diff --git a/controller_manager/include/controller_manager/controller_manager.h b/controller_manager/include/controller_manager/controller_manager.h
index 1e8f7be96..b7d84740e 100644
--- a/controller_manager/include/controller_manager/controller_manager.h
+++ b/controller_manager/include/controller_manager/controller_manager.h
@@ -172,12 +172,11 @@ class ControllerManager{
   /*\}*/
 
 
-protected:
-  hardware_interface::RobotHW* robot_hw_;
-
 private:
   void getControllerNames(std::vector<std::string> &v);
 
+  hardware_interface::RobotHW* robot_hw_;
+
   ros::NodeHandle root_nh_, cm_node_;
 
   typedef boost::shared_ptr<ControllerLoaderInterface> LoaderPtr;