Donaldson Company Honours Inventors and Fosters Innovation Culture
ECONOMY & POLICY

Donaldson Company Honours Inventors and Fosters Innovation Culture

Donaldson Company, a leading worldwide manufacturer of innovative filtration products and solutions, today celebrated its 2024 patent recipients and Inventor Award winners with a ceremony at its headquarters. Donaldson recognized more than 100 employees for their valuable contributions to a culture of innovation and industry leadership. From alternative power to pharmaceuticals and agriculture to transportation, Donaldson continues to bring new innovations to market that deliver best-in-class solutions to real-world challenges. 

In 2024, Donaldson registered 392 new patents and currently has a total of 3,260 active US and international patents. 

The first US patent award to Donaldson Company was granted to founder Frank A Donaldson on February 7, 1922; Patent No. 1,405,399, titled ‘Air Cleaner.’ “Our origin story starts with a customer problem followed by an innovative solution,” said Dave Mulder, Donaldson chief technology officer. “Even now, 11 decades later, we continue to identify problems, understanding that problems lead to ideas, and ideas lead to solutions – solutions that are advancing filtration for a cleaner world.” 

The 2024 Inventor Recognition Ceremony honored patent recipients and recognized select employees whose groundbreaking contributions were in five categories: Emerging Innovator, Manufacturing Excellence, Technology Champion, Technology Achievement, and Frank A Donaldson Award. Winners reside in Belgium and the United States. 

This year’s Emerging Innovator award recipient was recognized for her leadership in the field of oleophobic materials. Mikayla Yoder pioneered research and development of re-entrant geometries resulting in a new class of patterned membranes that has the potential to revolutionize consumer packaging products. 

The prize for Manufacturing Excellence went to Jon Haag, a senior engineering manager in advanced manufacturing technology, who engineered the virtual installation of two critical and proprietary production lines from 6,750 miles away during a global pandemic. 

Ingenuity played a pivotal role for the winner of the Technology Champion award. Gert Willems, an engineering director with 55 granted patents, received this year’s Technology Champion award for his leadership in developing Clean Seal technology which has seen strong commercial success. 

Advanced prototyping is the art of bringing life to bold ideas, and transforming sketches and concepts into tangible, high-impact products and remarkably capable, yet elegantly simple prototype product and production equipment. Donaldson granted this year’s Technology Achievement award to Vincent Kayaerts for developing prototypes that accelerated the launch of Donaldson’s thermoplastic elastomer seal products and a sustainable liner-less element design. 

Dan Tuma earned this year’s Frank A. Donaldson award for his long-term contributions to disk drive filtration technology. Dan, an engineering manager, advanced disk drive filtration technology, including developing products that precisely regulate humidity in enclosed disk drives and filters using activated carbon to remove organic and acid gases in addition to particles. 

The inventions and advancements recognized at the 2024 Inventor Recognition Ceremony create value, drive innovation, strengthen Donaldson’s competitive edge, and ultimately shape the filtration industry. 

Donaldson Company, a leading worldwide manufacturer of innovative filtration products and solutions, today celebrated its 2024 patent recipients and Inventor Award winners with a ceremony at its headquarters. Donaldson recognized more than 100 employees for their valuable contributions to a culture of innovation and industry leadership. From alternative power to pharmaceuticals and agriculture to transportation, Donaldson continues to bring new innovations to market that deliver best-in-class solutions to real-world challenges. In 2024, Donaldson registered 392 new patents and currently has a total of 3,260 active US and international patents. The first US patent award to Donaldson Company was granted to founder Frank A Donaldson on February 7, 1922; Patent No. 1,405,399, titled ‘Air Cleaner.’ “Our origin story starts with a customer problem followed by an innovative solution,” said Dave Mulder, Donaldson chief technology officer. “Even now, 11 decades later, we continue to identify problems, understanding that problems lead to ideas, and ideas lead to solutions – solutions that are advancing filtration for a cleaner world.” The 2024 Inventor Recognition Ceremony honored patent recipients and recognized select employees whose groundbreaking contributions were in five categories: Emerging Innovator, Manufacturing Excellence, Technology Champion, Technology Achievement, and Frank A Donaldson Award. Winners reside in Belgium and the United States. This year’s Emerging Innovator award recipient was recognized for her leadership in the field of oleophobic materials. Mikayla Yoder pioneered research and development of re-entrant geometries resulting in a new class of patterned membranes that has the potential to revolutionize consumer packaging products. The prize for Manufacturing Excellence went to Jon Haag, a senior engineering manager in advanced manufacturing technology, who engineered the virtual installation of two critical and proprietary production lines from 6,750 miles away during a global pandemic. Ingenuity played a pivotal role for the winner of the Technology Champion award. Gert Willems, an engineering director with 55 granted patents, received this year’s Technology Champion award for his leadership in developing Clean Seal technology which has seen strong commercial success. Advanced prototyping is the art of bringing life to bold ideas, and transforming sketches and concepts into tangible, high-impact products and remarkably capable, yet elegantly simple prototype product and production equipment. Donaldson granted this year’s Technology Achievement award to Vincent Kayaerts for developing prototypes that accelerated the launch of Donaldson’s thermoplastic elastomer seal products and a sustainable liner-less element design. Dan Tuma earned this year’s Frank A. Donaldson award for his long-term contributions to disk drive filtration technology. Dan, an engineering manager, advanced disk drive filtration technology, including developing products that precisely regulate humidity in enclosed disk drives and filters using activated carbon to remove organic and acid gases in addition to particles. The inventions and advancements recognized at the 2024 Inventor Recognition Ceremony create value, drive innovation, strengthen Donaldson’s competitive edge, and ultimately shape the filtration industry. 

Next Story
Infrastructure Energy

KEC Secures Rs 10, 380 Mn Substation Order in Saudi Arabia

KEC International Ltd., a global infrastructure EPC major, and an RPG Group company, has secured a new order worth Rs 10,380 million for the Design, Supply and Installation of a 380 kV GIS Substation in Saudi Arabia.Vimal Kejriwal, MD & CEO, KEC International Ltd., commented, “We are delighted with the successive order wins in our T&D business. In a landmark achievement, we have secured our largest ever substation order. This prestigious order in the Middle East has widened our portfolio and strengthened our presence in the region. With this strategic win, our year-to-date or..

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

Central Bank of India executes first fully digital SCF deal on PSB Xchange

In a major advancement for India’s banking sector, Central Bank of India (CBI) has successfully completed the country’s first fully digital supply chain finance (SCF) transaction on PSB Xchange—a unified multi-lender platform launched by PSB Alliance. PSB Xchange is designed to connect public and private sector banks, NBFCs, and fintechs with corporates and their channel partners to facilitate supply chain finance and small business loans. The transaction marks the first time a fintech-originated corporate lead has been seamlessly processed through the PSB Xchange ecosystem. The lead fl..

Next Story
Infrastructure Energy

Atlanta Electricals secures Rs 1,835 Mn transformer order from BNC Power

Atlanta Electricals Limited (“Atlanta”) has secured an order worth Rs 1,835 million from BNC Power Projects Ltd for the supply of extra high voltage (EHV) transformers and a bus reactor for its Pugal site. The contract includes a mix of 315 MVA, 400 KV and 100 MVA, 132 KV transformers along with a 400 KV bus reactor. The project scope encompasses design, manufacturing, testing, and supply to the project site. Deliveries will be sequenced following engineering and drawing approvals, offering multi-quarter execution visibility and ensuring a steady production run-rate. The order will be ex..

Advertisement

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.

STAY CONNECTED

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Talk to us?