NEWS

HTEC Goes West – Winning HTEC Student Goes Further

The first of two, new HTEC CNC training facilities in Portugal was opened at Escola Profissional de Vouzela (EPV) on April 16th.  The second facility was opened the following day, at Centro de Formação Profissional de Portalegre (CFP). Students at both schools can now enjoy hands-on training using state-of-the-art CNC machine tools, software, tooling and ancillary equipment, supplied and supported by Haas Automation and its HTEC program partners: KELLER, MasterCam, Esprit, Renishaw, Sandvik Coromant, Schunk, Blaser, Urma, Chick and the latest member to join the program, Air Turbine Spindles. 

Both events attracted large numbers of visitors (140 at Vouzela and over 200 at Portalegre), including students, parents and teachers from each establishment, plus teaching staff from other Portuguese technical schools, and representatives from regional and national government and local business and industry.

Cláudio Afonso, who won the gold medal at the Portugal Skills competition earlier in the year, is a student at CFP and learnt his world-class CNC machining skills using Haas machine tools. In recognition of his hard work and achievement, Haas Automation Europe invited him on an expenses-paid visit to the Haas factory in Oxnard, Southern California.

After the grand opening at Portalegre, Mrs. Paula Caeiro, General Manager of CFP, remarked: “The accreditation of our facility as an HTEC underlines the high quality of its staff – especially our training teacher, Mr. José Lourenço - and its CNC equipment. The HTEC will help us to build on our direct links with the industrial community and will create new employment opportunities for local students. It’s an inspiration for all young people in the area.”

The HTEC program was conceived as a means for aspiring European educational establishments to invest in the best precision manufacturing equipment and training facilities. Since the program started in Europe, 17 HTECs have been opened the length and breadth of the continent.

Owner and director of After Sales SA, Mr. Carlos Vilas-Boas is still stunned by the early success of the HTEC program in Portugal. “Even a few days after the HTEC Grand Openings I’m reeling with how much attention they attracted and how enthusiastic everyone has been. Every day since the grand openings, teachers from other schools have contacted me to ask how they can also establish an HTEC. I believe that we have begun a true revolution in CNC training in Portugal.”

The benefits of the HTEC concept are numerous: HTEC students are well prepared and motivated to pursue an exciting, rewarding career in CNC industry; Teachers keep up-to-date with the newest CNC technologies and the precision engineering practices widely used in industry; and the host school becomes an exemplar of top-class CNC education in the wider region.

“The whole HTEC concept is received with open arms by the wider community and at the regional and national government levels,” says Mr. Peter Hall, managing director of Haas Automation Europe. “It’s a unique program that plays an important role in regional educational and economic development.

“These successful grand openings demonstrate once again that the HTEC program is a winner, whether in Belarus, Sweden, Russia, Austria or Portugal. The opening of a new HTEC has a snowball effect: it gathers so much support that soon, many more schools in the country opt to make the same commitment.”

Haas Automation Europe plans to open 200 HTEC’s across Europe within 5 years, including a total of 25 in 2009.