New training centre, plastics program planned

St. Clair College has announced plans to build a new $32.5 million, 100,000 sq. ft. training centre on its Windsor, ON campus. Construction on the facility, to be called the Ford Centre for Excellence in Manufacturing, will begin this summer with an opening planned for September, 2003. When complete the building will house equipment and machinery to facilitate training in toolmaking/moldmaking, industrial millwrighting, mechanical engineering technology, hydraulics/pneumatics and other areas. The building’s opening will also coincide with the launch of a new plastics technology program at St.Clair College.

Construction of the building is being funded by a $12.2 million grant from the Ontario government, as well as a $3 million donation from Ford Motors of Canada, according to Donna Church, program manager at the Ford Centre for Excellence. The remaining $17.3 million is being raised from private, industrial and community sources. There will approximately 35,000 sq. ft. of machine-shop floor space, as well as individual lab areas for CAD/CAM, metallurgy, plastics and applied research.

Specifics of the plastics technology program are still under discussion. According to Mark Benoit, chair of manufacturing and transportation, the program’s broad objective will be to train technicians to set-up and troubleshoot a variety of plastics processes, including injection molding, blow-molding, thermoforming and others. While the program is in development, the college is inviting input from the plastics industry and interested individuals. It is also seeking donations of equipment for use in the facility.