About Us

The NFPA Education and Technology Foundation is a tax-exempt, charitable organization, affiliated with National Fluid Power Association, that is dedicated to meeting the fluid power industry's workforce development need. We do this through education programs spanning middle school through university level as well as through connecting fluid power industry members to educators.

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Our Mission

In a biennial survey, members of the National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) consistently rank the recruitment of a skilled workforce as one of the most challenging issues their companies face. This is likely because not enough technical colleges or universities are teaching hydraulics and pneumatics, nor preparing their students for careers in the fluid power industry.

As a result, NFPA has identified growing the fluid power workforce as one of its primary strategic priorities. It is central to its mission of strengthening the fluid power industry. NFPA seeks to increase the number of technical college and university students educated in fluid power, and to connect them to jobs in our industry.

The NFPA Education and Technology Foundation is a tax-exempt, charitable organization, affiliated with NFPA, that is dedicated to meeting this workforce development need. Through the generous support of our donors, we are:

  • Creating more educated fluid power technicians, by funding student outreach and education programs, designed to create a pathway into the fluid power industry; and
  • Creating more educated fluid power engineers, by funding research and education programs, designed to better engage academic faculty in the teaching of fluid power.

Because of industry support, our programs are helping to change the talent pool available to our industry. More young people are aware of the fluid power industry. More 2-year technical college and 4-year university graduates have specific training in fluid power. More universities have research facilities and education programs focused on fluid power. And more partnerships between these schools and our industry are increasing access to highly talented candidates.

Our Leadership

Meet the 2022-23 NFPA Education and Technology Foundation Board of Directors, made up of five influential leaders within the fluid power industry.

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Tom Hunter

Chair
Vice President, Global Business Development 
Husco

Keith Simons

Vice Chair
President
OEM Controls

David Price

Treasurer
Vice President, Business Development
QCC

Mark Snyder

Secretary 
North American Channel Director
Festo Corporation

Jim Kaas

Past Chair
President
IFP Motion Solutions Inc.

Our Industry Supporters

The NFPA Education and Technology Foundation extends gratitude to the many generous donors who share our mission of meeting the workforce development needs of the U.S. fluid power industry.

Companies are able to help support workforce development efforts by donating to the NFPA Foundation as a Pascal Society donor, a larger-scale commitment that also gives companies extra visibility, or by donating independently to the foundation.

The following companies gave a Pascal Society-level donation for the 2022-23 fiscal year.