BARBERTON, Ohio—Northeast Ohio is a hub for polymer engineering and materials science, and R.D. Abbott Co. Inc. recognizes this—opening its doors this summer to area STEM educators as part of a "boot camp" and tour.
"As a father of three and manufacturing site leader, it was very encouraging to see the passion and excitement of our partners in the Summit County education system," said Steve Hersey, NovationSi plant manager. "R.D. Abbott and NovationSi look forward to continued collaboration with the local educators and the initiative to develop a robust polymer manufacturing work force in this area."
The Garden Grove, Calif.-based materials science and engineering firm and its NovationSi manufacturing subsidiary hosted the 5-person delegation from the Summit County Educational Service Center's STEAM Leadership Cadre, which included four local teachers and a representative from the Greater Akron Chamber Polymer Industry Cluster.
The recent four-hour tour at the 127,000-sq.-ft. facility included an overview of an LSR injection molding cell; a presentation on batch cards and weigh-up sheets; and mixing demonstrations on a two-roll mill, three-roll mill and a Myers mixer; and a look at physical properties testing and color matching processes.
Educators, including Megan Pacifico of the Coventry Local School District, Jill Alessandro of the Revere Local School District, and Heidi Short and Sarah Florh of the Cuyahoga Falls Local School District, discussed their own STEM curriculums and how R.D. Abbott/NovationSi can augment the lesson plans with real-world situations.
The group was led by Missi Zender-Sakach of the SESC.