LCTI opens $4.25 million Welding Technology Center

Lehigh Career & Technical Institute’s new Welding Technology Center in Schnecksville, Pa.

Rather than reach for scissors, Jordan Everett fired up an acetylene torch on Feb. 5 during the ribbon cutting for Lehigh Career & Technical Institute’s new Welding Technology Center in Schnecksville, Pa. The 18-year-old sent sparks flying as he made quick work of a ceremonial ribbon, drawing applause from more than 100 people gathered for the grand opening celebration.

Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. President/CEO Don Cunningham praised LCTI’s administrators, as well as the education and industry leaders who’ve supported their yearslong effort to expand LCTI’s welding technology program by building the new center.

“You’ve more than doubled your capacity to turn out welders, and that’s a good thing because just in the last three years in the Lehigh Valley, we’ve had a demand for 275 more welders, primarily due to retirements,” he said. “Today, 38 percent of the welders working in the Lehigh Valley are now under the age of 35, which is extraordinary. We are replenishing our skilled workforce with young talent.”

With 10,000 sq. ft. of instructional space and another 2,000 sq. ft. devoted to storage, the center is twice the size of LCTI’s old program lab and filled with equipment purchased in part with a $50,000 Pennsylvania Department of Education grant. The new equipment includes a Lincoln Electric virtual reality welding trainer, a Machitech Automation CNC plasma cutting table, Miller welders, and Henlex capture arms.

The center has 40 welding booths and 10 workstations, so 50 students can weld simultaneously. All the booths are outfitted for SMAW, GMAW, FCAW, and GTAW. Each station is designed for a different welding process, from oxyfuel gas cutting to plasma arc cutting.