Kellogg Community College students training for industrial trades careers at the College’s Regional Manufacturing Technology Center can add experience with state-of-the-art finishing equipment to their resumes thanks to the donation of nearly $30,000 worth of machinery from Rosler Metal Finishing.
Rosler donated a new vibratory tub finishing machine and a hand blast finishing cabinet this academic year to the College, equipment worth approximately $29,300. RMTC Director Tom Longman and Rosler CEO Bernhard Kerschbaum said it’s important for students to be exposed to such technology in the manufacturing industry as the majority of mass-market parts go through some sort of finishing process.
Most manufactured products start with a primary production operation, Longman said, and secondary operations are required to remove burrs, smooth edges, improve surface finish and prepare surfaces for coatings. Rosler, which has a location just down the road from the RMTC, at 1551 Denso Road in Battle Creek, designs and builds a wide variety of machines and media to perform such secondary production finishing for all types of industries.
Kerschbaum said the company has a good relationship with KCC and is happy to be able to help promote manufacturing as a career opportunity for students. Rosler has collaborated with RMTC staff during Manufacturing Day events for middle and high school students in the past, and the company has sent employees there for training.
“Helping the RMTC out with anything we can usually helps us,” Kerschbaum said.
Longman said the new Rosler machines are welcome additions to the state-of-the-art industrial setting the RMTC uses to train students and local workers.
“The new Rosler blast cabinet is a fantastic asset to our KCC welding department equipment and an immense upgrade from the older unit it replaced. Students and staff members are amazed how superior the new machine performs at blasting, cleaning, descaling and preparing metal surfaces,” Longman said. “The new Rosler vibratory tub finishing machine provides a great opportunity for students to gain exposure to concepts of secondary operations involving mass finishing applications for manufactured components, and an introduction to different media types, shapes, sizes and compositions.”
Kerschbaum said exposure to such equipment is valuable for students regardless of their specific field of study in the trades, as it helps them better understand the manufacturing process and the different ways the finishing work can be done.
“Having RMTC students familiar with finishing operations will give them a better overall understanding of the manufacturing environment,” Kerschbaum said. “Should there ever be a need to process parts that are too large for the two machines, RMTC students are more than welcome to seek help from the Rosler Processing Lab just down the street from RMTC.”
For more information about KCC’s RMTC or Industrial Trades programming, visit www.kellogg.edu/industrial. For more information about Rosler Metal Finishing, visit www.rosler.us.
Pictured above center, Rosler CEO Bernhard Kerschbaum, left, and RMTC Director Tom Longman shake hands in front of a new vibratory tub finishing machine donated by Rosler. Pictured above right, Rosler CEO Bernhard Kerschbaum, left, and KCC Welding instructor Steve Casselman stand in front of a new hand blast finishing cabinet donated by Rosler.
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