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  Robert Koski was a visionary manufacturer and engineering industry leader whose innovative, profoundly practical approach to both fields brought him global success and recognition. In 1970, Koski co-founded Sun Hydraulics, Inc., with John Allen. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of hydraulic valves and manifolds used in a wide variety of equipment, from forklifts and printing presses to cranes and tractors. Sun quickly became highly successful, and also known in the manufacturing and business communities for its unusual management style. From the beginning, the company used no executive titles and a bottom-up management system. As Koski explained. "What would an executive in an office possibly know about what is going on in the factory?" he said. "Why not enable employees to do whatever needs to be done?" Koski quit day-to-day management of the company in 1988 and retired as Chairman of the Board in 2000, but Sun's innovative corporate environment continues to this day. The company has been so successful and so notable, both in terms of employee satisfaction and financial performance, that it has been the subject of four separate Harvard Business School case studies, most recently in 2003. Sun Hydraulics currently has 900 employees and is headquartered in Sarasota, Florida, with operations in England, Germany, France, Korea, India and China. Corporate representatives and business students from around the world visit the company's headquarters almost daily to study its manufacturing techniques and organizational philosophy. nMetric grew out of a patented technology Koski developed at Sun with mathematician Ken Henderson to address problems often encountered in complex manufacturing operations. As an engineering industry leader, Koski was instrumental in forming the 36th Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Fluid Power Systems and Technology Division. In 1992, he was awarded the Joseph Bramah Medal by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers for his "contribution to the resurgence of interest in fluid power in the USA and beyond." In 2007, the ASME inaugurated the Robert E. Koski Medal to "recognize individuals who have advanced the art and practice of fluid power motion and control through education and/or innovation." Koski's professional honors also included status as an ASME fellow. He was a member of the National Association of Manufacturing and a past Chairman of the National Fluid Power Association. Koski was a 1957 graduate of Dartmouth College. |
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