FMA Metal Fabrication Lab holds open house

FMA President Ed Youdell addresses the crowd that gathered for an open house at the new FMA Metal Fabrication Lab at Harper College in Palatine, Ill., on April 26. Attendees had the opportunity to see demonstrations of several CNC machine tools and speak with students, faculty, and area fabricators about what the lab means to developing the next-generation of fabricating talent.

The future is officially a brighter place for students in Palatine, Ill., and for the manufacturing industry at large. On April 26, the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association (FMA) and Harper College held an open house to show off the new $1.5 million FMA Metal Fabrication Lab. Attendees were able to walk through the facility, speak with instructors, and learn about companies and organizations that helped to make the lab a reality.

As part of Harper’s Advanced Manufacturing Program, this lab and the brand-new precision equipment donated by Amada, Mitsubishi, Miller Electric, Panasonic Robotics, ITW, Trilogy, and Wisco will be the training ground for tomorrow’s highly skilled workers in the industry.

The open house featured a panel with Dr. Ken Ender, president of Harper College; Jean Pitzo, CEO of Ace Metal Crafts; and FMA Communications Editor-in-Chief Dan Davis. Jim Warren, executive director of education, membership, and foundation for FMA, led the discussion with questions for each of the panelists.

While Ender addressed the facility’s goal of training up to 600 students per year and the potential opportunities offered to incoming high school students by the school’s new Promise Scholarship Program, Davis discussed the topic of what kind of worker modern manufacturing facilities need, specifically addressing the requirements of small and medium-sized job shops.

Sharing her experience from the shop floor at Ace Metal Crafts, Pitzo referenced the need for soft skills as well as workforce diversity in successful operations. She also fielded questions about how regulation can affect both the company and the employee, stressing the importance of educating yourself on legislation that impacts manufacturers right now.

Warren asked those in attendance to recognize other contributors who helped bring the lab to fruition, including Kurt Billsten, instructor at Harper; Dr. Mary Beth Ottinger, dean of career & tech programs; Dr. Maria Coons, senior executive to the president, board liaison, and vice president of workforce and strategic alliances; and Dave Rutkowski, senior vice president of affinity partner CNA Insurance.

Panasonic Welding System’s PerformArc welding robot was just one piece of fabricating technology demonstrated at the FMA Metal Fabrication Lab open house.