Community College and Career Training grant, ... the TAACCCT grant, e-mail marketing coordina- ... learn more about Baro
Page 18 — THE LACONIA DAILY SUN, Friday, December 27, 2013
Bank NH group takes day trip to Seacoast
Baron Machine of Laconia excited about potential for new manufacturing programs at local community college The challenge? Over the last two decades, manufacturing in New Hampshire has morphed into a high-tech economic giant, but the science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills of job seekers have not kept up, hiring managers say. And they need help. That’s where the Community College System of NH, under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training grant, has stepped in. Working in partnership with advanced manufacturers, each of the system’s colleges is expanding or developing new advanced manufacturing labs, equipment and curricula to directly meet the needs of the industry. Focus areas include advanced materials and composites, advanced machine tools, precision welding, mechatronics and robotics, precision manufacturing, automation and process control, and energy, processes and controls. “It is clear from our research that manufacturing, together with high technology, drives New Hampshire’s economy,” wrote NHCPPS officials. Lakes Region Community College and its partners in advanced manufacturing aim to keep it that way. Baron Machine was established in 1957 and is located on Primrose Dr. in Laconia. With 48 employees, it manufactures components and fabrications for the food, medical, aerospace, defense and commercial industries. In fact, you can find Baron products in satellites, solar panels, military helicopters and jet fighters. With “concept to completion” manufacturing capabilities, Baron’s range of operations is impressive. But so is its range of products, which can range in size from a quarter-inch in diameter to more than 30 feet in length and 10,000 pounds. Here, we meet Jeremy Baron, vice president of Baron Machine in Laconia. Q: Describe a product you manufacture and the effect it has on consumers’ lives. A: We manufacture the main components for
luggage scanning equipment for a very large company. These are in most of the major airports around the country, and greatly improve the safety of millions of air travelers daily. Q: What does the future have in store for the Baron workforce? A. We are seeing a steady growth opportunity over the next five years. I would like to think that we will be able to hire 2-5 new employees per year for the next 2-3 years. The challenges that we face are finding employees with a decent knowledge of the machine tool trade. We are willing to train, but we require some experience up front. Q: How have you partnered with Lakes Region Community College to help build the workforce? A: I can’t begin to explain how excited we are about the potential that LRCC is bringing to the area with the new manufacturing programs. I feel that it will have a direct impact on Baron Machine in that LRCC will be pouring young, interested and - most importantly — educated potential lifetime employees into the community. Q: Who should choose a career in advanced manufacturing in New Hampshire? A: Anyone who likes seeing their accomplishments come to life before their eyes. One can achieve a great feeling of self worth from taking a drawing or CAD file, creating a program and machining a complete component out of a raw piece of material. To anyone hesitant about the industry, I would simply say this: Stop by and take a look at our facility. The industry has a stigma of being a dirty, dangerous trade with low pay. Actually, it is quite the opposite; we offer a clean, safe working environment with a very aggressive pay scale. To learn about advanced manufacturing training and academic programs at Lakes Region Community College, email TAACCCT project coordinator Don Brough at
[email protected]. To learn more about CCSNH advancements under the TAACCCT grant, e-mail marketing coordinator Desiree Crossley at
[email protected]. To learn more about Baron Machine, email jeremyb@ baronmachine.com. AMPed NH is sponsored by a $19.97 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration TAACCCT Grant #TC-22504-11-60-A-33. The Community College System of NH is an equal opportunity employer, and adaptive equipment is available upon request to persons with disabilities. Baron Machine photos
LACONIA — Bank of New Hampshire Prestige Plus members visited Stonewall Kitchen’s state-ofthe-art Cooking School classroom in York, Maine. While there, they watched a cooking demonstration by Guest Chef George Kando at the cooking school and enjoyed the finished holiday meal. After lunch the group shopped in the Stonewall Kitchen Store and completed the day with holiday shopping in Historic Portsmouth. Bank of New Hampshire’s Prestige Plus program has sponsored day trips, seminars and world travel for 24 years. For more information, call 1-800-8320912 or visit www.BankNH.com.
Bank of New Hampshire Prestige Plus Members Charlene and Peter Fijalkowski and Patricia and Dick Castrucci, visited Stonewall Kitchen’s state-of-the-art Cooking School classroom in York, Maine. (Courtesy photo)
Snowstorm slows effort to get power restored GARDINER, Maine (AP) — Snow fell Thursday in places still hustling to get power back on after a weekend ice storm that turned out the lights from Michigan to Maine and into Canada. Eastern Maine and parts of the state’s interior that have been without electricity since Sunday anticipated 3 to 7 inches of snow by the time the latest system pushed off the coast Thursday night. Utilities worried that the additional weight on branches and transmission lines could cause setbacks in the around-the-clock efforts to restore power. “We don’t think it’s going to help us much, that’s for sure,” said Susan Faloon, a spokeswoman for Bangor Hydro Electric in Maine. “There was some concern expressed over the last couple of days about that storm coming because obviously we still have lot of stuff weighing down trees and lines. “The system is pretty compromised out there,” she said. “We expect we will have more outages.” Maine reported more than 21,000 customers still out, down from a high of more than 106,000.
from preceding page is required. More information is available at www. watervillevalley.org/Recreation.html. Start your celebration early with Starry Nights on Saturday — gourmet dining mountainside around a fire inside the Sunnyside Timberlodge. Guests will enjoy the stars as they ride up the Valley Run Quad then ski or ride to the Sunnyside Timberlodge along a torch lit trail. Book by calling Therese at 603-2368311 ext. 3000. For more information, call 1-800-GO-VALLEY or visit www.visitwatervillevalley.com and www.waterville.com.
