OBITUARY ROBERT E. KOSKI

 

     Robert E. Koski was born in Indianapolis. Indiana and was graduated from Whitefish Bay High School.  At Dartmouth he majored in Art and Archiecture and was a member of Pi Lambda Phi fraternity.  After recuperating from an infection that prevented Bob from graduating with our class, he was drafted into the U. S. Army and was stationed in Bavaria  where he served as a PFC radio operator in 1955 and 1956.  He married Beverly in 1955 and after his discharge from the Army they returned to Hanover where their daughter Chris was born.  He completed his degree requirements and became involved in manufacturing. The family moved to Sarasota, Florida while Bob was working for Fluid Controls, Inc which made hydraulic cartridge valves.

     In 1970 Bob and an engineering friend, Bob Allen, started a new company which they named Sun Hydraulics Corp.  The company developed nicely and went public in 1997.  Under Bob's leadership Sun operated successfully in England, Germany, France, Korea, China and India as well as in the United States.

     Bob was a student of organizations and a pioneer in the development of 'horizontal management', which he attributed as the primary reason for Sun's ongong success.  In his original handwritten business plan for Sun, Bob wrote that "...the ultimate quality of a corporation is largely determined by the character of its employees who are attracted into employment and develop because of the corporation's environment".

     Bob was active in his community, serving as chair and director of a number of organizations including the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, the Florida West Coast Symphony, National Power Fluid Association and the ASME Foundation. His principal avocations included travel and golf.  He is survived by Beverley and children Chris, Bob and Tom.