Chromed-out bike helps students see manufacturing industry come alive
PUNXSUTAWNEY - What better way to illustrate the products of the manufacturing industry than on a cool motorcycle? "This is what catches the kids' eyes," Chuck Jenkins, executive director of the National Tooling & Machining Association's northwestern Pennsylvania chapter, said Monday. Jenkins, along with Pat Pontillo of the Manufacturers' Association of Northwest Pennsylvania (MANP), was showcasing the American Manufacturing Tribute Bike to students at Punxsutawney Area High School and PA CareerLink Monday.
The 2005 Harley-Davidson Softail Deluxe is part of the "The Making of a Legend - Careers in Manufacturing" program, which helps students in the MANP's 17-county membership region gain a better understanding of the technology and training required in manufacturing, as well as the importance of math and science education in all aspects of industry. But manufacturing plants create all kinds of products - why display a motorcycle? That's easy, Jenkins said. Not only is it a cool piece of machinery, but 21 area member companies supply many of the "thousands of little parts" on Harley motorcycles, he said. The cycle, purchased from Harley-Davidson's plant in York, was created and souped-up for the 100th anniversary of the Manufacturers' Association of Northwest Pennsylvania in 2005.
"We chromed it out 100 percent," Jenkins said. "Everything we could chrome out, we did." "The Making of a Legend - Careers in Manufacturing" begins with a short video, half of which showcases manufacturers in northwestern Pennsylvania.
The program also seeks to dispel misconceptions about the manufacturing industry, such as working in a factory is always a dirty job, and that the field is exclusive to male employees. Jenkins said while students at vocational-technical schools may already be one step ahead of their regular-school counterparts, the MA displays the bike at trade schools, as well. "It helps them understand that they are doing the smart thing," he said. The days of graduating - or dropping out - from high school and walking into a manufacturing job are gone, Jenkins said. Because the industry has advanced so much, the bar is higher. "As a welder, you can take your certification and write your own ticket," he said. "You can get a job in 24 hours."
Welding is only one example of a need sought by the manufacturing industry. The jobs are in demand, but the takers seem to be diminishing. Jenkins said by the year 2010, the industry will be short 8 million skilled workers. By 2020, that figure will rise to 22 million, he said. Also on hand for the assembly Monday was Dick Campbell of ACME Machining Company of Punxsutawney, who said the firm here seeks machinists. Teresa Neal of North Central Regional Planning & Development Commission said the need for skilled workers is not exclusive to Erie or northwestern Pennsylvania. "It's here," she said.