Photo: A large crowd of business leaders, students, and government officials gather inside CalTex Protective Coatings for Manufacturing Day.
As the nation celebrated National Manufacturing Day on October 6, 2017, a large crowd of business leaders, students and government officials gathered inside the training room of Caltex Protective Coatings. Manufacturing Day is an occasion during which North American manufactures open their doors to showcase the potential of modern manufacturing and foster interest in manufacturing careers. The event gave Schertz residents the chance to see the inner workings of a modern manufacturing facility and exposed residents to careers in manufacturing that they may have never considered.
CalTex CEO, Bob Pruitt provided a warm welcome and an overview of the company which did well last year, selling more than 800,000 gallons of products. Afterwards he and his leadership team provided plant tours that showed how chemistry and nanotechnology are used to make automobile protective coatings to dealerships and body shops across the nation.
In addition to the plant tour, guests were treated to a student-led robotics demonstration and visited the Workforce on Wheels bus where they learned about employer services available through Workforce Solutions Alamo and training programs through the Alamo Colleges Corporate College program.
Schertz Mayor Michael R. Carpenter prerecorded a video message where he reinforced the city’s commitment to support manufacturing.
“Schertz, has a deep appreciation for manufacturing which does not occur just one day of the year. It is a planned, long-term commitment and process that involves many stakeholders and encompasses numerous activities that include manufacturing roundtables and workforce development initiatives,” Carpenter said.
“As the manufacturing industry faces challenges in the future, most notably recruiting talent and educating the community that manufacturing facilities are filled with highly trained, well-paid employees who work on technical equipment know that you have a commitment from the Schertz City Council, City Staff and Economic Development Corporation – a commitment to listen, to remove barriers that keep you from being competitive and build and sustain a strong infrastructure Thank you for doing you part, building great products and strengthening our economy. Strong manufacturing companies make Schertz strong,” Carpenter said.
Manufacturing Day is an annual event and will fall on Friday, October 5, 2018. Mark your calendars as we plan another exciting opportunity to reinforce the message that manufacturing offers excellent career options.