In celebration of National Manufacturing Day, The Raymond Corporation hosted Innovation in Manufacturing at its headquarters in Greene, New York on October 6th of this year. More than 250 students from Southern Tier of New York state high schools attended the event, and experienced virtual and hands-on activities reinforcing manufacturing as an ever-progressive industry.

“The future of manufacturing requires a talented workforce that builds upon the knowledge of our current team with advanced processes and technologies. We have growing concerns over filling the next generation of advanced jobs,” says Mike Field, CEO of Raymond. “Encouraging students through manufacturing education is important to ensure we’re able to address the skills gap in this growing industry.”

Featured as part of Raymond's Innovation in Manufacturing event were interactive stations with engineers demonstrating processes such as 3-D printing. One such station showed students a 3-D computer-aided design (CAD) system, which allows engineers to model and design forklifts in a virtual 3-D space. Other stations allowed students to virtually experience welding or operating a forklift through simulators. Speakers Rick Harrington, senior vice president of operations at Raymond, and Erric Heitmann, vice president of engineering at Raymond, provided valuable insights to the future of manufacturing and engineering.

“Celebrating and showcasing the manufacturing industry shouldn’t be restricted to a specific day or month. Manufacturing, and its continual innovation, drives our business as well as our customers’ businesses,” says Harrington. “Because of its significance and continuous growth, manufacturing should be shared with our future workforce year round, educating them on and preparing them for the jobs of the future. That’s what we try to do at Raymond.”

Response to Raymond’s National Manufacturing Day event has been so positive that the company plans to host another Innovation in Manufacturing event in spring 2017.