NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Ericca Reynolds (reynoldse@nsula.edu)
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

2/07/2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES-A grant to provide technical training to maintenance employees at three area plants was awarded to Northwestern State University's Department of Industrial and Engineering Technology by the Rapides Foundation. The project is headed by Professor of Industrial and Engineering Technology Dr. Bill Dennis and covers training at Martin Lumber Company in Pineville, Boise Building Solutions in Alexandria and Alliance Compressors in Natchitoches. The grant was initially awarded in 2001 and totals $190,000.

"Louisiana, in general, is lacking sufficient numbers of maintenance people that have high maintenance skills," said Dennis. "In the past, industries have been forced to hire people from out state. These people stay, get their training then leave."

One of the main purposes for this training, which is provided by Northwestern faculty, is to train maintenance employees that already live and work in the area and who plan to reside in Louisiana.

Currently, on going training for technical maintenance employees of the three industries is in the highly technical discipline of Programmable Logic Controllers, also known as PLC's which are the control hubs for a wide variety of automated systems and processes. Previous topics have included beginning and advanced electronics, blueprint reading and schematics and troubleshooting techniques. The next class will start in March and will be the fundamentals of Allen-Bradley/Rockwell Automation Logix 5000 Systems, a programming software package.

According to Dennis, one unique feature of the this training is that it allows workers to visit with their peers at other plants.

"This allows for ideas and techniques to be exchanged," said Dennis. "This is very unusual for competitors."

For more information about the training, contact Dennis at (318) 357-5026 or dennisw@nsula.edu.

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