Precision Plus’ Barry Butters Continues His Visits to Area Schools to Bring Manufacturing to the Front of the Class

Community Involvement Educational Development

December 12, 2014

Precision Plus’ Barry Butters Continues His Visits to Area Schools to Bring Manufacturing to the Front of the Class

Arrow Academy, Barry Butters, Burlington H.S., CAD/CAM, Elkhorn Area High School, JoAnne Pella, mock interviews, Precision Plus, Richmond Burton H.S., Scot Forge, visits, Westosha Central H.S., Wisconsin, Zach Ford

Michael Reader

In November and December of 2014, Precision Plus’ Director of Education and Training Barry Butters continued on his mission to visit area schools to bring attention to the viability of manufacturing as a career option for today’s youth.

On November 3, 2014, Butters joined forces with Zach Ford from Scot Forge to make a presentation to a group of students at Richmond Burton High School in Illinois. Although Scot Forge and Precision Plus are on opposite ends of the spectrum with regard to the size of the parts they manufacture, both companies seek similar traits in future employees. Both Ford and Butters reiterated the importance for students to master soft skills–such as having a positive work attitude and respecting punctuality, as well as focusing their studies on STEM and pre-engineering courses that would contribute to their technical preparedness for jobs in manufacturing.

Butters also visited the Arrow Academy on November 11^th, Burlington High School on December 2^nd, and Westosha Central High School on December 9^th, making presentations to their individual technical education classes. During his presentations, Butters delivered the same soft skills and STEM-focused classes’ message. Additionally, he explained the nature of the precision metal turning industry and demonstrated the CAD/CAM software used at Precision Plus to design parts and program CNC machines. Butters was happy to learn about Westosha Central High School’s plans to remodel their entire technical education facility beginning this summer.

Butters also participated in mock interviews at Elkhorn Area High School for Mrs. Joanne Pella’s Business Occupations class. “I give honest feedback to the students concerning their appearance and application materials from a manufacturing employer’s perspective. Often I am just reiterating what Mrs. Pella has already told them about the interviewing process, but having someone from outside the school repeat it, reinforces the message.” Several students have responded by sending letters of appreciation to Barry Butters.

Precision Plus invites any individual or group interested in learning more about the manufacturing industry to contact Barry Butters or Mike Reader or call 262-743-1700. We can set up informational tours of the facility and/or travel to speak to any group about the manufacturing industry. Precision Plus welcomes your comments and questions.

Community Involvement

December 7, 2014

Precision Plus Congratulates the Latest Gateway Technical College’s CNC Boot Camp Graduates

Barry Butters, certificates, CNC Boot Camp #20, Gateway Technical College, graduates, iMET Center, mock interviews, Precision Plus, Sturtevant, Wisconsin

Michael Reader

On Friday December 5, 2014, the class of Gateway Technical College’s CNC Boot Camp #20, received their certificates for completing the program. The ceremony took place at the SC Johnson iMET Center in Sturtevant, Wisconsin. Bryan Albrecht, GTE’s President and Chief Executive Officer, led the ceremony. In addition to awarding general certificates, deserving students received MSSC (Manufacturing Skills Standards Council) certificates, CCMS (Critical Core Manufacturing Skills) certificates, perfect attendance certificates, Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt certificates and Most Valuable Classmate certificate.

Earlier in the day, Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training traveled to the SC Johnson iMET Center to participate in a mock interview experience with the students. The mock interviews are the last part of the CNC Boot Camp program. Companies volunteer their services by sending a representative to perform the mock interviews in an effort to give real world advice about the interviewing process for the Boot Camp graduates. Butters said, “I try to give them the insight as to what employers are looking for and tips to help avoid any pitfalls in a real interview setting.”

Area employers were also invited to conduct real interviews right after the conclusion of the graduation ceremony.

Precision Plus congratulates all the graduates and wishes them continued success in their careers.

