By Southwest Minnesota Private Industry Council

The Southwest Minnesota Private Industry Council, in partnership with the Southwest West Central Cooperative, Minnesota West Community and Technical College and the Minnesota River Valley Education District, provided 14 students the opportunity to participate in an Introduction to Manufacturing and Engineering course during the spring semester. These students were able to job shadow at local manufacturing companies and practice the skills they learned through the class. Two young men were able to job shadow staff at Granite Falls Energy (GFE) in Granite Falls.

We had two very cordial young men with us for approximately 1.5 hours this morning and exposed them to MIG and TIG welding techniques. The time went fast for them and they weren’t expecting to practice with our equipment. They sounded like they know what they want to do and communicated very well with us. Both did a pretty good job with their welding skills.

Their mentors were Cory Heinrich, GFE Maintenance Manager, with Brett Haar, and Shawn Steinke, Senior Maintenance Technician with Brandon.

Plant Manager, Robin Spaude, said, "I offered to have them come back again and I am also offering scrap steel and stainless steel scrap pieces to practice with in the welding program. In the ethanol industry pipe fitters are a necessity not only during construction but for maintenance activities when a plant is running or being retro-fitted with new equipment. My guys enjoyed working with these young men today."