Donaldson Company Honours Inventors and Fosters Innovation Culture

13 May 2025 CW Team

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.

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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.

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