Sussex IM, SPE nurture manufacturing careers through equipment donation, student grants

Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) in Pewaukee, WI, recently received a donation of an assembly machine to help with the school’s Tool & Die and Injection Mold Setup Apprenticeship program. SussexIM, a Wisconsin-based, full-service provider of innovative plastic products, which has an ongoing vocational partnership with WCTC, donated the compact make-up assembly machine, which was immediately integrated into the school’s automated systems technology syllabus.

SussexIM, which has extensive automation design capabilities and an in-house staff of dedicated design engineers, believes the vocational partnership with WCTC will help provide the company with the skilled employees the company needs to meet growing demand for its products.

Acknowledging the role of robotics in today’s manufacturing landscape, Dan Neuwirth, SussexIM’s Director of Manufacturing Engineering, said, “There is always a need for talented people who can diagnose and troubleshoot automated systems in our plant. This is the future, and this is how we need to train tomorrow’s professionals.”

Additionally, three of WCTC’s students recently received grants of $250 each, which were awarded at the Society of Plastics Engineers Milwaukee Education Night on April 18. The students are enrolled in the Tool & Die Moldmaking Program. The SPE Mold Technologies Division provided the grants, presented by Renee Nehls, Tooling Engineer at SussexIM and a member of the Board of Directors of the Mold Technologies Division.