October is Manufacturing Month and Manufacturing Day℠ is officially the first Friday or October 7th this year.  It is day to celebrate modern manufacturing and meant to inspire the next generation of manufacturers.

 

Scott Kaser runs the Precision Machining program at Plymouth High School.   His students, juniors and seniors spend about half of their school day in his classroom getting a firsthand look at the manufacturing business.

 

The Precision Machining program at Plymouth High School is a fully functioning machine shop that is geared to provide student of the North Central Area Vocational Cooperative (NCAVC) entry level to advanced education machining.  The program is designed to train students for employment in a variety of occupations available in industrial manufacturing shops. The following occupational titles represent just a small example of possible employment opportunities: Machine Tool Operator, Machinist, Mold Maker, Shop Manager, Tool and Die Maker.

 

Students who attend nine surrounding PCSC school districts can sign up for the course and not only receive high school credit, but they also have the opportunity to qualify for college credit at the same time through a dual-credit partnership with Ivy Tech State College.  NCAVC consists of the following school corporations and districts: Argos, Culver, John Glenn, Knox, North Judson-SanPierre, Oregon-Davis, Plymouth, Rochester, Triton and Union-North United.

 

All laboratory and classroom activities are held in the IMESSC facility, which is located directly next to the PHS administration building.  The acronym IMESSC stands for ITAMCO Manufacturing Education School Service Center and the state of art facility will prepare students in a real world atmosphere.

 

ITAMCO Indiana Technology and Manufacturing Companies, a precision machine component company located in Plymouth, has been one of the driving forces behind making the entire program become a reality.  In the fall of 2013, the PCSC school board unanimously approved the building’s name would include the ITAMCO name! PCSC is tremendously appreciative for the ITAMCO families’ contributions to help our Precision Machining program come to fruition and beyond.

 

This school year Kaser said he has students signed up for both Precision Machining I & II. “A student has the ability to receive up to 12 Ivy Tech credits by taking these two courses, as well as 8 National Institute of Metalworking Skills (NIMS) certifications.  Each student will have a superb skill level to continue his or her education in the field of machining, engineering, or quality control.  If a student chooses to enter the workforce after successfully completing this program, they would have the precision machining skills that are needed and are in high demand in the area,” said Kaser.

 

In fact his students are already working with companies to produce real product in demand.

 

Kaser said: “We are currently working with Robin Solomon of Tippy-Canoe Rentals, Inc. out of Winamac. Solomon has been using us for the past year as a supplier for his business. He also has a starter pistol business where he refurbishes old pistols. The pistols are used at school track events and by animal trainers. We are also working with Golf team head coach Ben Waymouth. We are making tee-off makers for all of the golf team’s sponsors. This has been a very challenging project as it has moved us into something that the class as never done before. That is take .dxf flies and imported them directly into the CNC controller.”

Provided by PHS Marketing Director