ATCC Hosts 11th Annual NFPA Fluid Power Action Challenge, Celebrates Student Innovation and Honors Industry Leadership

Mar 24, 2026 | 1:06 PM
Alexandria Technical & Community College hosted the 11th annual NFPA Fluid Power Action Challenge on March 17, 2026, welcoming 48 middle school students from Ashby, Fergus Falls, Discovery Middle School (Alexandria), and Swanville. The event gives students hands-on exposure to fluid power concepts while exploring future careers in the industry.

A Two-Part Learning Experience

The challenge began on January 27 with Workshop Day, where students visited ATCC’s campus to:

  • Learn about careers in fluid power and mechatronics
  • Receive toolkits and materials
  • Begin planning and designing their prototype machines

Afterward, teams returned to their schools to research, design, and build their machines while developing a detailed engineering portfolio documenting their process.

Students returned in March for Challenge Day, where teams:

  • Brought their completed portfolios
  • Received a fresh kit of materials
  • Had four hours to rebuild their machine
  • Competed on the official challenge board

Throughout the event, students practiced teamwork, creativity, applied math, engineering thinking, and problem‑solving as they designed functional fluid power machines.

Honoring a Decade of Leadership

A special moment of the 2026 event included recognition for John Stenz, CEO of Force America, as he prepares for retirement. Stenz has been instrumental in bringing the NFPA Fluid Power Action Challenge to ATCC and sustaining it for 11 years, impacting more than 600 students and strengthening local career pathways in fluid power.

Stenz was honored by:

  • Sean Johns, ATCC Dean of Manufacturing & Transportation
  • Force America staff, who presented the award
  • James Foster, Workforce Program Manager at NFPA, who shared remarks on behalf of the association

Industry Partners

ATCC extends its appreciation to this year’s partners and sponsors:

Force America, SMC, MotionAi, Power Systems AHS, and the ATCC Mechatronics Program.Competition Results

1st Place – Swanville School

Reid Johnson, Dominick Hartwig, Ellen Hutchins, Izabella Terhaar

2nd Place – Discovery Middle School

Kaleb Danielson, Dalia Wrobleski, PJ Vanderheiden, Kaia Vatnsual

3rd Place – Discovery Middle School

Adeline Bernards, Ada Dahlseng, Kajsa Sugden

Photo Highlights

  • Sean Johns, John Stenz, and James Foster
  • Sean Johns with Joe and Mark from Force America, and John Stenz
  • Winning teams from Swanville and Discovery Middle School
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