Dan Robertson

Monsen Innovation Award - 2025

Technical Sales Representative

Portland, OR

The Monsen Innovation Award recognizes individuals who embody the technical excellence, innovation, and customer-centric dedication exemplified by Jon F. Monsen, Ph.D., P.E. — a pioneer in control valve application technology and a mentor to many across our industry. Dan Robertson’s 25 years of expertise, deep technical credibility, and relentless commitment to solving complex valve application challenges reflect the very qualities that this award was created to honor.

Technical Mastery Aligned with Monsen’s Legacy

Like Jon Monsen, whose career was defined by a profound understanding of control valve sizing, application, and education, Dan has built his reputation through decades of hands-on experience with the most demanding process environments. His work across refineries, paper mills, chemical plants, and high-purity silicon facilities demonstrates the same command of valve technology that Monsen brought to the global engineering community.

Dan consistently applies advanced application knowledge to:

• Help customers navigate critical safety environments with confidence.
• Analyze complex valve installations and recommend technically sound solutions.
• Build trust through a clear, educational approach that mirrors Monsen’s teaching spirit.

His expertise is often the deciding factor in winning business, resolving application problems, and strengthening Valin’s status as a trusted engineering partner.

Innovation, Problem Solving, and Customer Impact

In the spirit of Monsen’s drive to advance the industry through better solutions, Dan repeatedly demonstrates exceptional innovation and problem-solving under challenging conditions. As the only Process Control salesperson covering Washington, Oregon, and part of Idaho, he excels across a territory that demands agility, technical precision, and high-stakes decision-making.

Notable examples include:

• Revitalizing a dormant high-purity silicon customer, securing plant-wide valve replacement opportunities totaling over seven figures across 2022–2023 through technical merits, field trials, and engineering collaboration.
• Identifying, winning, and fulfilling a multi-vendor control valve/actuation package for a renewable natural gas (RNG) closed-loop system used to produce high-quality milk & dairy products, from bio-digested manure feed stock in FY25.
• Doubling sales at a major paper products manufacturer by strengthening relationships and delivering valve assemblies that met critical performance needs.
• Rebuilding opportunity pipelines after the departure of a regional Account Manager, ensuring uninterrupted support and maintaining Valin’s presence in strategic accounts.

Dan's contributions not only generate significant revenue but also reinforce Valin’s reputation for technical depth and reliability.

Commitment to Knowledge Sharing and Team Excellence

Jon Monsen believed that expertise gains its greatest value when shared. Dan embodies this mindset daily.

He works seamlessly with the Portland team, helping Customer Service, Operations, and the Process Control group understand context, solve customer issues, and maintain alignment. His start as a Customer Service Representative gives him unique insight into internal workflows and helps him collaborate more effectively than most field personnel.

Dan consistently:

• Educates customers and teammates with clarity and patience.
• Communicates proactively about challenges and opportunities.
• Elevates the technical competence and confidence of those around him.

This dedication to collaboration reflects the core principles Monsen championed throughout his career.

Dedication, Integrity, and Follow Through

Beyond his technical capabilities, Dan demonstrates extraordinary commitment to customer satisfaction, the kind of commitment that builds long-term trust and reflects Valin’s highest standards.

Examples include:

• Personally, expediting deliveries, coordinating with suppliers, and finding alternatives when lead times threaten customer operations.
• Transporting materials himself, on his own time, when shipping delays jeopardize deadlines.
• Maintaining customer communication through market downturns—work that directly resulted in new furnace expansion opportunities with a major aviation braking manufacturer.

Dan’s reliability and integrity make him an everyday hero to his customers and a valued partner to colleagues across Valin.

In conclusion, Dan Robertson exemplifies the spirit of the Monsen Innovation Award through his mastery of valve application technology, his relentless pursuit of customer-focused innovation, his willingness to educate and elevate others, and his tireless dedication to the success of Valin and its customers. His achievements echo the legacy of Jon Monsen—technical excellence, curiosity, mentorship, and commitment to solving the industry’s most challenging problems.

About the Monsen Innovation Award

The Monsen Innovation Award recipients are recognized for their outstanding accomplishments and dedication to our company. The inspiration for this award (and the first award recipient) was Jon Monsen. Jon F. Monsen, Ph.D., P.E., was a control valve technology specialist at Valin for many years. Jon wrote a book titled, Control Valve Application Technology, Techniques and Considerations for properly selecting the right control valve. This book was published by Valin and is currently sold on our e-commerce site. Monsen possessed 35 years of industry experience and lectured nationally and internationally on control valve sizing and application.