Medical giant Eli Lilly & Co. has donated a Wittmann micromolding work cell — including a MicroPower molding machine it had previously used for production, aong with a two-shot mold, robot, dryer, temperature control units and feeders — to the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell). To prepare the cell for use by students in the school’s plastics engineering program, Wittmann added new end-of-arm-tools and wrote new software programs for the machine at its U.S. headquarters in Torrington, Conn.; it also provided training to UMass Lowell operators.
Wittmann USA President David Preusse and Ho-Seon Jin, Lilly senior director-engineering, are both UMass Lowell alumni, and they spearheaded the project. At a ceremony marking the donation April 11, Preusse pointed out that this was Wittmann's second major donation to the school.
“We all know about the ongoing problem with the worker shortage in our country and our industry,” he said. “It is our hope that this new work cell will help the university continue to develop more career-ready graduates with both the engineering and hands-on experience to enter the plastics industry and make an immediate impact.”
