Posted by: GTP 2 hours, 1 minute ago
What does a career in modern manufacturing really look like?
For National Manufacturing Day, Grand Traverse Plastics had the opportunity to answer that question firsthand by welcoming local students into our facility for a behind-the-scenes look at the people, technology and skills that bring the products we manufacture to life.
GTP CEO Bill Knable joined the students and GTP team for the event and tour, helping share an important message about the opportunities available to young people in today's manufacturing industry.
“Manufacturing today offers so many different ways to build a great career. Some of these students may become engineers, machinists, toolmakers, automation specialists or manufacturing leaders—and some may discover a path today they simply hadn't considered before. That's why opening our doors and giving young people a chance to experience manufacturing firsthand is so important to us.”
— Bill Knable, CEO, Grand Traverse Plastics
Led by Charlie Hoff, VP of Operations, and Andy Caperton, Plant Manager, students toured the facility in two groups, following the manufacturing process from raw material to finished product. They started with something many had likely never seen before: the look and feel of plastic resin before it is melted, molded and transformed into a finished component.
From there, students saw GTP team members producing everything from oil fill caps and wheel caps to engine covers and components for electric vehicles, a firsthand look at the variety of products, processes and technology found in modern plastics manufacturing.
The tour also took students beyond the production floor. Dave Caperton, Tool Shop Manager, introduced them to GTP's in-house capabilities and the skilled trades behind tooling, machining and welding, giving students another perspective on the many careers necessary to support a successful manufacturing operation.
There Isn't Just One Path into Manufacturing
Perhaps the most important lesson of the day was that a career in manufacturing doesn't begin in just one place.
Students can graduate from high school and begin building careers in the skilled trades. They can attend college and enter the industry as engineers or other technical professionals. Or they can get started while they're still in high school or college through an internship—gaining real-world experience while discovering where their interests and talents might take them.
Today's manufacturing careers span engineering, automation, robotics, machining, tooling, quality, maintenance, operations, supply chain, materials science and much more.
We were also pleased to be joined by representatives from MMTC and Michigan Works!, organizations that play an important role in supporting Michigan manufacturing and developing our future workforce.
National Manufacturing Day gives manufacturers an opportunity to do more than show students what we make.
It gives us the chance to show them what they could become.
Thank you to the students who spent time asking questions, meeting our team and exploring GTP—and to the GTP team members and community partners who helped make the experience possible.
We hope a few of those students walked out our doors looking at manufacturing—and their own futures—a little differently. Maybe we'll even see some of them back at GTP someday.