Michael Ference Fluid Power Marketing

Here is some exciting news just released today about our Fluid Power Technology Conference scheduled for May 13-15, 2019 at MSOE.  I encourage you to read on and register. Full Conference Agenda Announced! The fourth annual  Fluid Power Technology Conference  offers a three-day program with technical presentations geared towards OEM design engineers and after-market professionals in the maintenance, service and repair sectors. Back by popular demand will be a full day of  pre-conference workshops  on May 13, presented by the experts at the Milwaukee School of Engineering and the International Fluid Power Society, with full-day sessions titled " Fluid Power Basics Workshop " and " Advanced Hydraulics Mashup ." New this year will be  IFPS certification testing . The following two days, May 14-15, will be packed with 30 and 45 minute technical presentations led by industry experts, Canada's preeminent fluid power trainer  Carl Dyke , Fluid Power World's o

Many small companies are limited in their usage of social media, mostly because of constraints on their personnel with their already existing work loads.  Taking the time each day to tweet about your company, technology, and your product solutions can be time consuming. Getting interesting content to increase your following can also be difficult.  Making that information sound interesting to the audience is a skill that takes time to develop. This is where we come in.  At Fluid Power World group, we have the talent and resources so manage your social media platforms and grow your following.  Using a combination of the various sources of content, we can build a strategy and work together to accomplish your social media goals. Please contact me to discuss further at mference@wtwhmedia.com

While it is not complete yet, the agenda for our 2019 Fluid Power Technology Conference is now available.   Please click here for more details. In addition to three excellent keynote speakers, technical sessions presented by our own experts, and exhibitor technical presentations, we have much more built into the schedule.  If you choose to attend, we will serve you a continental breakfast both days, offer tours, lunch both days, a reception on Tuesday, and lots of time to interact with our 22 exhibitors. So, I invite you to visit our registration page, get signed up now, and plan for three days of fluid power conference sessions presented by experts.  We are offering discounts if more than one person from your company attends. On our agenda, you will find a full day of fluid power training on Monday, May 13, 2019 at MSOE with two tracks, Basic Fluid Power, and Advanced Hydraulics open to all attendees for a small fee.  Additionally, the International Fluid Po

Here is a way to reach an audience of 32,000 opt-in professionals who work in various capacities of fluid power technology including design engineers, maintenance specialists, supply chain professionals, and other such people.  This idea is best described as our e-blasts. Don't take the word "blast" negatively because the recipients of these e-mail advertisements are opt-in and have the opportunity to opt-out at any time.  It is not spam. These e-blasts are a call to action to download a white paper, visit a company website, download a data sheet, watch a video, or other types of useful content.  They also deliver sales leads to our advertisers. I recommend this form of advertising as a means for our client to reach a qualified audience with their advertising message, generate sales leads, and introduce content to interested professional audience members. For more information on e-blasts, please contact me at mference@wtwhmedia.com.

Every area of our great country has special foods and special treats that are well known to that specific area but possibly not so well known outside.  One of these delicacies that I have stumbled across recently is the Kringle. A Kringle is a circular Danish pastry made famous in the Southeastern Wisconsin area by the O&H Bakery in Racine, Wisconsin the Kringle capital of America.  It is a hand-rolled pastry shaped in a circle or oval and filled with various yummy fillings such as strawberry or cheese or both.  I started buying Kringles recently to distribute to prospective attendees to our upcoming Fluid Power Technology Conference. In the spirit of full disclosure, the idea was really Mary Gannon's our Editor who accompanied me on on a recent visit to Wisconsin promoting our event.  It was her idea to use this delicious treat to get the attention of engineers and other mechanical people involved in fluid power.  While they are enjoying and sharing the Kringle, we

We have added another well-known speaker to our list of keynotes for the upcoming Fluid Power Technology Conference taking place May 13-15, 2019 at MSOE in Milwaukee.  His name is Mark L. Thompson and he is a featured speaker at many conferences and association meetings. Mark is a Master Business Strategist here is a quick outline of his presentation' The Five Pillars of Strategic Thinking Stop wasting your time on Strategic Planning and Start Thinking Strategically to achieve Competitive Advantage for Exponential Results Mark's presentation is sponsored by the Equipment Services Association (ESA), one of our partners in the event.  Below is the Mission Statement of the ESA. The objective of the  Equipment Service Association  is to aid in the advancement and expansion of the industry in all markets; promoting activities that will enable the industry to conduct itself with the greatest economy and efficiency to improve members’  success in business . We provi

With regard to our upcoming Fluid Power Technology Conference, one of the best ways to get folks interested in attending is to just downright go and invite them.  That is exactly what Mary Gannon and I have been doing in Wisconsin over the past few weeks. We have a list of our Fluid Power World readers and we are visiting them to ask if they might be interested in attending our event on May 13-15, 2019 at MSOE. Either Wisconsin are just basically friendly and gracious or maybe we are just charming but the reception has been really great.  Most of the people we have visited have been very hospitable and in many circumstances, the actual reader him or herself has come out to greet us. At any rate, it has been fun and I hope that I have been conveying the message about what a great event we have planned.  It will really be worth the time for all attendees and I look forward to seeing them there.

What issues are the focus of the NFPA board, administration, and members?  Well, this slide from the 2019 Annual Conference helps to answer that question. On the second day of the annual conference, President and CEO Eric Lanke explained the activities of the association in the area of workforce development.  The next slide reviews some of the activity in the area of Fluid Power Challenge. NFPA has been active in the area of workforce development at the college, high school, and middle school levels for several years and have been carefully organized in a system called FAMTEN which involves activity at all three levels.  The NFPA is doing their part to address the need for an educated and qualified workforce for the present and future of the industry,

The big event for the National Fluid Power Association NFPA started today in Laguna Beach, California with introductions by President and CEO Eric Lanke. Eric gave an overview of all of the programs offered by NFPA and the portfolio was impressive starting with the many engagement opportunities available.  From the annual meeting to the IEOC, regional meetings and more.  I invite you to visit the NFPA website at www.nfpa.com to learn more. Eric also spoke of the many reports and market information available to members of NFPA.  He stated that it is the largest fluid power portfolio of information available anywhere.  In listening to his presentation, I would have to agree with that claim. John Goreham of QCC and NFPA Board Chairman gave an update on the many decisions being considered by the board at this time.  He focused on workforce development and how the availablility of manufacturing jobs continues to grow and the challenges of providing that workforce.

On Friday, March 1, 2019 a very successful event called the Fluid Power Industrial Consortium (FPIC) was held at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee and sponsored by the National Fluid Power Association and the Milwaukee School of Engineering.  The theme of this meeting was the Electrification of Fluid Power. Three very interesting speakers presented their story on the topic starting with Mike Terzo, CEO of Terzo Power Systems, LLC. Mike's presentation discussed a simple yet powerful method of direct fluid power control that utilizes a fixed displacement pump and bi-directional motor to best capitalize on , and reap the benefits of, the latest electronic technologies.  The next speaker was Nathan Eisel of SMC Corp.  He presented on Electro-pneumatic fields enabled valve manifolds:  Cost effective technology that can minimize production downtime. The final speaker was Gary Lafayette of SunSource who presented on Telematics applications in mobile hydraulic systems.  Telematics a