Michael Ference Fluid Power Marketing

The 2020 NFPA Annual Conference was held last week at the Mandarin Oriental in Miami.  The weather was great, the networking was both fun and interesting, and the speakers were great! The event kicked off with an introduction of outgoing president, John Stenz of Force America who did a fine job of directing the Board of Directors over the past year. In John's words the state of the fluid power industry is strong with genuine people.  Having been in this industry for many years, I agree with John and I think him for his years of service on the Board and direction over the past year.  Jeff Hand of Ross Controls, who wast the Treasurer over the the past term confirmed that the organization is financially stable. Eric Lanke who is President and CEO of the NFPA discussed the four main areas of focus for the association including : Effective Forum Industry Statistics Promoting Fluid Power Educated Workforce Eric did a fine job of explaining all that t...

We are thrilled to have the NFPA Cleveland Regional Meeting co-locating with our upcoming Fluid Power Technology Conference at Cleveland State University. I invite you to click here for that meeting.   It will be an excellent opportunity to network with your industry peers and share success stories and challenges of the year.  At this meeting, you will have the opportunity to get an update from Bogdan Kozul of CSU on the fluid power lab and related programs at the University, proudly my alma mater. I also invite you to register for our Fluid Power Technology Conference click here  for two days of excellent fluid power presentations, more networking, hospitality, and a tour of the fluid power lab, #JoinUsInCLE

Well, another NFPA Industry & Economic Outlook Conference has been completed and those who attended have come away with some insight into what the economic future holds for the fluid power industry. So, what does the near term future hold for our industry?  I came away with some optimism but mixed messages at best.  One economist called for a slower growth year for 2019 with, in my opinion, the key word being growth.  Even if 2019 is 1% or 2% better than 2018, then the fluid power economy is still expanding rather than contracting.  Another very respected presenter called for 10% growth in 2018 overall and between 5% and 15% growth in 2019.  This is a big range but still very optimistic.  I always put a lot of faith into what economist Jim Meil has to say and at the conference this year, he too is calling for growth in the fluid power industry for 2019 but his figure for fluid power shipments overall was 7% growth.  Sounds good. Much...

The next FPIC will take place at the Intercontinental Hotel in Milwaukee on September 7, 2018. One of the featured Speakers will be Dan Kara who is our VP of Robotics and Intelligent Systems at WTWH Media.  Here is a brief preview of his presentation: Robotics for SMB Manufacturing: Small-batch, Mixed Product Assembly, Materials Handling and More  | Dan Kara, Robotics Business Unit Leader, WTWH Media Group To learn more about FPIC and to register for the event, here is a link for you to access .  Just as our own Fluid Power Technology Conference is a forum for higher learning for Fluid Power Technology, so is FPIC so I strongly recommend it for all fluid power learners. Additionally, the NFPA Milwaukee Regional Meeting will be held in conjunction with FPIC and here is the link to register for that Milwaukee Regional Meeting   This is another great networking opportunity offered by NFPA and, if you are a member in the area, you should consider atte...

The NFPA Annual Conference takes place this week at the Four Seasons resort in Orlando.  That's right it is close to Disney World and all the related parks and attractions.  That should not distract from the events and presentations at the Conference. The speakers on the agenda this year are Chris McChesney, Joe Ellers, Tim Eck, Marcus De Souza, Jeremy Drury, and Peter Zeihan.  Chris is a Wall Street #1 Best Seller with his book The 4 Disciplines of Execution.   Joe is a sales management and marketing expert with several books and articles published. Jeremy will present THINGS to Consider - A Behind-the-Scenes Executive Guide to Fluid Power IOT Strategy.  Peter is a repeat presenter and an expert on Global Geopolitics.  This is a great lineup! Add in the networking opportunities, tours, meals, and it will make for a great week at the NFPA!

If your company is a member of the National Fluid Power Association NFPA , then you will receive quarterly reports done by the Institute for Trends Research, ITR, for NFPA members.  This is very useful information because, as the name indicates, trends in the economy are reported on a regular basis. As Fluid Power World  is a member of NFPA, I receive these reports and find them very useful.  In addition to the information learned at the annual Industry & Economic Outlook Conference held in Wheeling, IL every August, I get updates throughout the year.  There are also quarterly webcast updates of economic information done by ITR for NFPA members. The latest report for the third quarter of 2017 shows very solid economic conditions for the fluid power industry with accelerating growth for hydraulic and pneumatic components at a 12.3% rate for this year.  While there will be a slowdown coming in growth, the forecast is for another positive plus growth year f...

The annual Industry & Economic Outlook Conference was held last week at the beautiful Westin North Shore in Wheeling, IL.  I say beautiful because it is one of the nicest hotels that I stay at and it feels like a resort in the midst of North Chicago. My big takeaway from the day-and-a-half event is that the economy for our fluid power industry and the economy in general is in full recovery mode.  Each of the presenters at this year's Conference shared the same general report on the economy that it continues to increase in terms of both GDP and Industrial Production.  It appears that this trend will continue until at least Spring of 2018.  That could be the inflection point where growth in the economy starts to slow down leading into a very mild recession in 2019.  That is the big takeaway. This news is backed up by reports from many of the industries served by fluid power technology that the same trend is holding course.  Construction equipment, Min...

The annual Industry and Economic Outlook Conference operated but the National Fluid Power Association takes place this week at the Westin North Shore in Wheeling, IL.  The NFPA Education Foundation golf outing takes place this afternoon to actually kickoff the event. The outing is followed by a reception today just to get attendees in the mood for two days of networking and presentation.  The Westin North Shore is a perfect location for the event and has been most accommodating for many years. The presentations begin on Tuesday with opening remarks followed by IEOC favorite, Alan Beaulieu of the Institute for Trends Research.  His presentation is titled U.S. Market Outlook and its Effect on World Economies. As always, the IEOC promises to be a benchmark event for the entire year.  I find myself quoting what I learn at the IEOC again and again.  For more information visit the NFPA website

Whatever you would like to know or need to know about the past, current, and future economy of fluid power, you can probably learn at the 2015 NFPA Industry and Economic Outlook Conference .  The dates are August 10-12, 2015 at the Weston Chicago North Shore in Wheeling, IL. The event kicks off on Monday, August 10th with a the IEOC Invitational Golf Tournament at Chevy Chase Golf Course also in Wheeling.  The proceeds of the tournament benefit fluid power education through the NFPA Education Foundation.  It will also be lots of fun! The first day of the conference will feature economic perspectives from two long-time IEOC presenters Alan Beaulieu and John Walker.  From there, the economic information and perspectives continue to flow through Wednesday at noon. For more information or to register, visit the NPA website .

Now that the 2015 NAHAD Annual Convention is complete, I can easily look back and say what a great job the association does in providing delegates and all attendees the opportunity to "associate" with each other.  There were speakers and sessions of common interest to all so that, not only do attendees learn from the sessions, they have common ground for discussion because of the sessions and the ideas presented. NAHAD also provides many opportunities for members to meet with each other to discuss matters of business.  Every year, some new session is introduced like speed networking or the fishbowl discussion to bring attendees together for connection.  As time goes by, the association adjusts to the needs and wishes of its members. At the National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) and Fluid Power Distributor Association (FPDA) meetings, the same is true.  Attendees have many opportunities to interact, forge new relationships, and even conduct business.  NFPA o...