HGR loves to partner with other organizations, as well as provide sponsorship, to promote manufacturing in Ohio. This year, we have had the opportunity to work with three groups of folks doing amazing things to stimulate the growth of the area and enhance the life of its residents.
First, the company worked with Bob Torrelli, Euclid High School Science Department chair and physics teacher, and his six-student robotics team to prep for its Apr. 25 Alliance for Working Together (AWT) RoboBot Competition as part of the science, technology, engineering, arts and technology (STEAM) initiative. AWT is a coalition of more than 75 local companies that encourage youth to consider jobs in manufacturing. This year, 35 high schools participated. The team worked for more than six months to create an indestructible, remote-controlled battle robot made from a 15-pound aluminum frame with three motors, heat-treated steel blades and Lexan armor. Its robot faced off in battle with the robots of the other high school teams. Euclid made it to the fourth round of competition, tying for ninth place out of 35 and won the award for best sportsmanship. Several working sessions with breakfast were held at HGR’s office at 20001 Euclid Avenue. The company offered design tips and provided materials and equipment. Members of the team and Torelli will be at HGR’s Oct. 1 dedication ceremony and sale to show off their robot and answer questions, as well as to be recognized by HGR for its efforts. The 2016 team is beginning to organize. Stay tuned for a future blog post on its progress.
Next up, HGR is sponsoring the Sept. 30 [M]Power Manufacturing Assembly put on by The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, aka MAGNET, at the John S. Knight Center in Akron, Ohio. The event’s purpose is to address the “challenges of today’s changing manufacturing landscape. “The event will explore how attendees can maintain their competitive advantage, tackling essential issues of workforce development, ideation strategy, digital marketing optimization, and operations management,” states MAGNET’s website. This year’s keynote speaker is Sean Stack, CEO of Aleris. HGR has purchased a table for 10 and will have a display table to distribute information. In addition, we partnered with MAGNET to create a manufacturing resource center inside of HGR’s customer lounge. The center will house pamphlets, handouts, books and periodicals that provide information about manufacturing opportunities, as well as information about MAGNET’s services and programming. HGR also will create an online center with links to additional resources.
Last but not least, HGR is sponsoring Ingenuity Cleveland’s eleventh-annual Ingenuity Festival on Oct. 2-4; this year, it’s being held at Voinovich Park. This festival of creativity and innovation celebrates art, music, technology and the maker’s movement. We will have a table at the event and host information on Ingenuity Cleveland in our new resource center. HGR also provided monetary and in-kind contributions for the Iron Architect event, a competition where four teams compete to create a unique seating environment within the festival grounds using an array of materials, $200 at Home Depot and a “secret ingredient” that will be selected from the plethora of items available at HGR’s showroom.