# National Fluid Power Association (NFPA): Fluid Power Manufacturers, Standards and ERP > Source: https://netray.co/manufacturing/nfpa-fluid-power-industry-ecosystem > Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems. > Section: Manufacturing Hubs ## Short answer The National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) is the US trade association for companies that make and sell hydraulic and pneumatic components and systems. Note that it is not the National Fire Protection Association, which also uses the NFPA acronym. Fluid power makers build pumps, motors, valves, cylinders, hose and fittings, and many run configure-to-order and kitted product lines that stress ERP. ## Kind association ## Country United States ## Area Hydraulic and pneumatic fluid power ## Intro The National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) is the US trade association for companies that make and sell hydraulic and pneumatic components and systems. Note that it is not the National Fire Protection Association, which also uses the NFPA acronym. Fluid power makers build pumps, motors, valves, cylinders, hose and fittings, and many run configure-to-order and kitted product lines that stress ERP. ## Industries ### Hydraulic components **Detail:** Pumps, motors, valves, cylinders, accumulators, filters and manifolds for mobile equipment, industrial machinery and presses. ### Pneumatic components **Detail:** Cylinders, valves, air preparation units, fittings and tubing used in factory automation and packaging and assembly lines. ### Hose, fittings and connectors **Detail:** Hydraulic hose assemblies cut and crimped to customer length, often built to order by distributors and manufacturers with high order line counts. ### Power units and integrated systems **Detail:** Hydraulic power units, manifold blocks and engineered systems combining components, controls and sensors for machine builders. ### Distribution and fabrication **Detail:** Distributors that stock thousands of items and fabricate cylinders, hose assemblies and power units, bridging manufacturer and end user. ## Ecosystem ### National Fluid Power Association **Type:** association **Note:** Trade association of fluid power manufacturers that provides market data, standards participation and industry education. ### NFPA Education and Technology Foundation **Type:** foundation **Note:** Supports fluid power education and workforce development programs. ### IFPE (International Fluid Power Exposition) **Type:** trade show **Note:** A fluid power and power transmission trade show held with CONEXPO-CON/AGG in Las Vegas, on a three-year cycle. ### International Fluid Power Society (IFPS) **Type:** certification body **Note:** Separate organisation that offers certifications for fluid power technicians, mechanics and specialists. ### ISO TC 131 fluid power standards **Type:** standard body **Note:** International committee behind fluid power standards, including ISO 1219 graphic symbols, ISO 4413 hydraulic safety and ISO 4414 pneumatic safety. ### Fluid power research and teaching programs **Type:** university lab **Note:** Several US universities, including the University of Minnesota and Purdue University, have long-standing fluid power research and teaching activity. ## Requirements - ISO 9001 quality systems - IATF 16949 for automotive and mobile equipment programs - ISO 4413 and ISO 4414 safety requirements for hydraulic and pneumatic systems - ISO 4406 fluid cleanliness codes for hydraulic components - RoHS and REACH declarations for components sold into Europe - Pressure rating and burst test records for hose and fittings - Lot and heat traceability for forged and machined components ## Sections ### What fluid power makers build and for whom **Body:** Fluid power products end up in construction and agricultural machinery, material handling, industrial presses, machine tools, packaging lines and aerospace ground equipment. OEM customers want repeat, scheduled supply, while distributors and repair shops want fast availability of thousands of catalog items. That mix creates two very different operating models inside one company: high-volume machined products on a forecast, and small-batch configured or kitted products on short lead times. ### Quoting and estimating realities **Body:** Many fluid power quotes are configurations: a cylinder with bore, stroke, rod, mounting and seal options, or a manifold block with ports and cartridge valves. Pricing depends on material, machining time and any special testing, and customers often ask for quick turnaround on custom variations of a catalog part. Common pain points are pricing for custom bores and strokes done outside the system, weak links between a quote and its drawing, and cost updates for steel, castings and seals that do not flow into open quotes. **Bullets:** - Use rule-based configurators for catalog variations - Link each custom quote to the drawing and revision it priced - Review material price changes against open quotes on a schedule ### ERP and systems seen in fluid power companies **Body:** Fluid power manufacturers and fabricators run a broad range of systems, including Infor SyteLine/CloudSuite Industrial, Epicor Kinetic, Infor LN, Plex, DELMIAworks, Global Shop Solutions, SAP Business One and NetSuite. Requirements that recur are product configuration, serial and lot traceability, kitting, multi-warehouse inventory and test records per unit. Hose assembly operations in particular need fast order entry with cut lengths, fitting combinations and crimp specifications, which general-purpose order entry screens handle poorly. ### Where private AI helps, and where it does not **Body:** Practical uses are asking the ERP plain-language questions about backorders, slow-moving stock or on-time delivery by customer, and searching manuals, drawings, test reports and prior quotes for a matching assembly. For a distributor, AI can also help map customer part numbers to catalog items, with a person confirming the match. It is not a substitute for system design or pressure rating calculations, and it should never approve a safety-critical specification. Running models on your own servers keeps customer drawings and pricing inside your network, and write-back to the ERP should stay behind approval. ## Faq ### What does NFPA stand for in fluid power? **Answer:** In this context NFPA means the National Fluid Power Association, the trade association for hydraulic and pneumatic component makers. It is a different organisation from the National Fire Protection Association, which publishes fire and electrical codes. ### What is IFPE? **Answer:** IFPE, the International Fluid Power Exposition, is a trade show for fluid power and power transmission products, held together with CONEXPO-CON/AGG in Las Vegas on a three-year cycle. ### Which ISO standards apply to hydraulic and pneumatic systems? **Answer:** Frequently referenced ones are ISO 1219 for graphic symbols, ISO 4413 for hydraulic safety requirements, ISO 4414 for pneumatic safety requirements and ISO 4406 for fluid cleanliness coding. Customer specifications add their own requirements. ### Why is ERP hard for hose and cylinder makers? **Answer:** Because most orders are configurations: lengths, fittings, bores, strokes and options. The system must price, build and trace each variant while still supporting stocked catalog items and fast turnaround. ## Search terms National Fluid Power Association, NFPA fluid power, fluid power manufacturers ERP, hydraulic cylinder manufacturer ERP, hydraulic hose assembly software, IFPE fluid power show, configure to order ERP hydraulics --- Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json