Cummins Engine Plant 1 invited nearly 180 high school students from Columbus Area Career Connection to tour the plant and learn more about careers in manufacturing.
Students enrolled in Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. C4 classes including engineering design, automation and robotics, electronics and others toured the plant as part of Manufacturing Day on Oct. 5 and also visited informational booths and learned more about manufacturing from speakers.
The event was intended to expose C4 students to different career paths within the manufacturing industry, said Autumne Streeval, C4 integration specialist.
Peter Anderson, Cummins.vice president of global supply chain and manufacturing, was one of three company executives who spoke about their roles.
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Anderson said events such as Manufacturing Day help highlight the different areas within the company, especially since Cummins Inc.’s focus is on manufacturing engines and developing people with new skills.
Students toured the manufacturing process are of the Cummins Engine Plant that brought them to areas where light-duty and heavy-duty engines are assembled.
Cummins also has a school-to-work program that allows students to gain work experience on a part-time basis, and apprenticeships and trade programs are also available, said Tim Millwood, vice president of global manufacturing.
The service technician apprenticeships and engineering technician apprenticeships pair individuals with Cummins Inc. technicians.
Individuals can choose to make a career within the manufacturing industry or use it as a stepping stone to other opportunities, Millwood said.
Students also got to see Cummins Inc.’s corporate metrology lab as part of several demonstrations. The lab has equipment that provides 3-D scans of parts for reverse engineering purposes, said Brian Vogel, cross-functioning engineering associate at Cummins Inc.
Students who attended also had an opportunity to participate in a robotics demonstration demonstrating the components of an engine and how to build an engine using Legos. A separate demonstration put students in front of an engine with the help of virtual reality.
The corporate metrology lab also allows Cummins employees to take a part that someone has provided and make a model from it, Vogel said.
Gabrielle Lifferth, a Columbus North High School junior, said while she wants to go into biomedical engineering as a career, her visit helped her see another career path. She said she enjoyed being able to participate in robotics activities during her visit.
In addition to Cummins Inc. and Faurecia, representatives from Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Inc. were also at Manufacturing Day.
The Columbus-based forklift company is Bartholomew County’s fourth-largest manufacturing employer and has many different areas for individuals who are interested in a career, said John Jones, TIEM supervisor of training and human development.
“There’s a lot of product engineering, design engineering, new product development and advanced research and development,” Jones said.
The company currently has about a dozen vacancies tied to engineering, while career opportunities are also available in areas such as assembling and the skilled trades, said Amy Lathrop, TIEM manager of human resources, training and customs compliance.
Demand continues to go up for TIEM’s products due to companies such as Amazon, which has required more semi-trailers, forklift trucks and warehouse space, Jones said.
He encouraged high school students to come back to Columbus due to its large presence of manufacturing companies, noting that TIEM makes internships available for individuals looking to gain some experience.
“We want to build our next generation of manufacturers,” Jones said.
Another positive aspect of the manufacturing sector is the potential to make good money, he added.
“We’re trying to change the mindset of young people that manufacturing is a viable career choice,” he said. “It’s clean, high-tech, fun and fast-paced.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”By the numbers” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
1.4 million – Number of square feet making up the Columbus Engine Plant
54,600 – Approximate number of Cummins Inc. employees worldwide
425 – Number of heavy-duty engines created each day at the Cummins plant
180 – Number of students from Columbus Area Career Connection who attended Manufacturing Day at the Cummins Engine Plant
6 – Number of functions within Cummins global supply chain: planning, logistics, manufacturing, quality, purchasing, in addition to health and safety.
Sources: Cummins Inc., Columbus Area Career Connection
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