Gateway opens expanded iMET Center
February 13, 2013
From wbay.com: “Gateway opens expanded iMET Center” – RACINE, Wis., Feb. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – Gateway Technical College celebrated the grand opening of its expanded SC Johnson integrated Manufacturing and Engineering Technology (iMET) Center in Sturtevant, Wis., today. The region’s first flexible manufacturing training center-Tarnowski Hall- includes training in computer numerical control (CNC) machining, welding, metal fabrication, automated manufacturing systems, and industrial robotics.
SC Johnson, a 127-year-old family-owned company in Racine, has a nearly 20-year partnership with Gateway and is a major contributor to the project. Over the past 10 months, SC Johnson has contributed $1.7 million to support Gateway programming, including the iMET Center expansion and programing, such as Gateway’s high-impact manufacturing-related boot camp.
“We are proud to support organizations like Gateway that are doing such good work within our community,” said Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson. “Through their programming and hands-on learning approach, Gateway brings much needed, well-prepared graduates to the local workforce, strengthening the overall quality of life and economy of the area.”
Johnson, who joined in the grand opening festivities, discussed Gateway’s commitment to helping students reach their potential by creating opportunities to progress in the manufacturing field. He said these efforts also help address the area’s skills gap-the dichotomy of high, unmet demand for skilled workers by manufacturers during times of equally high unemployment.
“Gateway Technical College values its partnership with SC Johnson to accelerate our efforts to close the employment skills gap in our region,” said Dr. Bryan Albrecht, president and CEO of Gateway Technical College.
“The continued commitment to community demonstrated by the SC Johnson contribution is remarkable. We are excited about creating the region’s first flexible manufacturing lab at the SC Johnson iMET Center and honored by SC Johnson’s trust in Gateway’s ability to deliver results to our communities and its employers.”
To date, Gateway stands on a record of accomplishment. Its CNC boot camp is one of Gateway’s most successful programs with Racine Workforce Development, reporting an employment placement rate of 95 percent since the program began in 2006. The sixteenth CNC boot camp was completed in January, 2013.
The nearly 18,000-square-foot addition, which brings the facility to 61,000 square feet, features the College’s first Fab Lab, focused on industrial design and rapid prototyping, Gateway’s engineering technology educational programs and CNC and welding and fabrication boot camp accelerated training.
For more information about the SC Johnson iMET Center or the training offered there, contact: Debbie Davidson, Gateway vice president Workforce and Economic Development at davidsond@gtc.edu; (262)564-3422.
From fdlreporter.com: “Moraine Park holds first annual Distance Challenge” – Ballistas, slingshots and trebuchets filled Moraine Park Technical College’s courtyard at the first annual Distance Challenge at the Fond du Lac campus.
Students from Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah High School, the Fond du Lac Home School Association, West Bend East and West High Schools and Slinger High School formed teams and built contraptions with the goal of launching a rubber ball the greatest distance.
“We wanted a competition that required students to design, build and troubleshoot,” said Tom Roehl, Moraine Park Process Engineering Technology instructor. “We’re hoping to grow this in the future because local employers are very concerned about the skilled labor shortage, and it’s young people like this that are the future of manufacturing.”
The Fond du Lac Home School Association had a team of two sets of brothers: Isaiah and Sam LaVanway and Noah and Josiah Poss. Their giraffe-like contraption used a counterweight and two hockey sticks to make a trebuchet design. The giraffe ended up launching the rubber ball 88 feet and 2 inches.
Dawn Poss, mother of Noah and Josiah, said it was an excellent learning experience for the team.
“Through the building process, they learned endurance and patience. They had to see what wasn’t working, analyze it and learn from it,” Poss said.
Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah High School came in first by launching their object 184 feet and 2 inches. Students Ethan Hau and Jordan Kissinger’s winning device was a slingshot design. The duo used surgical tubes, two-by-fours and canvas to create “Slingshot 5,000.”
Slinger High School’s Zach Rueckl came in second at 111 feet and 4 inches. Rueckl’s “Proto II” contraption used a ballista design. Rueckl’s distance goal was to break 100 feet, which he accomplished.
Coming in third at 111 feet was a team from West Bend East and West High Schools consisting of students Nathan Groth, Austin Pelzman, Isaac Theis and Samuel Nagrocki. Their “Second Chance” resistance slingshot got its name because they scrapped their first machine when they weren’t happy with the results.
Rob Bauer, who works at Waukesha Metal Products in the tool and die area, said the competition sparked both excitement and creativity.
“We are always looking for skilled workers, and this is a great way to get students thinking about careers early. If they have an interest in this type of field, we can get them to the right career path early on,” he said.
