On Monday, April 6, 2015, U.S. Congressman Paul Ryan (WI01) stopped at Precision Plus for a short informal visit with the company’s employees, to share some of the legislative efforts in Washington, D.C. A roundtable discussion with a number of area business leaders followed the meeting.
Mike Reader, President and Owner of Precision Plus, introduced Congressman Ryan to the employees. Congressman Ryan, who chairs the Ways and Means Committee, is in charge of reviewing and passing laws that affect issues such as healthcare, welfare, trade, tax and retirement.
During the Q&A with Precision Plus’ employees, Congressman Ryan compared the tax rates assessed on small to medium-sized businesses in the U.S., at an average of 44.6%, with similar taxes for same-sized companies around the world, which average 25%, and are as low as 12.5% in Ireland. Larger-sized companies, such as Anheuser Busch or Snap-On Tools, pay an average of 35%. Subsequently, their shareholders are taxed about 20% on dividends paid and capital gain.
This tax disparity with its global competitors places U.S. companies in hard-to-compete situations. Some companies are choosing to move their operations to other countries in order to be able to be competitive in the global arena. Others, have been purchased by foreign corporations, so that they can stay viable in the global market. Congressman Ryan pointed out the fact that 96% of all consumers are outside of the U.S. and that currently the U.S. is working, among other things, on trade agreements with eleven Asian nations to open up their markets. The U.S. is adamant that trade partners respect fair trade, do not allow unreasonable subsidies, and protect intellectual properties.
Congressman Ryan addressed also tax reform, and the initiatives that can be put in place—such as depreciation rules, etc., to lessen the tax burden levied on small to medium-sized companies, until this complex issue is resolved, allowing companies to be able to reinvest into their workforce and equipment. “We need to get American manufacturers to be in a good position to sell overseas, make things here, get our tax fixed, so that we can be more competitive,” he added. “We are in a race to set the rules of the global economy,” he added.
Congressman Ryan was also asked about the status of Medicare reform. He reported on a new payment plan for doctors which is based on value, rather than on number of procedures, or quality versus quantity. Those who can account for healthier outcomes and higher patient satisfaction, will receive a larger payment that those who do not.
After the company meeting, the conversation continued with eleven local business executives about legislative issues, and what can be done to promote domestic manufacturing that will create even more good paying careers.
This visit follows in the footsteps of last year’s, where both Wisconsin Senators–Baldwin and Johnson—stopped in at Precision Plus for tours and conversation. Mike Reader, President and Owner of Precision Plus said, “We will continue to engage our representatives on both sides of the aisle, at all levels, looking for common ground and a path forward. Our goal is to promote domestic manufacturing legislation and help develop the next generation of manufacturing professionals. People are our greatest asset and without them we are nothing but buildings filled with equipment. We need a global level playing field to allow our team to compete and be successful. This is why we must engage our representatives and we encourage others to get involved in the conversation.”
There is no doubt that Precision Plus had rallied incessantly to bring CNC training to Walworth County in Wisconsin. With Gateway Technical College’s (GTC) February 2015 announcement of their Elkhorn Campus expansion, which will include a new state-of-the-art manufacturing training center, CNC training in Walworth County is now a reality. As early as July 2015, incoming high school seniors will be able to attend a CNC Boot Camp at the Elkhorn Campus.
The CNC Boot Camp has proved to be a successful 14-week training program for adults, and it is currently on its 22nd session at the iMET Center in Sturtevant. About three years ago, the same program was developed for high school seniors, to be taken in conjunction with their regular high school classes. The High School CNC Boot Camp—also known as the CNC Youth Boot Camp–also includes an internship with a manufacturing company.
This past year, Precision Plus supported the program by taking Boot Camp student Scott Dvorak from Waterford Union High School as an intern. Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training said, “Logistically, this was the first time that it made sense to sponsor a student. Scott attends early morning classes at the school, which is about a 30-minute drive from Precision Plus–a much shorter ride than it would be for his CNC classmates who typically attend the Racine School District. He arrives at the company at 10am and works until 3pm.
The CNC High School Boot Camp at the Elkhorn Campus is certainly a plus for Walworth County students and the community. Its July kickoff, however, is contingent on having enough interest from area students. Applications are due no later than May 1, 2015.
