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MMT Productivity Is Helping To Grow The Pool For Skilled Manufacturing Employees Through The Gene Haas Foundation
MMT Productivity Inc. is pleased to announce to educational organizations scholarship monies and grants provided through the Gene Haas Foundation, established in 1999, by Haas Automation, Inc. Founder and CEO Gene Haas. Mark Smith, Vice President and General Manager of MMT Productivity, says, “Gene has long recognized that the future of manufacturing in the United States – and around the world – depends directly upon the availability of skilled workers. Expanding the pool of skilled workers hinges on recruiting more young people to pursue careers in manufacturing, and creating state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing training programs to ensure that graduating students have the skills necessary when they enter the workforce.”
Recognizing a growing need for skilled manufacturing employees industry wide, the Gene Haas Foundation expanded its mission to include support for manufacturing training programs throughout North America and beyond. By providing scholarship grants, sponsoring individual and team CNC competitions, and partnering with the very best CNC training programs in the world, the Gene Haas Foundation helps expand the availability of high-quality manufacturing technology training worldwide.
The Gene Haas Foundation donates millions of dollars every year to manufacturing education and the communities where Haas Automation Inc. facilities are located. In 2020, the Gene Haas Foundation provided more than $17 million in grants, bringing the total since inception to more than to $100 million.
By providing scholarship grants, sponsoring individual and team CNC competitions, and partnering with the very best CNC training programs in the world, the Foundation helps expand the availability of high-quality manufacturing technology training worldwide.
Hear About Some Local Gene Haas Foundation Awards
Colorado School Of Mines, Colorado
Colorado School of Mines’ Mechanical Engineering Department has been awarded a $12,500 grant from the Gene Haas Foundation (GHF) for student scholarships in 2021 for student workers in the ME Instructional Machine Shop. Haas Foundation Scholars will be provided additional training on the CNC mill and through a multi-year process become ‘trainthe-trainers’ for the shop’s mill. The machine shop, located in the basement of Brown Hall, is home to two Haas CNC mills and two desktop mills.
Bridgerland Technical College, Utah
Gene Haas Foundation dignitaries were welcomed to Bridgerland Technical College this past May to commemorate the donation of a $250,000 grant utilized in remodeling the Machining Technology department, classrooms, and laboratory.
Wes Chambers, Department Head of the Machining Technology program, commented, “Thanks to the generous grant from the Gene Haas Foundation, we were able to update the lab to make it function more like the local machine shops, which really elevates the hands-on training the students get to enjoy in this program.”
Vance Briggs, High School Instructor for the Machining Technology program, said, “What I’m most excited about has been the expansion of the classroom. We have increased our class space and the computers by 50%, which I am excited about. It will allow me to let in students in who may have previously been turned away because of lack of space.”
During the event, the Gene Haas Foundation also donated an additional $30,000 in scholarship money to be utilized by students in the Machining Technology program. Frank Stewart, Chief Development Offi cer, said, “The impact and influence that Mr. Gene Haas has had for both high school and college students in technical education and machining specifi cally is exponential. Scholarships and equipment support give our students a big leg up in gaining their education and a rewarding career.”
In August, 10 hard-working students in CNM’s Machine Tool Technology program were awarded the Gene Haas Scholarship.
The Gene Haas Scholarship is awarded to students who are enrolled in a machine program and who have a 3.0 GPA or higher. Winners each get $1,650.
The CNM students received their scholarships during a small ceremony where they got to meet with Danny White who has worked with Haas for 27 years.
“If it weren’t for Danny, we wouldn’t know about the scholarship and therefore, wouldn’t have it. We’re very appreciative,” says Marcel Hesch, an instructor in CNM’s Machine Tool program.
Many of the students have exciting futures in front of them. Lucas Varela, one of the scholarship winners, is starting an apprenticeship at Sandia Labs and credits both CNM and faculty member Marcel Hersch for his success.
Front Range Community College, Colorado
Students will get more help paying for their manufacturing education and training—on their way to careers in a booming industry. The Gene Haas Foundation has awarded Front Range Community College $17,500 in grants to support student scholarships and other program needs at the college’s Center for Integrated Manufacturing.
In June, Chad Wadsworth of MMT Productivity — the local Haas Factory Outlet in Denver — presented a check to FRCC faculty member George Deeb and his students. The Gene Haas Foundation has been providing funding for FRCC’s manufacturing scholarships since 2015. The total amount awarded to the college to date is now $118,500.
The scholarship funds will help students pay for their classes at FRCC, preparing them to move into jobs in the manufacturing industry. The money will boost the college’s program in precision machining, and will also support the manufacturing industry in Colorado.
The shortage of skilled machinists in the state — and across the US — has reached a critical level, according to FRCC machining faculty member George Deeb. “I get at least three emails a week from local employers who are looking for employees. Every one of our students who wants a job upon completion of the program gets one.”
Mark Smith says, “ The Gene Haas Foundation is so beneficial in expanding the availability of high-quality manufacturing technology training worldwide, and we want our customers who are educational institutions throughout New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Idaho .and Wyoming to take advantage of these monies.” To learn more about the Gene Haas Foundation and grants available, visit https://ghaasfoundation. org/content/ghf/en/education-grants.html. You can also contact the team at MMT Productivity Inc by visiting their website at mmtproductivity.com Community College of Denver Celebrates Their Check
MMT Productivity’s Hope Riska and Bryan Johnson Presenting a check to Brigham Young University, Utah
MMT Productivity’s Danny White Presenting a check to College of New Mexico Applied Technology
