreciate the sharing of expertise that helps to educate and inform our audience. We publish lots of great content also on our Mobile Hydraulic Tips website.  I invite you to visit our website for mobile system application stories and product reviews like one from Rota Engineering, click here.

At the 2014 IFPE Show in Las Vegas, RYCO introduced their new Isobaric product range of hoses.  Zeke Metzler presents more information in this brief video RYCO IFPE Video taken at the IFPE Show earlier this year.  In each of our videos, the presenter gives you a brief overview and , as Zeke does in this video, then they direct you to their website where you can find more information. You can also refer to our Hose Assembly Tips  website for product reviews and application stories.  In fact, you will find a RYCO product there now.

If you were in attendance at the IFPE Show in Las Vegas, you may have had a chance to see all of the products on display.  If you did not or were unable to attend, we are happy to bring some of the products on display to you now. Here is a link to a video by Lillbacka , a manufacturer of crimping machines.  Take a look at what you may have missed or get a better look at what they were showing.  In a time of innovation in all areas of technology affecting markets using fluid power, here is a chance for a closer look. I will be bringing you more video product reviews from IFPE 2014.  This is a once-every-three-years show so I hope to give some of the exhibitors some extra mileage from their participation. If you liked what you saw at IFPE 2014, you'll love what you read in our new Fluid Power World.

At Design World, we review many new products.  Innovation and new products are the keys to the growth of the fluid power industry.  Here is a video of what we learned about the DV Valve on a recent visit to Clippard Headquarters. Click here for DV Valve Video Some engineers prefer reading about products, others prefer video learning.  We at Design World offer both to our engineering audience.

Are you interested in knowing more about what the future holds economically speaking for the fluid power industry?  Then plan to attend http://nfpaevents.com/ieoc/ the 2014 Industry & Economic Outlook Conference in August in Wheeling, IL Meet the team from Fluid Power World at the event too.  There will be golf and networking opportunities for all in attendance.  It is one of the best events of the year for the fluid power industry.  We will be launching our first ever issue of Fluid Power World right around that time and I would like to tell you more about it. Please contact me for more details at mference@wtwhmedia.com

And how can you avoid it.  At Design World, we have solutions and on our website Mobile Hydraulic Tips, we answer the question.   Our contributor, Josh Cosford has an excellent article on the very subject titled 7 Ways to Avoid Cavitation. For sure, cavitation can be harmful to a hydraulic system, particular hydraulic pumps and that is why this article should be of particular interest to both OEM system designers and maintenance professionals.  By following the 7 Ways as outlined by Josh, cavitation can be controlled if not eliminated. If you access this article by clicking here , I hope that you will consider visiting Mobile Hydraulic Tips often for great this kind of useful information.  The same type of information will be appearing in our new publication, Fluid Power World .  Our first issue will be published in August. Please contact me at mference@wtwhmedia.com if you would like to subscribe.