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On July 17, 21 students from the Machining Technologies program at Atlantic Technical College traded the classroom for the shop floor, touring Stimpson‘s manufacturing plant in Pompano Beach, Fla.
The group walked the full plant with their instructors, spending extra time in the tool and die section and on the production floor, where the dies, tooling and machinery behind Stimpson’s fasteners are built and run. Afterward, students sat down with a tool and die operator, company engineers and Stimpson executives for a Q&A session.
“Days like this are a highlight for us,” says Robert Bakowski, COO. “We’re seeing more and more young people choose the trades, and Atlantic Technical is training exactly the kind of talent our industry needs. A lot of these students go on to join our apprenticeship program and build full-time careers right here at Stimpson. It’s a real win for them and for us.”
For students learning CNC programming and SOLIDWORKS and Mastercam software on the college’s machines, the day put those skills in context: real parts, real production and a real path to a career close to home. Atlantic Technical College, based in nearby Coconut Creek, has long trained machinists for local industry, and Stimpson sits about 15 minutes down the road.
The visit was part of Stimpson’s long-standing community outreach, where the company hosts tours like this a couple of times per year.
Stimpson has manufactured industrial fasteners, such as grommets, washers, eyelets, snap fasteners and attaching machinery since 1852 for customers across the marine, industrial, fabric and sign and banner industries.
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