Sandvik Coromant, a producer of tools for the metal cutting industry, recently hosted 30 eighth graders from the Rockford, Illinois Eisenhower Middle School at the Schaumburg Productivity Center on Friday, April 27. Not your typical eighth graders - the students are labeled the "Surgeons of Steel," with special interest and capability in metalworking and technology fields. "The greatest challenge facing the future of manufacturing is the limited amount of skilled labor. That's what our participation in these events aims to address" said Tom Henry, manager of Sandvik Coromant's Productivity Center. "It's encouraging to see so many interested young students who are excited about the manufacturing industry. It's inspirational."

During the student's Schaumburg Productivity Center visit, Henry presented a brief overview of Sandvik Coromant's "Bridging the Skills Gap" presentation with Kevin Clay, sales manager, before detailing manufacturing processes such as milling, drilling and turning. Sandvik Coromant's Craig Dimond, Jesus Nava, Brett Voigt and Rob Munn provided a CAD/CAM presentation, along with a number of live machine demonstrations on milling, drilling and turning, including a demo on gear cutting on the new Hofler gear milling machine.

Eisenhower Middle School is participating in the Rockford School District's Introduction to Manufacturing Program, which created the Pathways for Technical Careers Academy to expose interested students to local colleges and manufacturing businesses to help them begin developing career aspirations in the manufacturing industry. Program participants were presented with their honorary "Surgeons of Steel" T-shirts by Sandvik Coromant during a Rockford School District Event in February, when the program kicked off.

Sandvik Coromant is dedicated to ensuring the future of our manufacturing workforce through ongoing education, training, and dedicated tools and resources.