RB Royal Industries Participates in Funding of New $21 Million Research Center

FOND DU LAC, WI (May 25, 2006) - The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced a $15 million, five-year grant to support the new Engineering Research Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power. Industry partners will augment NSF funding with $3 million, and seven universities involved in the center will contribute an additional $3 million. The center will be based at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus.

RB Royal Industries of Fond du Lac, WI is one of 50 industry partners, all from within the NFPA (National Fluid Power Association), that have agreed to provide financial support for the research center.  

"RB Royal is very proud to be one of the 50 companies and universities that have provided financial support for a $21 million Engineering Research Center for fluid power. Our involvement as a member of the NFPA brings to light the continuing need for research and development in fluid power on a large scale. We are delighted to learn that the NSF has recognized and supported this endeavor with a $15 million grant,” Jim Neumann, president of RB Royal Industries said.

Researchers at the center will study ways to use fluid power more efficiently in manufacturing, agriculture, construction and mining. Each 10 percent improvement in efficiency of current uses of fluid power in these industries will save about $7 billion a year in U.S. energy costs.

Core universities involved in the center are the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Georgia Institute of Technology, Purdue University and Vanderbilt University. Outreach universities include the Milwaukee School of Engineering and North Carolina A&T State University. Outreach institutions include the National Fluid Power Association, Project Lead the Way, and the Science Museum of Minnesota.

RB Royal Industries Inc. designs and manufactures custom hose and tube assemblies as well as precision machined products for applications involving fluid power, fluid transfer and systems integration.