Community Involvement

December 6, 2014

Precision Plus Visits Gateway Technical College, Racine Campus

Barry Butters, Caitlin Sanders, CNC machining, CNC Program, education, Gateway Technical College, historic downtown, Lake Michigan, Precision Plus, Racine, Racine Campus, Wisconsin

Michael Reader

This year’s visits to Wisconsin technical colleges, finished with a tour of Gateway Technical College’s Racine Campus. This time however, the visit had an added point of interest, as Precision Plus Apprentice Caitlin Sanders and her father accompanied Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training on the tour.

Caitlin is a senior at Big Foot High School in Walworth, and is planning to take several CNC courses at the Racine facility during the spring semester. The Racine Campus offers a solid CNC training curriculum that includes boot camps and specialized certifications.

[pb_slideshow group=”13″]

Located in Historic Downtown Racine, Wisconsin, the Racine Campus is a beautifully landscaped facility set on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Gateway has a rich and proud heritage in local and national career training education. Original state legislation established adult and technical education in 1911. As the first technical school in Wisconsin—the nation’s first publicly supported technical institution—Racine Continuation School began that same year in downtown Racine as the name predecessor to Gateway Technical College. See Gateway history at gtc.edu/history.

Precision Plus thanks Rich Shouse, one of the newest members of the technical education department at the Racine Campus, who gave Butters and the Sanderses a tour of the facility and the CNC Department.

Educational Development

December 2, 2014

Beloit Middle School Students Apply STEM Principles and Ingenuity to Build a Working LEGO Robot

Beloit Middle Schools, Beloit School District, Beoit Daily News, Community Youth Beloit Engineering Robots, Competition, First Lego League, Precision Plus, Robot Challenge, Ryan Dewey, Shaun Zinck, Tammy Spoerk

Michael Reader

On November 24, 2014, Shaun Zinck of the Beloit Daily News reported on an initiative by a group of middle school students, led by engineering teacher Tammy Spoerk and mentored by high school students. The group is called cyBER (Community Youth Beloit Engineering Robots), and is composed by students from three area middle schools.

The goal of the team was to participate in a FIRST LEGO League competition with an innovative working design project. The outcome was a robot built out of LEGOs and programed to avoid obstacles in front of it (via installed sensors) and perform a series of tasks.

The students earned a standby spot for the state sectionals. Prior to building the robot, the students developed a concept for communicating with other students throughout the world with the aid of a cardboard projector.

Precision Plus directly supports this initiative. Ryan Rewey, Career and Technical Education Director at the School District of Beloit, wrote: “Thanks for your donation to our FLL team, we are continuing to build our program and could not do it without the guidance from our dedicated industry professionals who understand the importance of the industry and education connection.”

Read the full article here.

A Note from Mike Reader

November 24, 2014

A Thanksgiving Note From Mike Reader

Cory Snowdin, Elkhorn, Mike Reader, Precision Plus, Thanksgiving Note, Wisconsin

Michael Reader

As I look back to an incredible year for Precision Plus, but especially to the real results achieved to overcome the skills gap, I realize that, my level of gratitude to every person who has helped to make this possible is beyond words.

My personal thanks go to our Precision Plus Team: individuals whose combined dedication to continuous improvement help us to exceed expectations and build upon our reputation; to our partners: vendors, customers and everyone in the supply chain who drive us towards innovation and customer satisfaction; and to everyone with whom we share our vision of a highly skilled country.

I recently received a letter from Cory Snowdin, New Product Development Engineer at Eaton Corporation. We met last month at a MSOE Rapid Prototyping Consortium meeting. His words struck a chord with me as they reaffirmed that restoring our youth’s hands-on technical strength will only make us a better country. In the true spirit of Thanksgiving, he writes:

What really interested me was during your presentation when you started talking about working with students in high school and college to educate them about manufacturing and skilled labor. I grew up working on my best friend’s family dairy farm at home in Michigan, we also had a heavy equipment repair shop with a small machine shop attached to it. His family sort of adopted me after I started working with them when I was about 13 so spent a lot of time learning about farming, repair work, machining and welding. His dad was the one that suggested I become an engineer because I was smart enough to make it through the math and had a good understanding of mechanical devices. Without this background, I would not be 1/10^th of the engineer that I am today.

