HFO Midwest Focuses on SkillsUSA Competition

The Midwest Haas Factory Outlet, Twinsburg, OH, a division of Morris Group Inc., hosted the CNC milling and turning portion for the Ohio North Central Regional Championship of the SkillsUSA competition on February 8, 2012. SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. 

The competition was jointly hosted by the Lorain County (Ohio) Joint Vocational School and proctored by the NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH. 

The focus of this competition was on CNC milling and CNC turning. The precision machining competition was hosted on February 10, 2012 by The Unified Technology Center of Cuyahoga Community College. In both competitions, the students were evaluated on knowledge and skill in areas of engineering, drawing interpretation, GD&T, technical math, machining practices, use of precision measuring/hand tools and ability to communicate verbally using proper industry terminology. 

The finalists and winners of the regional competition were:

CNC Milling:
Heather Lakotish - Medina County Career Center
Justin Otero - Polaris Career Center
Carl Sturtz - Akron Garfield High School

CNC Turning:
Kris Knyszeck - Polaris Career Center
Josh Leighty - Lorain County JVS
John Slifka - Medina County Career Center

Precision Machine Technology:
Josh Drobny - Cuyahoga Valley Career Center
Michael Felon - Polaris Career Center
Tyler Johnson - Lorain County JVS 

The finalists will advance to the SkillsUSA Ohio State Championships happening April 20 and 21, 2012 at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, OH.

According to Dave Tucker, president of HFO Midwest, “Haas Automation has always been supportive and committed to education, making machines available to students through a network of Haas Technical Education Centers.  This is our third year hosting this event, and if the interest level of students involved in the competition is any indication, we should be excited about the future of machining.”

John Green, technology instructor at Lorain County JVS was equally impressed. “The students were aggressive toward getting the work done. They were very focused on the competition and are equally focused on their future careers in the trades. They were very respectful of their mentors. I cannot say enough about how grateful we are to Haas and its continued support for our students.”

Morris Group Inc. companies supply high performance machine tools; tooling and accessories; and related engineering services to manufacturers of precision machined parts in all industry sectors. The thirteen companies form one of the largest machine tool distribution networks in North America. The firm is headquartered in Windsor, CT, and employs more than 350.