Michael Ference Fluid Power Marketing

Well, it has been fun writing this blog over the past several years.  Thank you so much for reading.  Unless I make a comeback in fluid power, and at this point that is unlikely, this will be my last post. Thank you for reading and I wish you all the best! 

 Well, this is my last week of my fluid power career.  I have thanked and recognized many people in my previous posts but I want to thank and acknowledge Scott McCafferty, Managing Director of WTWH Media and friend for hiring me 7 years ago and allowing me to continue my career in fluid power.  Thank you Scott for your support and confidence in me!  It has been a pleasure working with you and I wish you continued success!  I also thank co-founder, Mike Emich for helping me with my career.  Mike has been a good friend and a steady good influence on many sales people.  Thank you Mike! I also recognize Paul Heney with whom I have worked for many years on both H&P and Fluid Power World.  Paul has always been a very enthusiastic, creative, and energetic Editorial Director with many great ideas to help our audience and our advertisers.  Paul has also been a great friend for all of those years.  Thank you Paul! I have also made many great friends at WTWH Media over the past several years

 Well, I have been thinking about writing this post for a long time.  The "It Takes a Community" posts have been leading up to this.  After 43 years in fluid power, I have decided to call it a career so I will be retiring from Fluid Power World at the end of April.   I have enjoyed this fulfilling career every step of the way.  I have met many fantastic people and forged many great relationships.  I have thoroughly enjoyed working with my co-workers over the years.  The management has been great to me the whole way.  Customers have become my friends.  I will miss all of these people.  Thank you to all who have made this a rewarding career! I will have plenty of things to do going forward including family, church, golf, Math tutoring, skiing, chores, reading, and much more to keep me busy.  I will miss the customers, conferences, and trade shows though.  I will not miss the daily grind, the deadlines, rushing to catch planes, rental cars, and hoping that I made the hotel reser

 Join us on March 30th at 2:00 PM EST for our next educational session of our Fluid Power Technology Conference Virtual Series. Installing clean hydraulic hose assemblies onto a hydraulic system or power unit is vital to the cleanliness of the system and component life. Contaminated hydraulic fluids are responsible for over 80% of system failures. Tune in to the FPTC virtual series on  March 30th  where  Bruce Riley, Owner and CEO of UltraClean  will share how contamination gets into the hydraulic system and causes premature wear and tear as well as catastrophic failures. Clean hydraulic hose assembly procedures will be explained in detail and backed up with independent ISO-4406-99 test reports. Here is a link to register

 It starts with our print magazine, Fluid Power World, with seven great issues for the year.    It continues online with our five websites, and five e-newsletters:  Fluid Power World, Mobile Hydraulic Tips, Pneumatic Tips, Hose Assembly Tips, and Sealing & Contamination Control Tips.  We offer our Fluid Power Tech Conference Virtual Series and eventually the in-person event. Then it gets a little more complicated but still very powerful.  Our AI for Marketing helps our advertisers to send targeted messages to our audience.  Our Social Media Management helps our clients to optimize their use of social media.  PPC Management, Design Guides and more offer many new marketing opportunities.   Contact us for more details.

 Our Virtual Series continues in 2021 with several sessions already planned,  Our intention is to cover as many topics as possible as presented by our expert presenters. Our Virtual Series helps engineers and other mechanical professionals to understand components and systems and to solve design and maintenance problems.  Attendance at our sessions is free for the Virtual Series and you can register at this link . If your company would like to present, let us know and we will get you set up.  Along with the live presentation, you will also be able to take advantage of pre- and post-event promotion through our magazine, websites, and social media. Give is a call.

 Tomorrow, March 2, 2021, our Fluid Power Technology Conference Virtual Series continues with a presentation from Cameron MacNeil of Stauff Corp. I have been touting for years that fluid cleanliness is one of the keys to peak performing hydraulic systems.  This session will provide our audience with further insights into the management of fluid contamination.   Here is the link to register  Also, please see our Sealing & Contamination Control Tips website for information about fluid cleanliness.   Here is that link.

 Being in the industry as long as I have, I know most of them.  That is I know about the manufacturers and distributors of fluid power components and related products. However, I would like to help companies to increase their brand awareness and generate sales leads but I am especially interested in hearing from companies that I do not know about.  If your company sells fluid power components and systems in the U.S. and you are not currently taking advantage of all of the modern marketing opportunities available, I would like to hear from you. I can put together an affordable package that will deliver results.  I have been doing that for a long time and I would like to help your company. Please contact me for a no-committment-needed consultation at mference@wtwhmedia.com .  I can help your company in 2021/