With the short time frame in mind, Precision Plus’ mission became to bring the news to as many people as possible and encourage students and parents to look into the program.
On Tuesday, February 24th, Barry Butters attended the Whitewater High School Career and Technical Education (CTE) Committee meeting along with Derek D’Auria the Executive Director Walworth County Economic Development Alliance (WCEDA). The meeting is held twice a year for the school’s career, technical education teachers, so they can, in turn, share curriculum, and classroom updates with their industry partners and discuss new ideas and developments. Butters and D’Auria took this opportunity to inform the group about the CNC High School Boot Camp coming to Walworth County.
On Monday, March 9th, Barry Butters along with Rich Lofy, the Coordinator of the CNC Youth Boot Camp, spoke to a few East Troy students and parents at East Troy High School about opportunities in the machining industry and the boot camp itself. The event was coordinated by Stacey Kuehn, Assistant Principal at East Troy High School, and it was in conjunction with the school’s parent-teacher conference night.
On Friday, March 13th, Butters met with Lauren Paterson, a Badger High School student, her parent and the Badger High School Career and Technical Education Coordinator, Marie Collins, to discuss the Boot Camp and show Lauren some actual CNC applications.
On Monday, March 16th, Butters met with five students, two parents and the three guidance counselors from Elkhorn Area High School to talk about the CNC Youth Boot Camp and tour Precision Plus, so as to give the them a good understanding of the CNC machining industry.
Butters begins the tours with a PowerPoint talking to students about what they will be seeing on the floor
Butters shows the students parts that are being run on the Tornos Cam machines
Butters talks about the Swiss type CNC machine
Butters shows the students the Miyano CNC turret lathes
Butters talks about the optical comparator and the precision that is held on the parts
On Tuesday, March 31st, three Gateway new student specialists and their supervisor toured Precision Plus to gain a better understanding of the machining industry.
The new student specialists were,
Amanda Hruzek, who services Delavan Darien High School, Williams Bay High School and Badger High School
Joseph Sell, who services Whitewater High School, Burlington High School and the Wisconsin School for the Deaf
Katie Graf, who serves the Walworth County Alternative High School, Elkhorn Area High School, Catholic Central High School, East Troy High School and Big Foot High School
Their supervisor is Angela Becerra-Chvilicek, who is the Director of College Access for Gateway.
Today’s machining professionals require a solid and balanced mix of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) background, mechanical aptitude and great problem solving skills. As such, it is imperative that those in the guidance/counseling areas have a firm grasp of the skills required to be 21st century machinist.The visit included a PowerPoint presentation and tour of the facility.
On Wednesday, April 1st, Precision Plus hosted another tour for students interested in the CNC Boot Camp in Walworth. The participation included two students from Burlington High School, one from Badger High School, one from Waterford Union High School, one from Elkhorn Area High School, and one from Wilmot High School. Each student brought along a parent. There were 12 people total for the tour.
Independently of Precision Plus’ efforts, two information meetings have taken place already. There will be one more chance for students to attend an information meeting for the CNC Boot Camp at the WCEDA office on Wednesday, April 8th. The WCEDA Office is now located in the South Building at the Gateway Elkhorn Campus. Interested students can call Marci Barr at 262-741-5263.
For the third year in a row, Precision Plus in partnership with Elkhorn Area High School, presented a Manufacturing Career Panel to more than a hundred high school students from several area schools.
The event, which took place on Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at Elkhorn Area High School was organized to explain to students what 21st century advanced manufacturing is and how it has changed over the last decades, to dispel old manufacturing myths, to talk about manufacturing career opportunities, and exciting educational opportunities available for students in the area.
The program was moderated by Mike Reader, President and Owner of Precision Plus, and by Barry Butters, the company’s Director of Education and Training. A shout-out was given to JoAnne Pella, Career Advisor of Elkhorn Area High School, for her contribution and dedication to make the panels possible.
The panelists were distinguished industry leaders Dennis Giesler, General Manager of Parker-Hannifin Quick Coupling Division, Dawn Tabat, COO of Generac, Geoff Martin, Principal and Senior Leader of GE Healthcare Partners, and Rick Lofy, Lean Six Sigma Instructor at Gateway Technical College. Click here to see their expanded bios.
