Three keynote presentations are slated for the inaugural Fluid Power Technology Conference, as the event will be opened both days and closed by industry experts.

Kicking off the event on Tuesday, June 21 will be Aleksandar Egelja, Engineering Manager for the Advanced Hydraulics Technology in the Advanced Components and Systems Division at Caterpillar Inc., with his presentation, “Cutting-edge mobile hydraulic design.” He will discuss his team’s design and development of the 336E H hybrid excavator, as well as the lessons learned. Egelja will also look forward and describe where the technology is headed and what design engineers should know about the mobile hydraulic systems of tomorrow.

In collaboration with the Global Hydraulics team, Egelja is responsible for developing hydraulics, machine controls technologies and people, which support Caterpillar’s objective to be the industry leader. Most recently, Egelja led a highly skilled technical team that successfully developed Adaptive Control Technology and hydraulic hybrid technology and integrated it in the industry first hydraulic hybrid excavator, the 336E H. For the majority of his 19 years at Caterpillar, he worked in new technology development—many of these technologies have been deployed and are still working in various CAT machines.

Throughout his career at Caterpillar, Egeljaheld has held various engineering and leadership positions, including New Technology manager, Global control valve engineering manager, and 6 Sigma Black Belt. He earned his Masters and Doctorate degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Illinois and his Bachelor degree at the University of Belgrade in Serbia and holds 17 U.S. patents.

Thomas Price Jr., CEO of Price Engineering Co., will open the conference the morning of Wednesday, June 22 with his keynote presentation, “Modern Efficiencies, Technological Advances and Sustainability in Fluid Power.” He will speak regarding the opportunities in fluid power as they relate to advancing technologies of tomorrow. In addition, Price will provide insight into sustainable and efficient fluid power solutions that our industry should be considering for our future.

Since 1986, Tom has been part of Price Engineering, a 60-year old family business in Wisconsin. Spending time in a variety of positions in the company including sales, engineering and engineering management, he was well positioned to take over as president of Price Engineering in 2003. With his guidance, Price Engineering has created a unique niche within wholesale distribution in Wisconsin by building a strong engineering and design focus, providing system integration services, and combining that with low volume and serial production in light manufacturing of fluid power and motion control systems.

Tom received a BSME from the University of Wisconsin in 1981 and then spent six years with Ingersoll Rand in California and Virginia as an application engineer for large air compressor systems.

Finally, the event will be closed on Wednesday by Thomas S. Wanke, CFPE, Director of Fluid Power Institute at Milwaukee School of Engineering. His presentation, “Importance of Contamination Control in Hydraulic Systems,” will cover the types, sources and effects of contaminants on hydraulic components and systems, as experts agree that 70 to 80% of all hydraulic system failures are a result of contaminants circulating within the hydraulic system. Methods and technologies will be discussed that eliminate, reduce and/or control contamination levels for improving hydraulic system reliability and maintaining optimal performance.

Wanke is also an adjunct assistant professor in MSOE’s Mechanical Engineering Department. He is an IFPS Certified Fluid Power Engineer and a Certified Fluid Power Specialist. He has more than 45 years of experience in the fluid power industry, 43 of which have been at MSOE. Wanke has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering technology with a fluid power focus and a master’s degree in engineering with a fluid power specialty option both from MSOE. He has worked on numerous projects in the following areas: component and system design; development and evaluation; field troubleshooting and failure analysis; fluids, filtration and contamination control.

For a complete schedule and to register, visit www.fluidpowertechconference.com