The Ford Lima Engine plant in Ohio just celebrated a milestone early this year after producing its 45 millionth engine, a monumental landmark that it achieved after 60+ years of continuous operation. The 312-acre site originally opened back in 1957 and has been building Ford and Lincoln engines ever since, currently employing 1,530 people – that streak figures to continue indefinitely. In fact, the Ford Lima plant will continue building the Cyclone and Nano line of engines until at least May 2028, which is when the automaker’s latest deal with the United Auto Workers (UAW) is set to expire. Now, the Ford Lima plant is celebrating yet another expansion – this time, courtesy of Ohio State University, according to LimaOhio.com.
That addition is the new Ohio State University-Lima Engineering Education and Manufacturing Center, which is located right next to the Ford Lima plant and aims to attract the next generation of manufacturing workers, as well as train them and teach them the skills they’ll need to succeed in that field.
Measuring in at 40,000 square feet, the new manufacturing center is a mere six miles from the OSU-Lima campus, and contains eight labs, a 300-seat auditorium, and 12 classrooms, all serving as the basis for the college’s Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology program. The fact that it’s located so close to the Ford Lima plant also gives students the ability to not only seek future employment there, but also, experience their future careers in real-world situations, to boot.
“We will soon be graduating our first group of students this spring,” said OSU-Lima Interim Dean Margaret Young. “They’re going to come out of this program with the skills they need to immediately start contributing to the work of advanced manufacturing facilities. This center further establishes west central and northwest Ohio as the hub of manufacturing engineers. By bringing the education and industry together in one space, students will enjoy easy access to a wealth of resources and allow them to immediately contribute.”
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