Organized. Fun. Lit. Generous. Sleek. These are some of the words students and teachers used to describe United Grinding’s open house tour of its high-tech industrial facility in Miamisburg, Ohio. It might just be the perfect playbook for other manufacturers to use when they host engaging and meaningful events for students.
AMT member and IMTS exhibitor United Grinding hosted nearly 200 high school students and their teachers, taking them on a tour with a dozen stations to hear employees from various departments – logistics and shipping, service engineering, customer care, sales, marketing, IT, and human resources – share the skills they use, describe their careers, and answer questions.
The tour ended in United Grinding’s showroom, where students measured and peered into some of the firm’s high-tech grinding machines. The young visitor faces really lit up when they were offered an assortment of freshly made fruit smoothies.
“We have a huge, collective responsibility to educate, inform, and engage the next generation of workers in our industry,” says Markus Stolmar, president and CEO, United Grinding North America. “That’s why we hosted a MFG Day and engage partners in the community, such as the Dayton Region Manufacturers Association, Montgomery County Educational Services Center, schools at the local and regional level, and working on a national – even global – level with partners like AMT to make sure the future of our industry is bright.”
Dayton Region Manufacturers Association (DRMA) and the Montgomery County Educational Services Center helped connect the schools with United Grinding.
“We were excited to work with DRMA member United Grinding to launch MFG Day Spring Edition to grow the manufacturing workforce pipeline,” says Angelia Erbaugh, DRMA president. “Almost 200 high school students attended to see the vast array of careers in contemporary manufacturing – from high-skill technical positions, like precision machining and industrial engineering, to ‘front office’ positions in accounting and sales.” (United Grinding hosted the event last spring knowing much of its machines and displays would not be unpacked from IMTS 2022 in time for an early October MFG Day.)
“Many employees had been all over the world using innovative problem-solving skills! What came into focus even more was the opportunities a company like United Grinding provides: a super clean, safe, beautiful environment with the opportunity to travel and develop in-demand skills while making great money. It doesn't get any better than that!” says Yvonne Kaszubowski, workforce development coordinator for Warren County Career Center which operates an Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics Program.
"It’s really cool to think about how the parts of a plane I’ve flown or will fly have been made on machines like the ones here,” says one Dayton-area high school girl who is also enrolled in an Air Force JROTC and Advanced Manufacturing and Machining program.
AMT Smartforce Looking for resources and activities as a jumping off point to engage students with experiences centered around the manufacturing technology classroom of the future? Visit IMTS.com/Smartforce.
