Hydraulics

NFPA Seeks Industry Input for Next Technology Roadmap

Dec. 5, 2022

A new survey from NFPA aims to get insight into the fluid power technology needs for key customer markets.

The National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) is starting the process to update its Technology Roadmap for the Fluid Power Industry. Updated every other year, the Technology Roadmap is a document outlining the needs of the industry and sets out research and development objectives to meet them.

Information contained within the Technology Roadmap helps to guide many of NFPA's activities such as the session topics for its quarterly seminars held in conjunction with the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE).

To help determine industry needs and objectives, NFPA surveys a range of stakeholders to get their input. This includes those within the fluid power industry as well as those served by hydraulic and pneumatic components. It works together with other industry organizations such as the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and the Power Transmission Distributors Association (PTDA) to gain a variety of input.

Through this survey, the association aims to learn about current needs of companies in fluid power’s many customer markets, how fluid power technologies currently align with those needs, and what improvements should be made to fluid power systems in order to better meet them NFPA states in a press release.

By surveying the industry, those within the fluid power market can better determine where to focus their development efforts in order to provide appropriate solutions for customers.

The Technology Roadmap will help determine the needs of markets served by fluid power such as construction equipment.

Identifying Key Customer Drivers

The first survey to be conducted as part of the Technology Roadmap updating process is focused on identifying customer drivers — the business and technology objectives of OEMs in the 20 largest customer markets for the fluid power industry. These drivers typically consist of the benefits machine manufacturers want to provide to customers such as improved efficiency or wear life.

Fluid power's 20 largest markets for which NFPA will be looking to receive feedback include:

Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing
Agricultural Machinery
Automotive and Light Truck Manufacturing
Chemical Processing Machinery
Class 4-8 Trucks (including vocational trucks)
Construction Machinery
Food Processing Machinery
Lawn and Garden Equipment
Material Handling (including conveying) Equipment
Medical Equipment
Metalworking Machinery and Machine Tools
Mining Machinery
Oil & Gas Machinery
Packaging Machinery
Paper Machinery
Plastics and Rubber Machinery
Power Generation Equipment
Printing Machinery
Sawmill and Woodworking Machinery
Semiconductor Machinery

The survey opened December 1 and will close December 22, 2022. NFPA's goal is to complete the update to its Technology Roadmap by August 2023.

About the Author

Sara Jensen | Executive Editor, Power & Motion

Sara Jensen is executive editor of Power & Motion, directing expanded coverage into the modern fluid power space, as well as mechatronic and smart technologies. She has over 15 years of publishing experience. Prior to Power & Motion she spent 11 years with a trade publication for engineers of heavy-duty equipment, the last 3 of which were as the editor and brand lead. Over the course of her time in the B2B industry, Sara has gained an extensive knowledge of various heavy-duty equipment industries — including construction, agriculture, mining and on-road trucks —along with the systems and market trends which impact them such as fluid power and electronic motion control technologies.

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