NW-SCC Opens Advanced Manufacturing Training Center

By HBTV
Thursday, October 21, 2010 | 11:10 AM
https://hbtv.us/news/?story_id=485

Northwest Alabama leaders join together for ribbon cutting at the NW-SCC Advanced Manufacturing Training Center Grand Opening. Pictured (L to R):  Garry Warren, Alabama Board of Education; Tammy Irons, Alabama Representative; Roger Bedford, Alabama Senator; Bill Shoemaker, Tuscumbia Mayor; Bobby Denton, Alabama Senator; Dr. Humphrey Lee, NW-SCC President; Forrest Wright, SEDA President; Bobby Irons, Florence Mayor; Marcel Black, Alabama Representative. -- Courtesy Photo/NWSCC

(Muscle Shoals) Northwest-Shoals Community College (NW-SCC) expands the Machine Tool/CNC program through the addition of the new $1 million, Advanced Manufacturing Training Center on the Shoals Campus.

According to NW-SCC Machine Tool/CNC Instructor, Tim Maupin, the Shoals campus program has virtually doubled in size. "We have gone from a facility of 8,400 square feet to one that is 15,000," said Maupin. "We can now train approximately 80 students. Previously, we could train no more than 40 students at a time."

The opening of the newly renovated 15,000 square foot building which houses the Machine Tool/CNC program includes: two large classrooms, a computer lab, instructor's office space, sanitation facilities, tool storage, and large areas for training on machine and Computer Numerical Control (CNC) equipment.

According to NW-SCC President, Humphrey Lee, the program upgrades and renovations have helped NW-SCC transition into one of the top machine tool training facilities in the state. "The past nine months have been huge for our Machine Tool & CNC program," said Lee. "We can now train more students on equipment equal to or better than what they will use when they filter into the workforce. I believe these upgrades will prove extremely beneficial to them (students) as they enter the job market."

The renovation/construction of the facility is funded through Public School and College Authority (PSCA) Bond funds. The Advanced Manufacturing Training Center is furnished with state-of-the-art equipment due to a $1.9 million Department of Labor Job Training Grant NW-SCC received in 2009.

Contractor for the project was King & Associates General Contractors of Muscle Shoals, Ala. The architect was Lambert Ezell Durham Architecture + Interior Design of Florence, Ala.