- CAREER SKILLS PROGRAMS-- | | MAMC honors more than 40 degree and certificate earners | | |
---More than 40 Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center (MAMC) students earned two-year associate degrees or one-year certificate degrees this month, including 11 students who are the first to graduate from MAMC’s newest career skills program – SMART (Systems Maintenance, Automation & Robotics Technology).
---That’s nearly four dozen machinists, welders and industrial maintenance technicians to fill manufacturing jobs across West Virginia.
---Many of the graduates already have secured jobs or internships at companies including Alcon, Constellium, Gestamp, Industrial Bolting Technologies, Liberty Engineering, McCorkle Machine and Engineering, Niterra North America, Nucor Steel West Virginia, Phillips Machine Services, Riggs Machine and Fabricating, Special Metals, Superior Marine, Toyota West Virginia and Wooten Machine Co., among others.
---“A former colleague who had a long university career remarked that we should promote our career skills initiatives as ‘get-a-job’ programs because more than 95 percent of our students either have a job lined up or get offers when they complete their studies,” said MAMC Director Derek Scarbro. “We’re pleased his insight is so real for the men and women who we educate and honor today.”
---The newest graduates were recognized May 5 during a celebratory luncheon at MAMC Huntington sponsored by Niterra North America.
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| | Learn more about our career skills programs at www.mfg.marshall.edu/careers. | | Metal Tech sponsors to provide industry insights during B2B event | | |
---The May 19 Tri-State Metal Tech Supply Chain Expo in Huntington, presented by the Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center (MAMC) and Advantage Valley, is made possible with the generous support of industry partners who will share information about their operations and expertise during the business-to-business networking event.
---As title sponsor, Mull Group of Wheeling provided major funding to support the 2026 business-to-business networking event. Founded in 1961, Mull Group is a family-owned company that manufactures and repairs rolling mill equipment, makes gears and other metal components as well as provides galvanizing services and operates a brass and bronze foundry at five machine shops in the northern West Virginia and eastern Ohio.
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| | Click here to learn more about Metal Tech and to register for the free event. | | Join us May 14 to celebrate our makerspace's 10-year anniversary | | |
---The Maker Vault, West Virginia’s largest makerspace, has been serving the community since May 2016 – marking its 10th anniversary. That’s 10 years of innovation, 10 years of creation and 10 years of transforming ideas into reality. The past decade has seen Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center’s (MAMC) community makerspace blossom into an epicenter of creativity, expression, invention and making for the Tri-State and beyond.
---The team at MAMC is excited to invite members of the public to stop by 1050 4th Ave. Thursday, May 14, between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to help us celebrate this milestone. See demonstrations of MAMC’s various 3D printers, laser cutters and other technology available to makers of all ages.
---MAMC also will showcase a unique display of 3D printed items and other cool creations by Make Vault members as well as provide hands-on making activities to allow attendees to demonstrate their inner creativity.
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| | Learn more about the MAMC makerspace at www.mfg.marshall.edu/maker-vault. | | Angler turned enterpreneur reels in new markets with MAMC assistance | | |
---Matt Steele has gone from frustrated fisherman to enterprising entrepreneur.
---The Spring Valley resident and his cousin – avid anglers – weren’t satisfied with the commercially available lures they were casting to try to reel in West Virginia's largest fish – the mighty musky (or formally, Muskellunge).
---Four and a half years ago, they decided to do something about it.
---“We were ordering baits and getting stuff that wasn’t exactly what we were asking for,” Steele said. “We got to the point where we said, ‘We’ll just make it ourselves and make exactly what we’re looking for.’”
---At first, the custom lures were strictly for personal use. Steele, an avid musky fisherman since 2015, wanted a bait that better matched the fish’s natural prey.
---“A musky’s main diet is a sucker,” Steele explained. “Everything we make is based off a sucker-style shape. These are as close as you can get. They’re actually molded after a real live sucker.”
---Soon, fellow anglers began asking where they could get the lures.
| | M&K Customers owner Matt Steele displays one of several 3D-printed molds and fishing lures he developed with Early-Stage Funding Assistance from MAMC. | |
Word-of-mouth demand quickly turned into a business opportunity.
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| | - SYSTEMS MAINTENANCE, AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS TECHNOLOGY-- | | Toyota WV selects new MAMC students for internship program | | |
---Most college students hope to secure jobs in their chosen fields after graduation. Three incoming students in the Systems Maintenance, Automation & Robotics Technology (SMART) Program offered by Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center (MAMC) and Mountwest Community and Technical College have landed employment before they even begin their studies.
---Trenton Casdorph of Culloden, an upcoming graduate of Hurricane High School and Putnam Career & Technical Center; Cooper Craig of Ashton, an upcoming graduate of Point Pleasant High School; and Bobby Lucas of West Hamlin, a graduate of Lincoln County High School and current student in the MAMC Machinist Technology/CNC Program, have been selected through a competitive process by Toyota West Virginia for two-year paid internships in the company’s Advanced Manufacturing Technician (AMT) program.
---The three will begin their Toyota internships in August just before they start SMART classes at MAMC and Mountwest. They will work three days a week at Toyota’s Buffalo facility under the
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guidance of experienced mentors, gaining real-world experience as they learn to trouble-shoot, repair and maintain the company’s complex equipment and systems. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the students will pursue their SMART education at MAMC and Mountwest.
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Learn more about SMART at www.mfg.marshall.edu/smart. | |
Salary range: $45,000-$55,000
Join the MAMC team!
Be part of the dynamic team of individuals supporting manufacturers and entrepreneurs across the region.
Our new accounting specialist will be based at Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center's Huntington headquarters.
Details and application link at www.mfg.marshall.edu/jobs.
| | | | UPCOMING PARTNER EVENTS & TRAINING | | |
May 13: Money Smart: Tax Planning and Reporting
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., online
Join the West Virginia District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the West Virginia Small Business Development Center for the series Money Smart for Small Business. From this modular, practical workshop its attendees will learn to plan, report and manage small business tax requirements. More information
May 20: Translating Federal Contracting Government-ese
10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., online
Learn to read the gamut of alphabet-soup acronyms from IDIQ, REA, CPIF, to full and open, and Ability One when you are involved in federal contracting. From this session, small business owners will review common terms used regularly by federal contracting staff so you can better bridge the communication gap and integrate more easily in the federal market. More information
May 20: Money Smart: Risk Management
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., online
Join the West Virginia District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the West Virginia Small Business Development Center as they prepare you for anything during this Risk Management workshop. From this modular,
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practical workshop its attendees will learn to spot, assess and manage risks so your small business thrives — no matter what challenges come your way. More information
May 26: Manufacturing Minute
10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., online
One of the top priorities of the Small Business Administration (SBA) is a deeper engagement with manufacturing communities where access to capital and federal contracting opportunities have been limited. Join the SBA for a 30-minute session that features SBA’s Made in America Manufacturing Initiative, which is laser focused on growing American-based manufacturers. More information
May 27: Money Smart: Selling Your Business
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., online
Join the West Virginia District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the West Virginia Small Business Development Center to plan your business exit like a pro! From this modular, practical workshop its attendees will learn smart strategies for selling, transferring, and succession to ensure that your business legacy lives on after you have retired or sold it. More information
Submit details about your events and training to MAMC's Mike Friel at mike.friel@mfg.marshall.edu.
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