For that very reason, I wish to thank the educators, students, legislators, suppliers, fellow manufacturers and organizations, which have in one way or another, contributed to bringing awareness to the technical education crisis in our country, and who have taken decisive steps to change that course.

Happy Thanksgiving and best wishes for a bountiful year!

Mike Reader

Community Involvement Educational Development

November 17, 2014

Precision Plus’ Barry Butters Participates in the Burlington Area High School Career Fair in Burlington, Wisconsin

2014, Barry Butters, Burlington Area High School, Career Fair, careers, components, demonstration, manufactuing, November 7, Precision Plus, STEM, Wisconsin

Michael Reader

On Friday, November 7, 2014, Barry Butters, Precision Plus’ Director of Education and Training, participated at the Burlington Area High School’s Career Fair. Precision Plus’ table was visited by many students who were interested in pursuing STEM-related careers (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

Butters had some components manufactured by Precision Plus at hand to demonstrate how crucial small components can be in all types of applications. Butters also addressed the opportunities of a career in manufacturing.

Precision Plus appreciates the opportunity to be part of the fair and looks forward to the next one.

Community Involvement

November 14, 2014

Walworth County Economic Development Alliance’s Annual Meeting Honors Outstanding Area Businesses and Outlines Plans for the Next Year

2014, awards, Blackhorn Group, Exacto, Precision Plus, Walworth County Economic Development Alliance, WCEDA, Wisconsin

Michael Reader

The 2014 Annual Meeting of the WCEDA (Walworth County Economic Development Alliance, Inc.) took place on Wednesday, November 12, 2014 at the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa. The keynote speaker for the event was William Dougan of Blackthorn Capital Analytic Systems who spoke on competitive strategies based on data science. During the meeting, two 2014 Business Awards were bestowed to Exacto of Sharon, WI (Business of the Year), and Blackthorn Group of Whitewater, WI (Business Innovation). New incoming board members were also inducted.

Walworth County Economic Development Alliance is dedicated to improving the quality of life for Walworth County residents by working with public and private sector partners to advance efforts that create jobs and build private sector investment in our communities.

The primary focus of the services provided by the WCEDA extends to four different areas of business: retention, expansion, attraction and start-up, which may include plant expansion, business growth, relocation, land and building searches, incentives, market research, diversification, peer networking, small business resources, start-up assistance, workforce development, low interest loans, capital investment, asset acquisition, job fairs and recruitment events.

Precision Plus, located in Walworth County, Wisconsin, is an active member and silver sponsor of the organization and received the organization’s 2013 Working Investment Award.

Click here for more information on Walworth County Economic Development Alliance, Inc.

Company Updates

November 11, 2014

Veterans Day 2014: Precision Plus Honors Those Employees Who Have Served

2014, Adam Rosseland, Angel Cabrera, Anthony Anzalone, Dave Lee, Elkhorn, honor, John Espinoza, Kevin Wilson, Michael Brown, Neil Fleischhacker, Precision Plus, salute, Veterans, Veterans Day, Wisconsin

Michael Reader

Veterans Day is probably one of the most significant days in our country…a day when we stop so that together we can remember that we would not be here without the effort, dedication and sacrifice of our veterans. We want to take this opportunity to thank our own Precision Plus’s team members who selflessly served our nation and defended our rights.

