Mechatronics Breakfast a Success

Approximately 35 industry executives attended a 7:30 breakfast at the BMW Center yesterday morning to learn more about Mechatronics. The companies represented included Renfrow Brothers, Exopack, Schaffler Group (INA), Timken, BMW Corporation, Crowder Construction, Inman Mills, Lear Corporation, Spartanburg Steel Products, Duer Carolina Coil, Spartan Foods, Boysen, Sew Eurodrive, National Starch and Chemical, and Freightliner, among others.  The goal of the presentation was to recruit sponsor companies for registered apprenticeships and to announce a new training program in Mechatronics Technology.

Mechatronics systems combine networking and computer integration of existing technology with low cost automation, intelligent sensors, and electronic closed loop controls.  Apprentices learn how the entire system works, instead of learning each component separately, which makes them better troubleshooters. Mechatronics addresses not only technical competence, but also personal and team competencies.

The five college consortium, originally called the Upstate Alliance, but now TechReadySC™, is working on a grant to launch a new associate degree in Mechatronics for Fall 2008, to prepare workers for anticpated new jobs in modern automated manufacturing. The new degree would integrate continuing education department courses with curriculum courses, and would set up articulation agreements with each college so that credits earned at one of the Tech Ready SC colleges would be transferable to another. TechReadySC™ includes Spartanburg Community College, Greenville Technical College, York Technical College, Tri-County Technical College, and Piedmont Technical College. Lottery tuition assistance is available for credit classes, making the training more affordable and attractive to students who are already working.

Beverly Deal from Upstate Career Source explained the apprenticeship registration process, explaining the regulations and recordkeeping that are requred.  Several companies in the area have already registered apprenticeship programs to train their employeees to work at a higher level of independence and productivity: Timken, LSP, Haemonetics, and Sonoco in Union County.

The Grant requires that each sponsor company register an apprenticeship with a letter of commitment, and provide a 30% funding match, which can be the wages of the workers in the apprenticeship. Tax credits are available up to $1,000 for each registered apprentice employed for at least seven months during each year of an apprenticeship program for up to four years.  Companies with registered apprenticeships can also recoup some of the cost of instruction, training and wages if they meet WIA (Workforce Investment Area) eligibility requirements. The benefits of apprenticeships are better retention, increased production, higher morale, and increased skill/earning ability of all employees.

A new apprenticeship class started yesterday (April 15) for plant maintenance, which includes training on mechatronics systems, Festo Mechatronics units, KUKA robots, and Siemens and Allen Bradley PLCs.