The Fluid Power Distributors Association (FPDA), founded in 1973, is a trade group that comprises more than 300 distributors and manufacturers in the fluid power and motion technology fields. Fluid power concerns the generation, control, and transmission of both liquids and gases. FPDA provides industry networking, member education, and industry data along with hosting seminars and conferences and publishing newsletters and white papers. It also supports FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition, a not-for-profit youth science group. In 2010, FPDA launched its M+CSP Certification to set the industry standard for sales professionals in this field of expertise.