The Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin contest has become one of the most fun things about Manufacturing Month in Wisconsin. This year’s contest garnered nearly 200,000 votes — more than 10 times as many votes than WMC’s inaugural coolest thing contest, which crowned Harley-Davidson’s Milwaukee Eight Engine the winner last year.
Earlier this year, Girl Scouts of the USA introduced several new badges related to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education. Girl Scouts now have the opportunity to earn badges by creating algorithms, designing robots and racecars, trying their hand at engineering, and more. It’s one of the Girl Scout organization’s biggest badge rollouts in years, and it should prove to be an instrumental program that encourages girls to learn new skills and encourage their interest in STEM and careers in manufacturing.
Gateway Technical College (GTC) held its “Rocket into Manufacturing” summer day camp last week. The course was open to 6th, 7th, and 8th graders and was taught by GTC CNC Instructor, Rich Shouse. This class was a good way for middle school students to learn more about the manufacturing industry and obtain real hands-on experience.
Today we celebrate the launch of the new PMPA Education Foundation website featuring the “Change Your Game” video. This project was commissioned by our industry foundation to raise awareness of the rewarding career opportunities in machining, and manufacturing in general. We are targeting an audience combined of students, educators, parents, and elected officials. You can visit the website at http://changeyourgame.careers/.
For those of you that follow the copper market, I am certain you have noticed the dramatic move to higher prices that started in late October. As you can see from the 1-year chart below, copper had trended in a band all year long between essentially $2.10 and $2.30, yet has spiked $0.65/lb. higher. This is about 31% higher since the last bottom at $2.10. Clearly, this is a strong move over a relatively short period of time, and it has happened during a period absent of any overwhelmingly strong economic news around the world.
The National Association of Manufacturer’s (NAM) Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte recently released the results of a survey conducted after this year’s events. The survey measured the results of the effect Manufacturing Day 2016 had on the public’s view of the industry.
On November 8, voters in the Cherokee Trail High School district in Aurora, Colorado, will be voting on a potential $250 million bond, much of it earmarked for new career and innovation technology initiatives throughout the district. Back in 2012, voters had approved a $125 million bond question which led to major upgrades for this school’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) fabrication laboratory, affectionately known as the “Fab Lab.” The facility is very popular with students wanting to take advantage of 3D printers, precision mills, and laser engravers. The hands-on learning is helping a lot of students realize career aspirations while still in high school. The community is seeing the positive things that have happened since the 2012 vote, and many are eager to see that continue.
Last week marked another record-breaking show for the International Manufacturing Show (IMTS). The 31st edition of this event took place September 12 through 17 at Chicago’s McCormick Place.
It is very clear to every student and parent that the cost of higher education is rising far faster than our pay stubs, yet there are so many scholarships and grant opportunities that go unknown and often underutilized. According to Sallie Mae, the nation’s leading provider of student loans, about a third of American families used scholarships and grants to pay for college in 2015-2016, but roughly $100 million in scholarship funds go unclaimed every year.
We are less than 12 weeks away from The International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS), one of the largest industrial trade shows in the world, featuring more than 2,000 exhibiting companies and well over 100,000 registrants. This year’s conference takes place September 12th through 17th. The event is held every two years at McCormick Place, Chicago, with 1.3 million net square feet of show floor. For those who have not had the privilege to attend, this show is an absolute must for machining enthusiasts. Manufacturing industry professionals from all over the world attend IMTS to see the latest and greatest in machine tools, control, computers, software, systems and processes that can improve their efficiency.
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