All four panelists drew from their own experiences in manufacturing, sharing the broad spectrum of opportunities that exist within the industry at all levels. They all spoke about the next generation of advanced manufacturing professionals, and how they are looking at that generation, which included the students present, to carry the future. All speakers agreed that we live in an exciting time, when things are changing faster today than in the history of the world. And that these fast, dynamic, changing times require problem-solving, creative-thinking individuals who can move with the changes and have the ability to rapidly adapt and progress through collaboration and continuous improvement. Success now and in the future, they concluded, will be driven by the purpose, culture and passion of those individuals and companies who are committed to make a difference.
A panel discussion entitled “Feeding the Employee Pipeline,” was organized and presented by the Walworth County Economic Development Alliance (WCEDA) on Thursday, March 19, 2015 at the Geneva National Golf Club.
The purpose of this panel presentation was to bring together educators and industry leaders to better understand the present shortage of a skilled workforce and its future implication, to learn about the solutions and initiatives currently in place that address that shortage, and find out how collaborative efforts are essential for creating a viable workforce. Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training at Precision Plus, was invited to be a panelist.
Derek D’Auria , Executive Director of WCEDA, moderated the discussion. In his introduction, D’Auria referred to data collected for a Harvard University study, which indicate that 33% of jobs in the future (as early as 2018) will require a 4-year degree, 57% will require a technical skill, and 10% of jobs will be able to be filled with unskilled employees. He also pointed out that currently in Wisconsin, 65% of all high school graduates set off go to a 4-year college after high school graduation, but that only 25% earn a bachelor ‘s degree, leaving the rest typically with a lot of debt, and resorting to part-time jobs.
First to address the audience was Karen Burns, Manager of the Walworth County Job Center. Burns summarized all the programs that are available at this agency—from learning interviewing soft skills, to working on resumes, to lining up candidates with programs, to working in conjunction with Gateway Technical College and employers.
The second speaker was Dennis Winters, Chief Economist, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. Winters presented several slides showing a growing disparity between jobs and the workforce, and the implications, should the situation remain status quo. He contrasted the job seeker position from 50 or 60 years ago, with the one from today, by saying “You can’t expect now to finish high school and run a machine: understand technology, run it, and don’t break it!”
Winters also spoke about the “Wisconsin Fast Forward” program, a blueprint for prosperity, based on employer-need base training. He emphasized the importance of postsecondary training and continuous improvement, and concluded with the following statement: “Education and training must be part of your lifestyle for the rest of your life.”
Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training at Precision Plus., was the first panelist to speak. He pointed out that a manufacturing company can expand their brick and mortar and get new equipment, but without people to run it, the expansion is senseless. Given this situation, Mike Reader, President and Owner of the company, hired Butters to build an awareness campaign to make this happen. As an example, Precision Plus has established internship and youth apprenticeship programs, actively participates in several career and technical education (CTE) committees at the high school and college level, and has sponsored industry field trips for students. Butters also teaches an engineering design and development (EDD) course through Elkhorn Area High School and regularly engages with other companies to encourage their involvement.
The next panelist was JoAnne Pella, Career Advisor of Elkhorn Area High School (EAHS). Pella outlined the programs that are in place at the school, such as co-ops, career panels, that will guarantee that all students be exposed to academic career pathway guidance. By mandate, all students will have to have gone through career guidance. She pointed out, however, these initiatives have been long in place at EAHS, and each added option only enhances their existing program. Pella also talked about a career advisor consortium, held at Gateway Technical College, where advisors from several high schools in the area meet once a month to review their programs and exchange ideas.
Debbie Davidson, Vice President of Workforce and Economic Development at Gateway Technical College, talked about the initiatives in place at the school that address the needs of employers in the area. She particularly talked about their CNC Boot Camp program, which has been offered to adults for several years, but to entering high school seniors just for the last three years, with great success. Students go to school during the summer for six weeks. Then, during the fall semester, they attend school in the morning and Gateway in the afternoon. In the spring, they split their day by attending school and participating in a paid internship at a local manufacturing facility. At the end of the program, students not only have a high school diploma, but also a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt, a Manufacturing Skills Standard Council (MSSC) Safety Certification, 15 Gateway school credits, and six months work experience to put on their resume.
