TEXTILES.ORG
We thought it would be a good idea to invite some students from El Dorado High School’s metal shop here in Placerville to come to our facility to have an opportunity to see the real world of metal machining and manufacturing.
The great thing about a field trip through our facility in Placerville is that these students would get to see the entire operation, from raw material coming into the stockroom to machined parts being assembled and shipped out the door.
Because all seven of these boys had introductory experience in the high school metal shop, they were most interested in the CNC (or “automatic” computerized numerical center) milling operations. This hands-on experience soaked in when the boys had the opportunity to watch the process from programing to pushing the go button and seeing a blank piece of material go through five operations; then, about an hour later, to see a completed machined component ready for anodization and shipment into the parts room.
Our role as a manufacturer of sheet plastic welding equipment for the geosynthetics industry was also illuminating for the young men. The welders are sold all over the world and these students got to see the welders in action in the service and repair departments. They also saw welders that had been run over by trucks, fixed and restored in the service department and then put right back on the jobsite.
The boys said they enjoyed the field trip and we hope to see some of them perhaps down the road filling out an application to work in our machine shop or in other positions with us. Our company has always hired and trained on the job, so we were glad to participate in this educational field trip.
Thomas Metzger is the general manager at Placerville, Calif.-based Demtech Services Inc.