NFPA Fluid Power Action Challenge Secures New Vendor for Kit Fulfillment

36 NFPA member companies and education partners from across the country have been recognized for their efforts in organizing and executing 159 Fluid Power Action Challenge events in their local communities, impacting over 15,000 students.

The origin of the Action Challenge began with Steve Rogers of Mechanical Kits LTD. In an interview with Steve, he shared about his background teaching high school science, math, and technology before moving on to work as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Nottingham and a Senior Curriculum Officer in the UK. With his experience in education, Steve realized that “students learned and understood conceptual knowledge at a deeper, more meaningful level when they used their hands as well as their heads to learn.”

When his family moved to Toronto, he started his own business, Mechanical Kits LTD, to “support science, technology, engineering and math education in North America, an opportunity to continue to develop learning materials consistent with my hands-on philosophy.” In 2008, NFPA’s President and CEO, Eric Lanke, partnered with Steve Rogers and MSOE’s late Tom Wanke to pilot a successful challenge in Milwaukee’s suburbs. Now, after 16 years, 159 events, and dozens of communities served, Steve Rogers has announced his plans to retire as the vendor for the Action Challenge.

In partnership with Steve Rogers, NFPA has secured a new vendor, Work Services Corporation (WSC). Established in 1954, WSC’s operation spans across Texas and Southern Oklahoma, and their mission is to empower people with disabilities to achieve personal growth and independence and to improve their quality of life through training and employment. They “envision a community where people with disabilities are independent and enriched with social, economic, and vocational equality”, and since 1971, over 13,000 people with disabilities have been served.

WSC has a pre-built business infrastructure that supports the kit fulfillment of projects like the Fluid Power Action Challenge. The long-term goals for both organizations align nicely due to their desire for consistency, stability, and growth of the Action Challenge project.

“Our business is about finding the right job for each person and then providing the perfect accommodation for disabilities that may be holding that person back. The wonderful part about producing kits for the Action Challenge is that the jobs created have the perfect characteristics for those with some of the most severe disabilities. While some may think a person with a severe disability will be less productive, our experience shows that under the right conditions, the person can perform as good or better than any other worker. WSC looks forward to our new partnership with NFPA to provide exceptional products for the Action Challenge and to shatter the negative stereotypes surrounding the people we serve” said David Toogood, WSC’s President & CEO.

“Growing the fluid power workforce is one of NFPA’s primary strategic priorities. It is central to our mission of strengthening the fluid power industry. Accordingly, NFPA’s efforts drive pathway programs that increase the number of educated fluid power technicians and engineers. Action Challenge events provide a platform for our country’s youth to learn about fluid power for the first time while developing an increasingly important skill set. Notably, it also allows for our member companies to connect directly and create long-lasting relationships with the school systems in their communities that produce the next generation of talent,” said Stephanie Scaccianoce, NFPA’s VP, Workforce Development, “and we look forward to collaborating with Steve Rogers in the year ahead to ensure a smooth transition for Work Services Corporation and our stakeholders who organize and participate in these events, and establish a solid foundation to support the project at WSC for years to come.”

If you have questions about this information, please contact Stephanie Scaccianoce at sscaccianoce@nfpa.com to learn more.