Since 1992
Print and digital marketing
AUBURN — Government, industry and education officials joined Central Maine Community College students and employees at a dedication ceremony Oct. 27 for the official opening of the Gene Haas Precision Machining Technology Center at the college.
The college began work on the project in spring 2017. The first phase involved an interior renovation of more than 5,000 square feet, including the relocation of the quality control room, offices, computer class, and locker room in order to update and improve overall functionality. Phase Two was the construction of a 3,600 square foot addition to accommodate recent equipment acquisitions and improvements to existing electrical power distribution, lighting systems and the mechanical ventilation system.
The Gene Haas Foundation awarded the college a grant of $1 million toward this expansion project. Founded in 1999 by Haas Automation founder and Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Gene Haas, the Haas Foundation has granted more than $12 million to institutions championing advanced manufacturing education. The Haas Foundation has been a generous supporter of the PMT program and machinist-based continuing education at CMCC for many years.
In addition to the Haas funds, the college secured a grant of $1.6 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. Officials from the EDA have noted not only do many companies use the machining center at CMCC for employee training and access to specialized equipment, but also this expansion is timely, given that area employers expect to need an additional 900 precision machinists in the next five years.
The College also received a grant of $250,000 from the Northern Border Regional Commission as part of $2 million in funding it has provided to upgrade infrastructure and provide job-training skills across the state. The NRBC is a federal-state partnership Congress created in 2008 to help alleviate economic distress and encourage private-sector job creation throughout the northern counties of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York.
“The expansion of the PMT facility will enable the program to build on the significant accomplishments funded previously under two grants totaling 2.3 million dollars from the National Science Foundation,” noted Scott Knapp, CMCC president. Those efforts resulted in the creation of a “virtual collaboration infrastructure,” an environment in which both design and precision machining students work in concurrent or virtual product design and development, as well as the development of curriculum for 3D machining and CNC machining addressing industry needs in high-end skills directly applicable to precision manufacturing.
Richard Bolding, chair of the PMT program at the college, noted skilled graduates are in high demand and many of them have jobs by the end of their first year on campus. “The expansion of the PMT program will help support the growth of good-paying, high technology jobs in the region and throughout the state,” Bolding added.
The PMT program at CMCC, the largest in the Northeast, offers a two-year associate in applied science degree, a one-year certificate, and an advanced certificate. Students are trained in conventional and computer numeric control machining. Graduates of the program are employed as machine operators, CNC machinists, tool and die makers, quality control inspectors, machine assemblers, machine tool designers, CNC programmers or field service representatives.
For more information about Precision Machining Technology at CMCC, please contact Richard Bolding at 207-755-5307 or rbolding@cmcc.edu, or visit the college website at www.cmcc.edu.
