Industrial Technology Students Tour Manufacturing Facilities in Lincoln
"Dream It! Do It!" Program Promotes Advanced Opportunities for Students
Launch the media gallery 1 playerThanks to the Dream It! Do It! program, Industrial Technology students from Wahoo High School visited four different manufacturing facilities on Monday, April 4.
The students got a close-up look at the future of manufacturing and how jobs in the manufacturing field are in demand. Dream It! Do It! is based on the premise that whatever topic a student's interests are centered on, there is an advanced manufacturing opportunity out there. To get more information about the campaign, visit http://www.dreamit-doit.com/index1.php.
The students first visited Total Manufacturing Company (TMCO), a company that specializes in the design, manufacture and assembly of a variety of custom machined metal parts for companies from Harley Davidson to Caterpillar. Another specialty of TMCO is the powder coating paint process that produces high quality durable finishes on their metal parts. TMCO is expanding their facility to refine their manufacturing process so they can go from manufacturing their own parts to complete assembly under one roof. For more information about TMCO, visit their website at http://www.tmcoinc.com/.
The second stop for the day was SourceOne. SourceOne is a company that was started by two friends in a garage, and has grown into a huge company with customers in all 50 states.
SourceOne is the parent company of several smaller companies housed at their facility in Lincoln. They include Bison, SignCoEDS, and the Plugr line of aerating equipment. They also will set up and create manufacturing systems for anyone who is going to manufacture products on a large scale. If anyone has ever been to a Husker football game, they have seen SignCoEDS big screen TV's in the stadium. In fact, SignCoEDS is the sole partner for Mitsubishi's large-scale video screens in the United States. They created the giant High Definition video board at Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, Texas, and have screens in stadiums all over the country. For more information, visit http://www.sourceonex.com/company/Index.html.
Launch the media gallery 2 playerThe third stop was Lincoln Industries. Another large company housed in Lincoln, Lincoln Industries is the largest metal plating facility in North America. They also have smaller companies under their name, such as Lincoln Chrome, a company that sells chrome products to the trucking industry. Lincoln Industry also has a large contract with Harley Davidson motorcycles. They have a very high tech 500,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, which promotes a family atmosphere for its 400 employees. Visit http://www.lincolnindustries.com/ for more information.
The final stop was L.K. Schweitzer, a company that uses computer controlled equipment to mass produce commercial fixtures and casework. Drawings are produced on computer-aided drafting software by Autodesk, and are sent to machines on the manufacturing floor. The tools used at L.K. Schweitzer are the top of the line and maximize materials for efficiency and speed. What used to take 10 days 15 years ago, now takes one day and can be done with one person. They have taken woodworking to the next level for commercial use. For more information about the amazing things L.K. Schweitzer can do, visit http://lks-inc.com/default.aspx.
The students had a great experience and learned a lot about the kinds of manufacturing opportunities that are just down the road in Lincoln! The employers they visited expressed interest in students with good communication skills, a willingness to work hard and a passion to excel at what they do. If those qualities exist in a candidate, they can look forward to a successful career in the manufacturing world.