NEWS

HTECs Generate Winners at 2009 SkillsUSA Championships

In June, more than 5000 outstanding students from around the country competed in the 2009 SkillsUSA Championships in Kansas City, Missouri. For the fourth year, Haas Automation, Inc., sponsored the Precision Machining Technology (PMT) Competition at the event, and once again, the majority of winners in the PMT category received their training at Haas Technical Education Centers (HTECs) in the USA.

SkillsUSA is a national organization dedicated to improving technical, skilled and service‐related education for high school and college students. The annual Championships provide opportunities for students to test themselves against the best students in the nation in their career field. Haas Automation supported this year’s hands‐on competition by providing a TM‐1 CNC Toolroom Mill, an SL‐10 CNC turning center and 30 CNC control simulators.

Contestants in the PMT Competition used the Haas CNC machine tools and simulators to demonstrate their expertise in CNC programming, machining practices, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, engineering drawing interpretation and technical math. Seventy students from secondary and post‐secondary schools across the nation competed in the Precision Machining Technology division, and five of the six medal winners were HTEC students, including the two gold‐medal winners.

Haas Technical Education Centers are part of a global network of partnerships between learning institutions, Haas Automation and local Haas Factory Outlets. HTECs leverage the capabilities and technologies of Haas Automation and partner with industry, schools and professional societies to exchange best practices and exploit the power of modern manufacturing equipment to provide the highest quality CNC education.

As of June 2009, the HTEC network in the USA and Canada included more than 940 high schools, vocational and community colleges and universities, between which some 23.000 students are educating on Haas CNC machines every year.