Portfoilo Update: 315 Machine Design Logo
315 Machine Design is a start-up designer and builder of custom machinery. The logo combines elements related to the design and construction of a machine: gear, shaft, wrench and bolt. Since they are located in the United States and want to promote ‘Made in the USA’ machinery we used red, white and blue colors and incorporated stars.[spacer]
Fluid Power Fundamentals: More Educational Institutions Needed Now To Educate Workforce
The following article was first published in the December 2009 issue of the now defunct Today’s Fluid Power magazine.
In our previous article we discussed the need to develop programs to teach engineering, and specifically fluid power principles, to children starting in kindergarten or pre-K to spark interest in the profession and the industry. We briefly stated the reason for this need for new programs is the declining math and science scores of United States youth as they get older, and the shortage of people with fluid power skills.
Why is there a workforce shortage?
The American Baby Boomer generation is retiring or will be retiring over the next 20 years — taking with them their many skills. At the same time, Americans aged 25–34 today don’t possess higher skills than do their baby boomer parents according to The Accelerating Decline in America’s High-Skilled Workforce: Implications for Immigration Policy.
The US Census Bureau states the number of people aged 55 and older will increase to 73% of the total US population by 2020, while the number of younger workers will grow only 5%. Combine those statistics with the Hudson Institute’s estimates of nearly 40% of America’s skilled-labor force retiring in the next 5 years, and you have a massive skilled workforce shortage — one the US Bureau of Labor Statistics states will grow to 5.3 million by 2010 and to 14 million by 2015.
The National Science Board’s Science and Engineering (S&E) Indicators 2008 reports the problem is even more exaggerated in the science and engineering workforce where more than half of workers with S&E degrees are age 40 or older, and the 40–44 age group is more than two times as large as the 60–64 age group. Read more
Introducing Fluid Power to Younger Students Is One Way to Stave Off Extinction
This article was first published in the September 2009 issue of the now defunct Today’s Fluid Power magazine.
Fluid power isn’t sexy.
Source: American Society for Quality/Harris Interactive 2008 Study
That’s the conclusion the international fluid power industry came to in 2007 as the reason why there is a shortage of people with fluid power skills influencing design decisions regarding which motion control technologies to use. The fluid power industry isn’t the only industry seeing this image problem. It’s a systemic crisis that permeates the entire US culture.
A 2008 Harris Interactive study for the American Society for Quality found that 44% of kids, ages 8-17, don’t know much about engineering, and 30% of the respondents want a more exciting profession than engineering. While 97% of parents stated they believe that knowledge of math and science will help their children have a successful career, only 20% encourage/will encourage their sons or daughters to become engineers.
The study further reports that kids don’t feel confident enough in their math or science skills (21%) to be good at engineering — despite the fact that the largest number of kids ranked math (22%) and science (17%) as their favorite subjects.
OK. We now know what the problem is so how do we fix it?
The US fluid power industry decided to develop alliances with FIRST (Foundation for the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), Project Lead The Way, and SME (Society of Manufacturing Engineers) Education Foundation to promote fluid power education in middle schools and high schools. They’ve created a ‘key school’ program, the Fluid Power Challenge, and the Fluid Power: A force for change video among other initiatives. The Fluid Power Education Foundation has scholarships for college bound student who will study fluid power.
I commend the US fluid power industry for their efforts, but there is shortsightedness to these educational outreach initiatives that I don’t think many engineering and fluid power industry leaders understand. Read more
Portfolio Update: White Hydraulics Ad Illustration
Mountain Stream Group created this illustration for White Hydraulics (now known as White Drive Products) for use in an print advertisement.
Portfolio Update: Ortman Fluid Power Cross Reference Guide
Mountain Stream Group’s development of this 4-page cross reference guide for the Ortman Fluid Power 3TH Series cylinder line started with an Internet search to ascertain all the manufacturers of NFPA heavy-duty, hydraulic cylinders. Next, we downloaded catalog information about the part number coding for the various mounting styles, identified the series name and available bore sizes and then put the data into the easy to read table.
Portfolio Update: Satie North America Press Release
A press release written for announcing the launch of Satie North America’s Proclip and Prolight modular electrical panel frame and wire management system in North America. Click image or here to read entire press release.
Client Profile: Ortman Fluid Power Is Back!
The Ortman 101 Series—a round-body hydraulic and pneumatic cylinder—has powered some of the toughest industrial applications for over 60 years.
After a long absence the hydraulic and pneumatic cylinder brand known as Ortman Fluid Power is back.
Their journey began in 1945 when World War II veterans Harold and Nelson Ortman returned home joining their older brother Alva, Carl Speichert and Carter Miller to form Ortman-Miller Machine Company, Inc. located in Hammond, Indiana.
At its inception, Ortman-Miller was a general machine shop making parts for other companies, but in 1948 they began building and selling cylinders for a wide variety of industries. Their first cylinder line was the round-body 101 Series. In 1955, they introduced three square-head, JIC interchangeable cylinder lines—TH, 4K and 4L Series. They expanded their NFPA pneumatic cylinder offering by introducing the 1A Series in 1971. Over the past several years, they’ve broadened their product line with the addition of the AS/ASH and QA Series.
Beyond their standard cylinder lines, they have 3 specialty products: the FA Series valve actuator cylinder, the 7R Series air/oil tank and the 7P Series air/oil booster. If their customers have applications that don’t fit standard product options, they can build custom cylinders.
In 1968, Garlock Industries purchased Ortman-Miller Machine Company and several founders left. The journey took a twist in 1976 when Colt Industries (now known as EnPro Industries) bought Garlock Industries and changed the company name to Ortman Fluid Power. It changed course again in 1997 when they left their Hammond facility, and moved in with Quincy Compressor in Quincy, Illinois. Then came the name change to Quincy Ortman Cylinders in 2004.
The 2010 purchase of Quincy Compressor by Atlas Copco North America LLC began to bring the journey full circle and it was completed in March of 2011 when the brand name became Ortman Fluid Power once again.
Now that’s staying power.
Mountain Stream Group Expands Client Payment Options
It used to be the only payment methods for businesses were cash or the company check. Then came along corporate credit cards. And, now the integration of the Internet with the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21 Act) has changed the way we all do business and opened a whole new world of invoicing and online payment possibilities.
For several years now we have been sending our clients invoices by email, and have been accepting credit cards through PayPal. While this has been greatly appreciated by our clients, they’ve asked for more options. So, we’re pleased to announce the addition of a new online invoice payment options — QuickBooks Payments (formerly known as Intuit Payment Network).
With the addition of this payment methods, our clients now have multiple options to choose from when paying their invoices:
- corporate or cashier’s checks through postal mail,
- credit cards through PayPal, or
- ACH or bank-to-merchant electronic payments through QuickBooks Payments.
All of the online payment methods are free of charge to our clients.
We will be adding links to our invoices — as they become available for our accounting system — that will let you select which online payment methods, if any, you’d like to use. In the meantime, if you are interested in using any of the online payment methods let us know and we’ll make the arrangements. If you have any questions or would like more information about our payment methods please contact us at info (at) mountainstreamgroup.com or call Jeff Klingberg at +1 847 453 8895 x701.
Updated: 09 June 2017
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