Educational Development

November 7, 2014

To Celebrate Manufacturing Month, Precision Plus in Elkhorn, Wisconsin Welcomed Five Area High Schools for Plant Tours

2014, Delavan Darien High School, East Troy High School, Elkhorn, Elkhorn Area Hhigh School, industry, Lake Geneva Badger High School, Manufacturing Month, manufacturing., News, October, PMPA, Precision Plus, students, Tenor High School, Tour, Wisconsin

Michael Reader

One hundred and forty-one students and eleven chaperones from five area high schools visited Precision Plus of Elkhorn, Wisconsin during the month of October 2014, to celebrate Manufacturing Month and learn about the industry and the company. MFG DAY 2014 held earlier in October, had kicked off the month-long event. The schools in attendance were Delavan Darien High School and East Troy High School on October 16^th, Elkhorn Area High School and Lake Geneva Badger High School on October 23^rd, and Tenor High School on October 27^th.

The tour began at Precision Plus’ classroom with personnel introduction, a PowerPoint presentation about the history of the company and the role of a contract manufacturer, followed by a demonstration of the software used at Precision Plus, and a video showcasing the trajectory of a part from concept to completion. After a question and answer session, the students took a plant tour. Upon returning to the classroom, students had another opportunity for Q&As and received a PMPA pen/flash drive with information about CNC training and career statistics.

Precision Plus received several notes from the schools, reiterating the importance of such opportunities for students who are evaluating their future career possibilities.

Community Involvement

October 29, 2014

The sySTEMnow Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Offered a Well-Rounded STEM Day

2014, Barry Butters, Building a STEM pipeline, Conference, Engineers & Scientists of Milwaukee, Mike Reader, Milwaukee, October 28, organization, PLTW, Precision Plus, STEM, STEM Forward, sySTEM, sySTEMnow, Wisconsin

Michael Reader

The 11^th Annual sySTEMnow Conference took place on October 28, 2014 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. “sySTEM” is an acronym for Strengthening our Youth in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics… “now” means now! The event was open to the general public, including educators and students.

The conference was sponsored by STEM Forward, formerly known as Engineers & Scientists of Milwaukee, a group that has “conceived a cooperative body to meet the needs of engineers in the community” for over 100 years. As technology has evolved, so has the organization, which is currently Southeastern Wisconsin’s leading technical organization “providing and/or promoting educational outreach programs emphasizing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).”

The conference included respected keynote speakers, demonstrations by Generation STEM students, engaging breakout speakers, and networking. Mike Reader, President of Precision Plus led one of the breakout sessions, which was entitled “Building the STEM Pipeline: Small Business Partnership with PLTW,” where he, along with Barry Butters, Director of Education and Training, spoke about how small businesses can effectively address their current and future needs for STEM talent in a highly competitive labor market.

Reader and Butters outlined the marked misnomers about manufacturing, and they discussed how STEM-driven technology has drastically changed the manufacturing industry. By partnering with Project Lead The Way and participating high schools, Precision Plus informs, trains and mentors young talent for possible future positions in the company.

Reader and Butters appreciated the opportunity to participate in the sySTEMnow Conference and look forward to continued dialog.

1 … 5 6 7 8 9 … 16

Tag : Precision Plus

Precision Plus’ Barry Butters Continues His Visits to Area Schools to Bring Manufacturing to the Front of the Class

Precision Plus Congratulates the Latest Gateway Technical College’s CNC Boot Camp Graduates

Precision Plus Visits Gateway Technical College, Racine Campus

Beloit Middle School Students Apply STEM Principles and Ingenuity to Build a Working LEGO Robot

A Thanksgiving Note From Mike Reader

Precision Plus’ Barry Butters Participates in the Burlington Area High School Career Fair in Burlington, Wisconsin

Walworth County Economic Development Alliance’s Annual Meeting Honors Outstanding Area Businesses and Outlines Plans for the Next Year

Veterans Day 2014: Precision Plus Honors Those Employees Who Have Served

To Celebrate Manufacturing Month, Precision Plus in Elkhorn, Wisconsin Welcomed Five Area High Schools for Plant Tours

The sySTEMnow Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Offered a Well-Rounded STEM Day

From the Plus

Jobs & Internships

Social