Women Building Futures Celebrates First Graduating Class Women Building Futures (WBF), a trades training organization for women in Alberta, Canada, recently celebrated the graduation of its first Ironworker Readiness class. Along with its partners, North West Redwater Partnership (NWR) and the Alberta Ironworkers Apprenticeship and Training Plan (Local 720), the new program was launched in late 2015 to meet the need for motivated, skilled tradespeople in the construction and maintenance of the NWR Sturgeon Refinery, located near Edmonton, Alberta. The program partners joined together to recognize the Ironworker graduates now entering Alberta’s workforce at NWR’s Sturgeon Refinery. Currently in Phase 1 construction, the refinery now stands to benefit from the proactive recruitment, training, and apprenticeship of these women. “These highly skilled women represent the strength, determination, and diversity of this great province. Not only will they build the energy infrastructure of Alberta’s future, they have chosen to take hold of their own futures, to do what they love, and to prove any and all nay-sayers wrong,” said Margaret McCuaig-Boyd, Minister of Energy. Tuition for the program was provided by NWR, and work experience and employment at NWR’s Sturgeon Refinery was provided in conjuction with its contractors, Fluor Canada and PCL Industrial Constructors, Inc. Participants were also indentured as Ironworking apprentices with the Alberta Ironworker Apprenticeship and Training Plan, who provided the hands-on skill building. “The WBF Ironworkers training program is an important next step in a wider effort to help open doors for women in trades. We are pleased to welcome these recent graduates as they join us at PCL on the NWR project site,” said Gary Truhn, vice president and general manager, PCL Industrial Constructors, Inc. Photonics Cluster Opens in Aachen, Germany The International Laser Technology Congress AKL’16, organized by Fraunhofer ILT, Aachen, Germany, welcomed more than 500 laser technology experts and 100 scientists, business leaders, and politicians to the opening of the new Photonics Cluster on the RWTH Aachen Campus. This center specializes in researching and developing techniques designed to generate, shape, and harness light — in particular as an industrial manufacturing tool. Guests were present to see property developers Landmarken AG and KPF architects officially hand Fraunhofer ILT the keys to the center. Following the “Photonics Cluster — Tailored Light” talk, they had the opportunity to visit the new building and take a look at its research facilities and offices. “With the addition of the Photonics Cluster on RWTH Aachen Campus, our international reputation for laser technology will expand even further,” said Reinhart Poprawe, director of the Photonics Cluster. “Now the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT and RWTH institutes can work together with companies under one roof to explore the future of lasers and their versatile applications.” EWI Extends Manufacturing Services to Australia EWI, Columbus, Ohio, an engineering and technology organization dedicated to developing, testing, and implementing manufacturing technologies, is now offering its services in Australia to help manufacturers with technology challenges. Marc Purslow, who is based in Sydney, will represent EWI’s technology capabilities throughout the country with a focus on the defense, rail, heavy manufacturing, and aerospace industries. EWI’s global network of technical centers, industrial partnerships, and team of applied engineers will support Purslow’s efforts. “The Australian government, through the development of the National Innovation and Science Agenda, has demonstrated a strong commitment to innovation and progress on a national scale,” said EWI President and CEO Henry Cialone. “With our technological expertise and strong history of manufacturing innovation, EWI can help advance this ambitious plan in the same way we have worked to enhance the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers for over 30 years.” INTERNATIONAL UPDATE 10 WELDING JOURNAL / JULY 2016 WJ Women Building Futures’s first Ironworker Readiness class recently graduated and entered Alberta’s workforce at North West Redwater Partnership’s Sturgeon Refinery. Architects from Landmarken AG and KPF (right) officially handed the keys to the new Photonics Cluster over to Fraunhofer ILT. From left: Jens Kreiterling, Landmarken AG; Jens Hardvendel, KPF Architects; Norbert Hermanns, Landmarken AG; Aachen’s City Manager Annekathrin Grehling; Chair of Additive Manufacturing Johannes Henrich Schleifenbaum; Ernst Schmachtenberg, RWTH Aachen University; and Reinhart Poprawe, director of the Photonics Cluster. (Photo Fraunhofer ILT/Andreas Steindl.)
Welding Journal | July 2016
To see the actual publication please follow the link above