Blue Ridge Community College in Virginia, USA, announced Thursday that it has created Southeastern Advanced Molding Technology Education Center (SAMTEC), which will open its doors within the campus in January 2017. A recent joint venture by the Swiss Company Georg Fischer (GF) and Canada-based Linamar, the job-training initiative taken under the Centre will train the technicians at GF Linamar’s yet-to-open new high pressure die cast facility in Mills River, noted a news release from BRCC.
The manufacturing facility will produce light-weight aluminum high pressure die casting parts for power train, driveline and other structural components. This venture will create around 350 jobs in the region.
Currently, there are 25 die cast manufacturers in the Southeast region of the country. SAMTEC will focus on providing quality workforce training in high pressure die cast of aluminum parts. In fact, it will be the only holistic, high pressure die casting and mold training center in the east of Illinois, the news release states.
Blue Ridge Community College recently received an Economic Catalyst grant of $550,000 from Golden LEAF Foundation for the purchase of equipment to support SAMTEC and training for GF Linamar. GF Linamar, Buhler and ABB will also donate equipment for SAMTEC valued at more than $768,000.
Faculty members at the Blue Ridge Community College recently underwent a three-weeks training at the Georg Fischer plant in Austria, as well as at BuhlerPrince in Michigan and Buhler in Switzerland. The instructors will now pass on the knowledge hands-on to the manufacturers of aluminium high-pressure die casting products at SAMTEC, oce it opens in January next year.
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