We congratulate immediate past president, Tom Blansett, of Tribute customer Behco-MRM, Inc. for a fine job done and welcome Marti Wendel, as the new president of IFPS. Barely into her term, she has issued a challenge to all IFPS members, and the reward – a cup of coffee! 

Knowing how many industry professionals are retiring and how hard it is to replace them, she’s issuing a challenge to get more people “fluid power certified”.

She challenges you to find one candidate, not currently active in IFPS or holding a certification, to apply for and pass any fluid power certification offered by the International Fluid Power Society.

And for each successful candidate, she will buy you one cup of Starbucks coffee. She believes that fluid power is currently the best career field a young engineer or technician can choose, and certification is the proof of knowledge that is necessary for his or her career advancement.

Her disclaimer: Maximum 100 cups of coffee total, test must be taken in 2015, candidate must pass test. Click here for more details.

The Fluid Power Society has also started a new Fluid Power blog, Watts It All About, focusing on best practices, energy efficiency, and safety. The goal of the blog is to stimulate thinking, share knowledge, and promote professionalism.

Moderated by Dan Helgerson, CFPAI, CFPS, who is the technical editor for Fluid Power Journal, the forum welcomes comments and ideas. 

Tribute, Inc. is a provider of ERP business management software specifically for distributors and systems integrators in the fluid power, automation, and motion control industry. For more information, visit www.tribute.com.