RCC dedicates Haas machining lab
Nov 13, 2024Rockingham Community College hosted a ribbon-cutting event Nov. 6, 2024 for its new Gene Haas Advanced Machining Lab.
The College dedicated the lab in recognition of a $750,000 grant from the Gene Haas Foundation to support the construction and equipping of RCC’s Center for Workforce Development, which opened in August.
“The Machining program’s role is to provide local and regional advanced manufacturing industry partners with a steady stream of highly skilled CNC technicians, programmers, and entry-level tool and die mold makers. The equipment upgrades in this program will advance knowledge and understanding by providing students and faculty with tools and the technology to work innovatively in a modern industrial setting,” said RCC President Dr. Mark O. Kinlaw.
The Machining program was located in one of the College’s oldest buildings, until it moved into the new facility just before the fall semester began.
“This equipment and facility will help our faculty collaborate with local business and industry partners to develop technical education needs and revise the curriculum according to what the jobs demand,” he said.
“The Gene Haas Advanced Machining Lab is located to the left as you enter the (building’s) main entrance; it’s the keystone of the building,” Kinlaw said, and acknowledged that the Gene Haas Foundation has also given $45,000 in scholarship money to RCC students over the last two years.
RCC Board of Trustees Chair Randy Judkins thanked the Haas Foundation for helping make a reality of the board’s vision to make RCC a place where students can acquire hands-on training and an industry-aligned education.
N.C. Community College System President Dr. Jeff Cox said RCC’s progress aligns with the System’s new vision: Elevating North Carolina’s future by delivering a diverse, highly skilled talent pipeline aligned to the labor market, supporting economic mobility that creates transformational generational change, and setting the national standard for innovation in higher education and workforce development.
“If you think about that vision statement and where we’ve come from here at Rockingham from a 1960s-era building and what that represents as far as manufacturing and what that looks like in this beautiful new facility, it’s really symbolic of how manufacturing itself has changed – and is changing – in our great state,” Cox said.
He cited a recent Business North Carolina article that said that over the last five years, the state has had more than $50 billion in investment with the expansion of businesses and industries, and the creation of more than 90,000 jobs.
“This is both terribly exciting and also what keeps me up at night thinking, how are we going to meet that demand?” Cox said. “But it’s through partnerships like this, through the generosity of the Haas Foundation, that we can outfit labs like this because we don’t have the budget.”
Leigh Cockram, director of Rockingham County Economic Development, said Rockingham County has had a billion of that $50 billion investment in the state in the last five years, and has added more than 1,500 jobs.
She said economic development is very competitive, and companies evaluate potential locations, looking for red flags or risks to mark locations off their list.
“One of the biggest risks that they’re looking for now is labor availability. So having this facility, being able to produce high quality machinists from this lab, is going to help us continue to be competitive in the landscape of recruiting advanced manufacturing companies,” Cockram said. “I can’t thank the Gene Haas Foundation enough for its commitment to Rockingham County.”
Jennifer Lester, RCC’s director of Corporate Education and Training, said the ribbon-cutting marks the start of new opportunities and a stronger pathway to success for students.
“By using the latest equipment, our students can hone their skills in technology similar to what they’ll encounter in the workforce. This ensures that their training is relevant, practical and aligned with industry standards. It sets them apart in a competitive job market,” Lester said.
The RockATOP (Rockingham Apprenticeship and Technical Opportunities Partnership) program has more than 40 apprentices at RCC, most of whom take classes in the machining labs.
“RockATOP has touched more than a dozen local companies within our community over the years. The machine shop doesn’t just benefit our students; it’s an invaluable resource for the entire community,” Lester said. “Through customized training opportunities, we’re now better equipped to meet the unique needs of our local businesses and industries. Companies can partner with us for up-to-date, specialized training that ensures their employees are equipped to meet the evolving demands of today’s market.”
Patrick Clay, a RockATOP apprentice working at Machine Specialties Inc. in Whitsett, will soon graduate with from RCC with an Associate Degree in Applied Science in Manufacturing Technology as well as a Journeyman Certificate in Tool and Die.
“America is held together by skilled labor. The independence and pride of our workers is what makes American manufacturing the best in the world. No other country can top the adaptability of craftsmanship, determination, nor the intuitiveness of the blue-collar workforce,” Clay said. “Our community must continue doing its part to bolster the economy by investing in our middle class.”
He thanked his RCC teachers, and said technical programs are only as good as their instructors. He also thanked the Haas Foundation for all it does to advance learning.
“Together we can make an impact and bring business back to America and showing the world how proud we are of our people and our workforce and our culture,” he said.
Jacob White, a second-year Computer-Integrated Machining student, was one of the first students to receive a Gene Haas Foundation scholarship. He thanked the Foundation, and also his instructors, who helped educate him in an important trade and to accomplish what he didn’t think was possible.
Kathy Looman, director of education for the Gene Haas Foundation, said Haas grew up in Southern California and started sweeping floors in a machine shop at 14. He earned an accounting degree, but changed his mind about his career. He worked on a race car pit crew for a few years and saved his money to put a couple of machines in the same shop where he worked as a teen. He went into business as an aerospace job shop, but work was scarce to someone new to the industry.
“He became a machine tool builder, and everybody wanted the part that he made,” Looman said. It was a part that sped up some manufacturing steps. “Now Haas Automation is the third largest machine tool builder in the world, and the company is still individually owned.”
Looman said Haas was raised in a strong, philanthropic Catholic family, and when he sold machines, he would give machines to schools through an entrustment program. But giving to thousands of schools around the world got out of hand, so he started the Gene Haas Foundation and focused on scholarships and then a naming-rights program – which have now both benefited RCC.
Dr. Kinlaw said Rockingham Community College is very fortunate to have the Haas Foundation as a partner.
“Just look at what happens when the private and public world come together. Our students and our employers will be the benefactors of our partnership with Haas,” he said. “Thank you to the Haas Foundation and for what you do across America to promote education.”