 If you are an engineer, mechanic, or fluid power user in any capacity, our February 2021 issue offers some great information for you. We balance our content every issue to deliver to our audience to report on all of the major industries using fluid power while delivering on our promise of the editorial calendar.  In February, that starts with a feature cover story on Smart Pneumatics, Gateway to higher efficiency, productivity.  Take a look and read about how smart pneumatics address real world industrial challenges in many applications. Next is a report on how heat exchangers help hydraulic systems to keep their cool.  Addressing the problems that excessive heat can cause in machinery is the job of heat exchangers and, at Fluid Power World, we remember that important component and the contributions to productive and save machinery and equipment. There is much more included in this, our latest issue.  If you are not already a subscriber, just go to this link and sign up for our magaz

 Join us in our next print issue of Fluid Power World, April 2021.  Here is our editorial lineup:   Fluid Power World –  April 2021 Industrial Application:  Offshore and Marine Getting oil and gas from the Earth requires the strength and durability of fluid power systems.  Here are some examples Mobile Application:  Forestry The forestry business requires equipment and machinery that can withstand harsh environments.  Hydraulics meets the challenge. Pneumatics in Food and Beverage This article will review some interesting ways that pneumatics are used in the delivery and marketing of food and beverage items. Product Focus:  Hydraulic Reservoir Design and Pneumatic Grippers Advertising closing date March 31, 2021 Our goal is to always cover fluid power systems from tank or compressor to actuator and all components in between.  Not only that but we report on applications form most end use markets powered by fluid power systems. Join us with your ad in our print issue.  Print advertising

 It is already February of 2021.  Hopefully, the economy continues to improve this year, especially the economy of the fluid power industry.  All indications are that it will.  If you did not get a chance to attend our economic webinar a few weeks ago presented by Alan Beaulieu, here is a link for the archived version.  It was a very positive message that we heard. You can still ramp up your 2021 marketing with the many options we have available from Fluid Power World.  Coming up is our April print issue and here is the lineup: Fluid Power World –  April 2021 Industrial Application:  Offshore and Marine Getting oil and gas from the Earth requires the strength and durability of fluid power systems.  Here are some examples Mobile Application:  Forestry The forestry business requires equipment and machinery that can withstand harsh environments.  Hydraulics meets the challenge. Pneumatics in Food and Beverage This article will review some interesting ways that pneumatics are used in the

 Our company, WTWH Media hosted Alan Beaulieu for an hour-long presentation on the state of our economy as it effects our customers.  Alan is an economist from the Institute for Trends Research, ITR.  He is an industry favorite who presents his economic forecasting and reviews to many conference audiences.  I have personally enjoyed his presentations many times at NFPA and NAHAD conferences. While I won't share the specifics of his presentation, I can summarize it by saying that we should be seeing roughly two good years for the U.S. economy across most industries and markets.  As has been the case before, Alan always encourages companies to react accordingly by making sure that their companies are staffed properly and that their infrastructure is prepared for growth. And, I have always liked this one, he encourage companies to invest in sales and marketing to keep up with the growth opportunities.  This is where we can help. Fluid Power World magazine and digital media network, al

  Here is a link for your free registration Link   Alan is a long-time favorite speaker at NFPA conferences as well as NAHAD conferences.  He will provide some insight on what to expect from our economy moving forward.  This is a free registration and very well worth your time.

 Join us on Tuesday, January 19, 2021 for our first Fluid Power Tech Conference Virtual Series session for 2021. Long-time Tech Conference favorite, Tom Wanke from MSOE will be presenting on Pump and Motor Troubleshooting, Failure, Modes, and Analysis.   You can register with this link.   We have a great lineup of topics and presenters for 2021 and your attendance is free.  But, your attendance is worth a lot as we will be offering some great content! Sign up today!

I know that is is already so "last year,' but our December issue has some great content that is almost timeless.  That includes a story with a unique twist about the opera. Our print issue delivers content across all markets using fluid power technology, and in this case, its the opera.  You'll have to read it to learn more.   Here is a link offering you a free subscription to our magazine.   I invite you to subscribe so that you can learn more about pneumatics, mobile hydraulics, hose assemblies, sealing, filtration and more. Using both product tutorials and application stories, we offer education on all aspects of fluid power systems.  Give us a try in 2021.  

 If you are considering marketing opportunities in 2021 with the intention of increasing brand awareness while generating sales leads, then I suggest that you give Fluid Power World a try this year. We have more marketing opportunities than ever and it all starts with our great fluid power content.  Every  print issue, every website, and all of our e-newsletters contain focused fluid power content to attract the interest of our audience.  This provides our advertisers with an excellent opportunity to share their own product and application information. The best way to reach our audience with your product and sales message is with a package of media options including print, web, and e-newsletters.  We will be happy to work with you to customize your media campaign for 2021. Additionally, our Fluid Power Technology Virtual Series offers your company a packaged approach to marketing with all of our outlets included in the promotional effort.  We will use our magazine, websites, and e-mail