Students demonstrate skills at CVTC Manufacturing Show

Medford High School senior Connor Carbaugh paid his second visit to the Chippewa Valley Technical College Manufacturing Education Center when he attended the annual manufacturing show Thursday, March 12. He was impressed once more as he toured the Automation Engineering Technology Area with his grandparents. Stan and Elsie Carbaugh.

“My cousin went into this kind of work and told me how fun it was. So I came here two weeks ago with my dad and one of the instructors gave us a tour. I’m impressed by it all.”

Showing the public the high level of skill and technology in today’s manufacturing is one of the purposes of CVTC’s annual manufacturing show. The show drew high school students, parents and community members alike for a firsthand look at modern manufacturing through CVTC’s Automation Engineering Technology, Industrial Mechanical Technician, Machine Tooling Technics, Manufacturing Engineering Technologist, Mechanical Design, and Welding programs.

Over 50 local manufacturing companies were also represented with display tables highlighting their products and job opportunities. Earlier in the day, companies recruited CVTC students at a manufacturing career fair.

Carbaugh, who has a student apprenticeship at Weather Shield in Medford said he particularly liked a project by CVTC students in which small bottles moved along a conveyor and were sorted according to what color of cap they had. It had technology similar to other student projects.

Riley Henneman of Bloomer demonstrated a rubber mixer he built less than two years after he graduated from Bloomer High School. Henneman explained the mixer is designed to melt and merge different types of rubber to create a new rubber product with specific properties for a given task.

“It has electronics, programmable logic controllers (PLC), a mechanical conveyer system, pneumatic valves and electric relays,” he said. “It’s crazy the stuff you learn in two years. When you come in your first year there’s a lot to take in, and by the time you’re done, you have a wealth of knowledge.”

Alan Windsor, 48, of Spring Valley, who enrolled at CVTC after retiring from the U.S. Army, stood by an egg crushing game he built. In the game, the competitor who reacts fastest to a changing light crushes the other person’s egg.

“The instructor said to make an egg crusher and I had to follow certain criteria,” he said. “It has a DC power supply, PLCs and a solenoid for the pneumatic system. Then I have optical sensors and stack lights.”

Stepping up to play the game was Isabel Gibson of Eau Claire, who came with her mother, Renee, and brother, Charlie. Renee said they enjoy the Manufacturing Show and other events at CVTC. “I used to work at an agency that partners with CVTC,” she said. “I take the kids to the open houses and events like this.”

Many parents brought their children who are considering enrolling in CVTC programs. Dena Boiteau of Chippewa Falls was with her son, Chris Engel, and his father, Bryn Engel.

“This is an opportunity for Chris to see his options,” she said. “Right now he’s enrolled in Machine Tool for next year, but he may change.”

“This is an opportunity to show off the technology of modern manufacturing,” said CVTC Dean of Engineering and Skilled Trades Jeff Sullivan. “The manufacturing show brings together alumni and people in the area, and shows off student projects. Our manufacturing partners come in and show the things they’re doing.”

Representatives of the manufacturers present said they have long had a strong relationship with CVTC, which they depend on for new well-trained workers and training for management and incumbent workers.

“I worked with CVTC when I was with PDM Bridge, and when I moved to another company, I continued to work with them,” said Shirley Gutsch, human resources manager at PMI in Bloomer. “At PMI, we’ve had Critical Core Manufacturing Skills training, and expanded that into leadership training,” she said. “Everyone in management has had the training and anyone we move into middle management takes it.”