Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/145038
Minichopper's origins A decade ago, Fox Valley Technical College staff members discussed what they could do to interest young people in manufacturing. They ultimately took an idea from the Discovery Channel program American Chopper, then in its first season, to launch a mini-chopper project in which high school students were invited to the college every week to assemble motorcycles. That project, now on hiatus, ran through 2010 and will pick up again in 2014. Mike Cattelino, associate dean of FVTC's Manufacturing and Agriculture Technologies Division, recalls, "We put the project together; we had all the technology and expertise. Each team had a local sponsor, and bikes were to be themed." Lakeshore Technical College and others throughout the state expressed interest in the project. "I said, 'Here's my zip drive; there are no secrets here,' and met with them," Cattelino remembers. "We're all in the same boat and we wanted to expose young adults to manufacturing opportunities." He notes that tech ed programs are expensive and thus subject to cutbacks, and says, "It's good to keep it going." Subsequent FVTC manufacturingrelated programs include Light up the Fox, in which high schools from Appleton East, Little Chute and Hortonville work with the college's Automated Manufacturing Systems program to devise and implement a lighting system along the Fox River in the greater Appleton region. Additional initiatives include summer camp programs: » Intro to Manufacturing Concepts: Guitar Building » Solar Energy Exploration » Wind Energy Exploration (both Basic and Advanced) » FoxBot Robotics Camp for Girls » Exploring Transportation Careers: Build a Remote Control Car Progressive Solutions to Help Employers Conquer Work-Comp Costs WorkPlace Solutions of Orthopedic & Spine Therapy has physical therapists that are trained and licensed in industry specific injury prevention programs and return-to-work programs. Functional Job Descriptions and Analysis Post-offer Exams Ergonomic Assessments and Training Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCE) Work Conditioning Program On-site Physical Therapy Services 920-257-2010 www.workplacesolutionsost.com Some high schools possess cuttingedge equipment and computer-aideddesign systems. Dave Gelhaus, the continued > CC10-1212 Nail the Money_Half Pg Jr_Insight_Final.indd 1 w w w.in s i g h t o n m f g . c o m July 2013 1/2/13 8:18 AM • / insight on manufacturing | 15