More than 100 manufacturing exhibitors showcased their businesses today at the 5th annual Valley Made Summit. This summit was held in Downtown Fresno at the Convention Center.
Troy Brandt is the Chairman of the Board for the San Joaquin Valley Manufacturing Alliance. He said manufacturing is constantly changing.
“Students don’t understand what manufacturing looks like today,” said Brandt. “Many of them have a vision of a dark factory that’s grimy but today it is about all animation and programming.”
Brandt says manufacturing is always changing and adding more technology. He said it develops at such a fast pace.
“The summit is growing and expanding and we are bringing in more partners and more education,” said Brandt. “We have more career technical education programs in our schools now and they are all here.”
One educational program that was in attendance was Fresno State’s VIP Program. This program links engineering students with local manufactures.
Molly Lasslett is a Fresno State Student in the Electrical Engineering Department. She said she is apart of VIP and hopes this will help her land a job in the valley when she graduates.
“The Valley Industry Partnership that I took part of puts you in two six months internship with two different manufacturing companies in the valley,” said Lasslett.
Some at the event said the valley isn’t just known for it agriculture but also for its manufacturing.
Daniel Martin is an Electrical and Automation Engineer for a company in Tulare. Martin said he wished he went to events like this one before getting in the industry.
“We are trying to help develop and build the next generation of engineers, and like all engineers, they usually have to increase their capacity of learning,” said Martin. “So, we can take on the technology challenges that are in front of us.”
—
For local and breaking news, and to get weather alerts, download our FREE mobile app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.