Davidson mentioned that through a collaborative effort, which included Precision Plus, the CNC Boot Camp will be offered at the school’s Elkhorn Campus as of July of 2015.
Kevin Paluch, Vice President of the Geneva National Golf Resort, addressed the shortage of properly trained hospitality/culinary arts employees. Due to the nature and the location of the business, the company generally hires a short-term workforce that may not be best prepared to provide a superior experience for their clients. He also alluded to an earnings threshold that will determine whether the younger generation (less than 25 years of age) chooses to work or stay at home. The incentive to go beyond that threshold depends on their qualifications and ability to perform hospitality and culinary jobs properly. Paluch reiterated the need for schools to expand on this type of training.
Rich Gruber, Vice President of Mercy Health System spoke about what his group has done to address the skills shortage. In an entity that employs about 6,500 people, there are regularly 1,500 jobs to open, and these include a range of occupations, from health care to plumbing to food service. Proactively, the organization has established several programs within the system, such as a residency program for primary care physicians, and certified nurse assistant (CNA) program that works with local high schools and colleges. This year alone, Mercy Health System will have graduated over 900 CNAs.
Gruber also spoke about options for junior high and high school students: “The earlier they are exposed to career choices, the better,” he suggested. Schools must be able to provide tools to explore different careers as early as 6th or 7th grade. “Capturing inquisitive minds is essential,” he added. Gruber made clear, however, this could not happen without collaboration and constant conversation with schools at all levels, as well as with fellow health systems, and observed solutions need to be fueled by creativity and outside-the-box thinking by all the partners involved.
Bob Kopykdlowsi , Principal of Badger High School, then addressed the perception issue experienced by many parents and the community at large. He stated that convincing parents that a 4-year degree may not be the only career path available for their students, presented a hurdle, and he suggested that typically the community does not recognize alternate career paths as viable. His school offers many options for children to explore career opportunities.
Tristan Steiner, a senior at Badger High School, spoke about his experience from a student-perspective. Tristan has always been interested in math and science, but did not know how to apply his interest to a career choice he would not regret later. Beginning in his sophomore year, Tristan was able to get a taste of different careers options by taking targeted classes, which eventually led him to realize that he would like to become an electrical engineer with a focus in renewable energy sources. Tristan also had the opportunity be an intern at Precision Plus, where he was able to experience a number of aspects of the business. Being able to study the design of parts and programs for machines, confirmed the choice he made was valid.
The program then opened up to questions and comments that explored topics such as externships–or teachers going into the field to experience the environment, the importance of schools having advisory committees to drive their curricula, the advantages of going to a 2-year college before joining a 4-year institution, and changing the mindset of the community.
A video of the entire presentation is available below:
Earlier this month, Precision Plus had the privilege of hosting representatives from two of Precision Plus’ customers: Dennis Giesler, General Manager of Parker Hannifin Quick Coupling Division in Minnesota, and Alonso Rojas, Supply Chain Manager at Vitec Group, PLC in Costa Rica.
On separate visits, both Giesler and Rojas made a presentation to the entire Precision Plus staff. Their talks included an overview of their respective companies and their products, and explanation of how the components that Precision Plus manufactures fit within their products—components in action.
Both men stressed the importance of the valuable contribution that each Precision Plus employee makes to ensure that the end products work correctly, one hundred percent of the time, acknowledging that in some applications, someone’s life may depend on the accuracy of the component.
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Parker Hannifin’s Quick Coupling Division is the world’s largest manufacturer of quick couplings. The company accommodates a wide spectrum of hydraulic and pneumatic coupling design requirements, varying in size and materials.This division also sells hydraulic swivels, check valves and state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment.
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Vitec Group is an international company that designs, manufactures, and supplies “high quality, world class, branded products and services that enable end users to capture exceptional images. Their products such as camera accessories, lighting and control, monitors, prompters, robotic camera systems, are primarily designed to support cameras used in broadcast, video and high quality professional cameras.
Precision Plus thanks both Alonso Rojas and Dennis Giesler for their time and consideration.
Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training at Precision Plus, teamed with Elkhorn Area High School’s Project Lead The Way (PLTW ) teacher Fred Ganter to give his Introduction to Engineering and Design (IED) students a chance to reverse engineer some obsolete components.
The premise of the project was that if an older machine had a component fail and a replacement component was no longer available, then a component replacement would have to be machined. To machine the component a print would be needed.
The students were broken into groups and assigned components to first sketch and then measure. The students then used Autodesk CAD Inventor software to model the components and finally develop a working print of the part.
Throughout the project, however, teams had a chance to interact and be coached remotely by Barry Butters, who is a certified PLTW Engineering Design and Development (EDD) instructor. He regularly logged in, in real time, into the system in order to view and discuss the progress of the projects with each individual team.
Students and Parents! Don’t miss this opportunity to attend an informational session about the new CNC Boot Camp program coming to Gateway Technical College in Elkhorn, Wisconsin in July! The informational session will be held on March 25 and April 8, 2015.
The information session will be held on March 25 and April 8, 2015 at 5:30 pm and will be held at Walworth County Job Center, 400 County Road H. in Elkhorn. Contact Marci Barr at 262-741-5263 for more information.
Check out what seniors already in the program at Gateway’s iMET Center are saying about it:
Mukwonago and Beloit (located about 50 miles apart) are two school districts in Wisconsin, whose students’ paths are not likely cross. However, there is a common thread which the share: students from both districts are equally as excited about technology, and are eager to join in extracurricular activities to create products and solve problems, by putting STEM-related principles to work.
Educators and facilitators at both school districts provide the direction, mentoring and encouragement to makeit possible to happen, understanding that the students’ inventions and innovations will need to be put to the test…perhaps through competition, or possibly in the field. Extracurricular initiatives such these are often halted by lack of funding and/or access to facilities, materials or tools that can take the project from design to reality. This is where Precision Plus. and the Milwaukee School of Engineering Rapid Prototyping Consortium come to play. More on that later.
People may know Dean Kamen as a prolific inventor with more than 150 patents to his name, including the famous Segway. However, Kamen is also well known for launching “FIRST – For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,” an organization whose mission is to “transform culture by creating a world where STEM is celebrated, and where young people dream of being science and technology leaders.” FIRST celebrated its 26th anniversary on March 20, 2015. Kamen explains FIRST in this short video retrieved from their Facebook Page:
Early in the history of FIRST, Kamen enlisted the help of Woodie Flowers, PhD and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, to create the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), where high school teams would compete with robots they designed themselves. Twenty-eight U.S. teams participated in the first competition held in 1992. Today, there are over 800 teams competing globally.
In addition to the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) for grades 9-12, FIRST also sponsors three other competitions: The Junior FIRST LEGO League (Jr.FLL) for children ages 6 to 9, The FIRST LEGO League (FLL) for children 9-14 in the U.S.), and the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) for grades 9-12. In all instances, the competitions are designed for young people to “gain self-confidence, develop people and life skills, make new friends, and perhaps discover an unforeseen career path.”
First Case Study. One of the teams competing this year in FIRST is The Mukwonago BEARs (Building Extremely Awesome Robots), also known as FRC Team #930 from Mukwonago, Wisconsin. The team is participating in two regional competitions: Wisconsin Regional (March 18-21) at the University of Wisconsin’s Milwaukee Panther Arena, and Buckeye Regional (March 25-28) at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
Earlier in the year, FRC Team #930 contacted Precision Plus for support… not financial, but prototyping support. The team needed access to state-of-the-art equipment and technology to design and prototype one-of-a-kind components for their robot. The perfect place to get this accomplished was the MSOE Rapid Prototyping Consortium Center to which only members have access for a specified number of lab hours. As an active member of the consortium, Precision Plus was able to donate lab time for FRC Team #930 to use in time for the competition.
Second Case Study. Precision Plus also had the opportunity to support the launch of Beloit’s FIRST LEGO League for middle school students, The cyBER Team. The program is led by excellent educators and facilitators, with an added layer of mentoring, which is provided by high school students who are also involved in FRC. Through this type of engagement, the high school students are also learning to better communicate and teach. Last November, the cyBER team competed for the first time with great first-time results.
