East Texas Manufacturing Alliance Career Day

Over the past few years, interest in the manufacturing industry has increasingly waned. The East Texas Manufacturing Alliance (ETMA), was created to inform the community about the availability of careers in the manufacturing industry.

LUFTEX Gears, along with other members of ETMA, spent February 12th educating and exposing local high school students about Manufacturing careers in the Lufkin and Nacogdoches area.

More than 150 students were transported to the Nacogdoches County Civic Center. They heard presentations from Trade professionals in the following fields: Forest Product Manufacturing, Advance Assembly, Manufacturing Support and Integrated Machining and Electrical Operations.

LUFTEX Gears employees were included in the Integrated Machining and Electrical Operations presentation. This presentation included a brief history of the company, along with the company products and careers.

During lunch, the local college and university presented programs on their curriculums that were available and are relevant to the Manufacturing industry. As a member of ETMA, it is very encouraging to know that our higher education leaders understand the need for creating a sustainable, well-educated, and trained labor force. They also aggressively seek manufacturers’ input to make sure they are educating and guiding the students in areas that are most relevant to our current needs.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent exposing the students to a mock trade show. Attending Manufacturers set up booths and demos--the same as any tradeshow. This allowed the students to spend one-on-one time with the various company representatives to find out more about the available careers.

After the event, several counselors have requested follow-up plant tours at the LUFTEX facility for their students. LUFTEX Gears will continue to be involved in supporting the development of future employees through its involvement with ETMA and as advisors to the local colleges. We believe this connection is imperative for maintaining a strong presence in manufacturing worldwide.