SARASOTA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sun Hydraulics (“Sun” or the “Company”) honored the legacy of the late Robert Koski, the founder of Sun, in a dedication ceremony today, marking the company’s first 50 years in business by naming its new engineering research and development facilities the “Robert E. Koski Center of Engineering Innovation.”
The newly named Koski Center will serve as the global headquarters of the company’s R&D efforts. It will provide expanded hydraulics and electro-hydraulics testing capabilities intended to serve the Company’s own product innovation and development efforts and support its global customers and sales channel partners testing the latest technologies and Sun solutions for their machines and equipment.
Due to coronavirus concerns, the event was attended by a small group of individuals, including Mr. Koski’s wife, Beverly Koski, his sons, Bob Koski and Tom Koski, and his daughter and long-time board member, Chris Koski. Also in attendance were senior leaders from Sun Hydraulics and its parent company, Helios Technologies.
Speeches by Beverly and Chris Koski, Helios’s CEO Josef Matosevic, CFO Tricia Fulton and board member Greg Yadley marked the small, socially distanced in-person event.
“I am touched by this gesture to honor my husband’s legacy,” said Beverly Koski. “He was a remarkable man and an inspirational leader who believed in the company and its products. But most important to him were the people, the ideas and the innovation that built such a strong company.”
Daughter and former board member, Chris Koski, echoed her mother’s sentiments. “My father was curious, inventive and always open to new ideas, and he valued his relationships with everyone at Sun Hydraulics. For those who knew and worked with him, he was a mentor who always challenged them to think for themselves and take ownership of their ideas and decisions.”
Josef Matosevic, President and CEO of Sun’s parent company Helios Technologies, spoke about Mr. Koski’s legacy. “We are here to recognize the accomplishments and contributions Mr. Koski made to this company, to the hydraulics industry and to the concepts of leadership.”
Mr. Matosevic continued, “He touched many lives along the way—mentoring and challenging those he worked with—and provided an environment that fostered the innovation he believed in so strongly.”
The event closed with the unveiling of the sign above the doors of the newly dedicated “Robert E. Koski Center of Engineering Innovation” in Sarasota, and the plaque commemorating his contributions in the lobby.
A video will be released that will include the dedication event and feature tributes from employees and partners from around the globe who were key to the company’s success. The video tribute will be published on the Company’s website (www.sunhydraulics.com) to honor the dedication virtually.
Bob Koski & Sun Hydraulics
Fifty years ago, in 1970, Bob Koski left the security of a job in a traditional company with a promising future to pursue a new organizational vision at his own company, Sun Hydraulics. Initially fueled by the innovative product designs of Mr. Koski and co-founder John Allen, the company’s dedicated focus on collaborative innovation attracted engineering talents that fed that vision, working together to rethink cartridge valve technology and the fundamentals of manifold design.
This bold new approach left behind the limitations of the industry common cavity to advance fluid power technology in ways that still drive the company’s leadership in load-holding technology today. Sun’s counterbalance valves are recognized worldwide for their safe, reliable load control and are the go-to solutions for quality-conscious OEMs in all hydraulic equipment markets.
Bob Koski’s entrepreneurial spirit was equally important in his vision for the company’s organization. The open, horizontal management system at Sun led to contributions from everyone at the company, creating a process that fed continuing innovation and helped drive the company’s success. By helping colleagues make their own decisions instead of telling them what to do, he enabled a culture of empowerment and innovation at Sun.
Mr. Koski turned over the reins of the company to Clyde Nixon, the company’s second CEO, in 1988. Koski continued to be active in the company for many years as the company’s spokesperson, as an advocate for the hydraulics industry around the world, and as an inspiring leader at Sun until his passing in 2008.
About Sun Hydraulics
Sun Hydraulics is a leading manufacturer of high-performance screw-in hydraulic cartridge valves, electro-hydraulics, manifolds, and integrated package solutions for the worldwide industrial and mobile hydraulics markets. Sun Hydraulics is a division of Helios Technologies, a global industrial technology leader that develops and manufactures hydraulic and electronic control solutions for diverse markets. Helios Technologies does business through its operating subsidiaries around the world, including Sun Hydraulics LLC, Enovation Controls LLC, Faster S.p.A. and Balboa Water Group.
