Raymond Supports SkillsUSA National Welding Fabrication Competition, Inspires Talent Development

Jun 25, 2018

As part of the 54th annual National Leadership and Skills Conference, more than 18,000 people — including students, teachers and business partners — will attend educational seminars to learn more about career options across various technical industries and participate in hands-on competitions that demonstrate their skills.

GREENE, N.Y., June 25, 2018 — This week, The Raymond Corporation is attending SkillsUSA in Louisville, Kentucky, from June 25-29, to help educate and encourage young talent to explore career paths in manufacturing. As part of the 54th annual National Leadership and Skills Conference, more than 18,000 people — including students, teachers and business partners — will attend educational seminars to learn more about career options across various technical industries and participate in hands-on competitions that demonstrate their skills.

Raymond welding team leaders and technical trainers will facilitate and judge the welding fabrication competition taking place June 26-28. For this year’s competition, the SkillsUSA Championships Welding Fabrication Technical Committee designed a standard rocket stove rendering and gave the information and prints to competitors in advance of the event. As part of the competition, participants will be required to weld the specified rocket stove and conceptualize a collection box design that will serve as next year’s competition project. Participants will be graded on the rocket stove creation and the collection box design.

In collaboration with WaterStep, a nonprofit organization based in Louisville, the rocket stoves will be donated to third-world countries to provide individuals with an efficient and cost-effective way to heat and cook food.

“Raymond is thrilled to once again be participating in SkillsUSA to help teach the next generation about opportunities that exist within the material handling industry and help shrink the skills gap,” said Dan Quiter, welding trainer, Raymond. “We will have recruiters onsite to meet with students interested in learning more about available technician positions across Raymond-affiliated companies nationwide.”

The Raymond Virtual Reality Simulator, a supplemental tool to assist in the development of new and existing forklift operators, also will be available during the conference for students to experience. This innovative virtual reality instructional tool is another way the company aims to attract new talent to the industry and help address the labor shortage that many companies in the material handling industry face today.

To further show its support for this event, Raymond Storage Concepts, Inc., an authorized Raymond Solutions and Support Center with a location in Kentucky, donated 10 forklifts to SkillsUSA to help with conference preparation and logistics.

About SkillsUSA

SkillsUSA is a vital solution to the growing U.S. skills gap. This nonprofit partnership of students, instructors and industry ensures America has the skilled workforce it needs to stay competitive. Founded in 1965 and endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education, the association serves more than 360,000 member students and instructors each year in middle schools, high schools and colleges. This diverse talent pipeline covers 130 trade, technical and skilled service occupations, the majority STEM-related. More than 600 corporations, trade associations, businesses and labor unions support SkillsUSA at the national level. SkillsUSA programs are integrated into career and technical education through a framework of personal, workplace and technical skills grounded in academics. Local, state and national championships, designed and judged by industry, set relevant standards for career and technical education and provide needed recognition to students. SkillsUSA also offers technical skill assessments and workplace credentials. For more information, go to www.SkillsUSA.org.

About The Raymond Corporation

For more than 95 years, The Raymond Corporation has built a reputation on innovation, quality and service. Raymond® manual and electric forklifts meet a variety of material handling needs and offer advanced end-to-end warehouse solutions that enable operations to run better and manage smarter. This philosophy helps ensure Raymond and its customers are always evolving, always running, always moving ahead — and always on. The portfolio of advanced offerings includes the iWAREHOUSE® fleet management and warehouse optimization system; automated lift truck solutions for the warehouse of the future; and the Raymond Virtual Reality Simulator, a supplemental instructional tool that helps customers improve their operations and meet industry labor demands. Raymond also provides industry-leading customer support through a network of skilled technicians and its authorized Solutions and Support Centers. Raymond’s work in energy savings, space utilization, ergonomics, manufacturing quality and fleet optimization — combined with best-in-class products and services — work together to increase efficiency and lower costs throughout material handling operations.

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