Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Thomas W. Gerdel
Plain Dealer Reporter 

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"...Maxwell, who has been at Parker nine years, developed a reputation for seeking out new applications and markets in the Racor filtration division. He began looking for new business opportunities in fuel cells and later was chosen to head the first of the company's new business units -- fuel cell systems in New Britain, Conn.

Fuel cells were chosen because they need the kind of equipment Parker makes for control and conditioning of fluids.

"It was a kind of joke then that if you opened up a fuel cell, it looked like a Parker ad," Maxwell said.

Now, Parker's fuel cell unit works closely with Protonex Technology Corp. in Southborough, Mass. Protonex, with 20 employees, has pending patents for innovations for commercializing fuel cell power systems. Its partnership agreement with Parker covers joint product development and manufacturing as well as collaborative sales and marketing of fuel cell products to military and commercial customers.

Even though Parker is a much larger company, its fuel cell unit was able to mesh well with the smaller firm, said Scott Pearson, chief executive of Protonex.

"It was surprising how fast and responsive Parker was," said Pearson. "They jumped very quickly."

Parker's fuel cell unit in Connecticut has only 14 people, but its impact is magnified by the collaboration of engineers who work in other Parker divisions.

A project to push people

With Parker's help, Protonex has reduced the size and weight of fuel cells and has now sent pre-production products to customers for evaluation. In another effort, Parker is working with Vectrix Corp. in Newport, R.I., to develop a hybrid electric scooter powered by fuel cells and batteries. Engineers from several Parker plants have collaborated on the work.

Maxwell calls it a "boundary project" because it aims to inspire and push people. But it also is a serious business proposition. Parker has invested money in return for co-ownership of a patent that Maxwell says is broad enough to cover any two-wheeler that uses fuel cells to recharge batteries. The hybrid scooter is expected to be launched in Europe and the United States in the next two to three years.

Maxwell said the partners have made significant progress in reducing the size, cost and weight of the system, which is small enough to be integrated within the frame of the scooter.

In such a project, Parker gets access to emerging industries and can use available technology. "We like to say little R, big D," said Maxwell. "Not a lot of research but a lot of development."

In return, its entrepreneurial partners get valuable help in commercializing their new technologies and access to Parker's manufacturing and customer channels.

"For Parker, it's a smart way to get ahead of the curve," said Mark Hauserman, director of the Entrepreneurs Association at John Carroll University's Boler School of Business.

Applied research helps business

He said the old innovation model was based more on a company's doing its own fundamental research in corporate labs.

"The new model is more based on applied research in areas of technology that help your businesses," he said.

Each new Parker unit is housed within an existing company division, which provides purchasing, accounting and other support services. For the fuel cell systems unit, an existing building at the fluid control division had to be rebuilt to provide a high-tech environment.

Maxwell said a traditional Parker factory with its metal cutting and grinding machines has a certain grimy industrial look.

"When you go into a fuel cell company, it's quite a different look. It's more of a semiconductor, high-tech, clean room type of environment," he said. "You can eat off the floor.".."