For about as long as I’ve covered the fluid power industry, there has been anxious talk about whether electrics were going to someday replace fluid power. And while electric actuators have certainly made inroads in certain applications, our technology has been made much more efficient, controllable and reliable thanks to the marriage of electronics with traditional hydraulic and pneumatic components. In the past few years, the prevalence of the Internet of Things in all things industrial has taken that to the next level. Fluid power components and systems stand to make another leap forward, especially in terms of predictive maintenance.

At this month’s Fluid Power Technology Conference, slated for May 16-17 at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, Joe Maher of Danfoss Power Solutions will discuss this new paradigm as one of our Keynote speakers. What will IoT connectivity mean for hydraulic components, and how will this affect the future generations of fluid power system design?

Joe’s a fascinating guy to talk to—he’s been involved in the fluid power industry his entire career, including roles as Global Marketing Manager of Poclain Hydraulics and VP of Business and Product Development at Hydro Electronic Devices. Joe joined Danfoss Power Solutions originally in the role of Product Marketing Manager for System Solutions, later moving into his current role leading sales for the Electronic Components Business Unit for the Americas Region.

I hope we’ll see you at the FPTC to hear Joe’s talk, as well as some other fantastic keynotes, industrial component how-tos, the latest on fluid power R&D and insightful speeches on maintenance and design. Register today here.