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IIT Industrial Technology and Management Program Adjunct Professor Blake M. Davis recently coordinated a student group tour of The LINE Group’s manufacturing facility in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The LINE Group is a leading supplier of high quality precision metal stampings (deep draw stamping, progressive tooling, single operation and hand transfer), fabrications and electromechanical assemblies. “It was great to meet these students, some of whom represent the next generation of manufacturing,” stated LINE Group President and CEO Al Panico. “I am impressed by their dedication and early knowledge of engineering and manufacturing practices".

Davis felt that this was a great opportunity for the students in his summer class, INTM 497-01 Special Projects in Renewable Energy. Many of the tour participants were one-year exchange students from Brazil, sponsored by the Brazil Scientific Mobility Program (BSMP). BSMP offers scholarships for Brazilian students to study engineering at an American University. Their program also includes summer internships and completion of special projects as part of their curriculum while in the U.S. Professor Davis’ Sustainable Energy Program is an especially popular option for the BSMP students. “It’s important to get out of the classroom and witness actual manufacturing,” said Professor Davis. “I really appreciate Mr. Panico and his team at LINE Group for making time to demonstrate how they make what they make to our students.” Most of the students had never been to a manufacturing facility before.

Panico also serves as Board Chair of Technology Manufacturing Aligned (TMA), a not-for-profit professional organization with nearly 1,000 members representing more than 30,000 employees of precision manufacturing and supplier companies throughout Illinois. He noted that “these are exactly the type of students we look for to participate in TMA training programs.” They are all working on design projects at IIT that address some aspect of energy conservation or renewable energy generation. Davis’ students will display their final projects at IIT on Friday, July 25th, from 10am-1pm at Herman Hall.