A Machine Tool Company Invests in the Future Through Education

There have been many comments over the years that the machine tool Industry needs to participate more in developing the skilled workforce of the future. Toward that initiative, the staff at Bates Technical College in Tacoma, Washington (bates.ctc.edu) is now providing education on a Citizen M20 multi-axis Swiss-type machine tool.

With assistance from Page Spinetti of Spinetti Machinery (spinettimachinery.com), the college has been able to launch a Swiss-type machining class to further serve students in the Northwest.

Spinetti Machinery is passionate about building a strong connection between machine tool suppliers and college education skills. Mr. Spinetti donated and installed a Citizen M20 machine at the downtown Tacoma location. This generous donation included the costs to ship the machine from Florida and all subsequent technical support services to assist students in mastering the concept of programming and operating a “sliding headstock” machine.

Bates Technical Collage has a robust machine shop training program, serving students along the I-5 corridor within a 40-mile radius of the campus. It has a total of 14 CNC machines, including CNC lathes and milling machines. Two years ago, Spinetti Machinery donated a Citizen M20 to the school’s machining program.

Historically, milling has been the dominant machining process in the Northwest, because of its large aerospace customer base. We are now seeing more and more companies entering the Swiss market because of the capabilities of this machine type. This donation allows the college to continue educating students with skills germane to changing the manufacturing footprint in this region.