This video documents cyBER Team’s progress during their first year.
Twenty-six years ago, Dean Kamen had an idea, which is continues to grow. Precision Plus is happy to support the school districts of Beloit and Mukwonago and wishes them continued success.
Faced with the reality of a shortage of qualified individuals with high manufacturing technology skills, Precision Plus of Elkhorn, Wisconsin launched a 360-degree holistic initiative to address this deficit from all angles–or a game plan to create a pipeline of next generation machinists.
With all the attributes of a David vs. Goliath-type story, the initiative seemed futile at times. However, two years into the undertaking, the David in the story has become an amalgamated and tenacious force of educators, students, manufacturers, organizations, associations, and legislators who are bound to make a difference and close the skills gap.
The video above features a slide presentation created by Barry Butters, Director of Training and Education at Precision Plus In this presentation, Butters lays out the thirteen steps currently in place at Precision Plus which make up the “Playbook for Workforce Development.”
Please contact Barry Butters via email or phone to arrange a presentation at your facility, or to tour our plant and classrooms and learn more about this initiative.
Exciting career educational opportunities are coming to Elkhorn, Wisconsin in Walworth County with the launch of Gateway Technical College (GTC)’s Youth CNC Boot Camp Program at their Elkhorn Campus, which is scheduled for July 13, 2015.
This is a great opportunity for high school senior students who are at least 17 years old at the beginning of the 2015/2016 school year. There is no cost for the program for students residing in Walworth, Racine or Kenosha counties in Wisconsin. Applications must be received no later than May 1, 2015. Two information sessions are scheduled for March 11th and 25th.
According to GTC’s Deborah Davidson, V.P. Workforce & Economic Development Division, the institution has worked with local employers to “develop, design and deliver” a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Machine Operator Boot Camp, based on the needs of employers—who are integral to the success of the program.
The CNC Boot Camp begins with in-class instruction, followed by lab time, and culminating with students operating CNC machine equipment like that found in industry. “The curriculum includes courses such as applied mathematics, blueprint reading, machine shop safety, precision measurement and CNC production runs,” explained Ms. Davidson in a video about the program, recorded when it first launched in Racine in 2013.
The first six weeks are spent in the classroom and end before Labor Day. Then, during the school year, students attend regular classes in the morning, and then go to GTC’s Elkhorn Campus CNC Lab from 12:30 until 4:30 in the afternoon.
The youth/high school program is exactly the same as GTC’s Adult CNC Program, but it has been designed to work with the students’ school schedule. An adult CNC Boot Camp has also been planned for the Elkhorn facility, with details to come.
On February 24, 2015, Deborah Davidson, sent the following informational email:
Dear Walworth County Friends,
In an effort to expand programming opportunities in the Walworth community Gateway Technical College and our partners at the Job Center, WECDA, local businesses and schools met to discuss the inclusion of students in Walworth County to participate in the CNC Operator High School Boot Camp. Piloted in Racine in 2013 and offered again in 2014, we are pleased to open up the programming to both Walworth County and Kenosha County in the summer of 2015.
In an effort to eliminate transportation barriers for high school student participants, and based on input from Walworth County employers and school administrators Gateway will offer a High School CNC Boot Camp at the Elkhorn Campus beginning in July 2015! Boasting a 95% job placement rate from our 20+ adult Boot Camps, we are convinced that this program will meet the needs of area employers.
While there is much work to do to make this Boot Camp a reality; we are confident that by offering this in Walworth County we are providing students with access to innovative programming that leads to great manufacturing careers. These students will serve as an employment pipeline while building a strong foundation for their future.
Please help us spread the word to the parents and students by inviting them to attend one of the following information sessions:
Wednesday, March 11th at 5:30pm and Wednesday, March 25th at 5:30 p.m.
Walworth County Job Center Gateway Technical College Elkhorn Campus South Building 400 County Rd H Elkhorn WI 53121
If you are an employer, please consider serving as a mentor/worksite sponsor for these students as they go through the training and the internship. We are delighted with the outreach we have experienced to date but it will take all of us to make this program a success.
Precision Plus joins other businesses, organizations and the community in welcoming GTC’s Youth CNC Boot Camp to Elkhorn.
