Siemens’ West Chicago plant hosts nearly 70 students on Manufacturing Day

On Friday, Oct. 3, Siemens hosted a Manufacturing Day event at its West Chicago plant, welcoming more than 70 middle and high school students, teachers, and parents from the greater Chicago area.

After being greeted with refreshments and an overview of the event by Jayne Beck, a 33-year engineering veteran, students toured the factory and tested out NX, the 3-D Siemens software used to design the Mars Rover, as well as other products. The youth also visited with members of the Fox Valley area FIRST robotics team, #2451, PWNAGE, which designed and built a robot that plays handball.

Afterwards participants learned about the basics of engineering by attempting to build the tallest tower using dry spaghetti and marshmallows; building a boat using a piece of tin foil that could hold 100 pennies without sinking; and designing and flying paper airplanes.

“I have a huge passion for manufacturing,” said factory Plant Manager Juan Carlos Rivero Garcia, who has worked in seven different factories in Mexico, Germany, and the U.S. over the last 17 years. “Why wouldn’t we share that passion with the community? These kids will soon be the next ones coming in to work here.”