News about Heavy Equipment

Foley Inc., a Cat® equipment dealer serving New Jersey; southeast Pennsylvania; Staten Island, New York; and northern Delaware, has enhanced and expanded its partnership with Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Foley, a Corporate Tomorrow Maker, has partnered with Penn College for 20 years in association with the heavy construction equipment technology: Caterpillar equipment emphasis and heavy equipment technology programs. The company is recognized as a Visionary Society member ($100,000-$499,999) on the college’s Donor Wall.

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On the 52nd annual Earth Day, Pennsylvania College of Technology hailed a phenomenon only slightly younger: the Schneebeli Earth Science Center, home to memories, marvels and the makers of a million tomorrows. Observing the milestone golden anniversary of the Allenwood area campus on a beautiful spring afternoon, attendees reveled in “this special place” known as the ESC.

“It is more than a place or a building, though,” said alumnus Justin W. Beishline, assistant dean of diesel technology and natural resources. “This is a place where you were possibly introduced to your career passion. This is a place where you met mentors who fostered your talent and helped you to become a professional. This is a place where, after you left high school, you met people with similar career aspirations and built lifelong friendships. If you came here right from high school, you left a home of 18 years to forge a new life, and the people at the ESC became your new family for two years.”

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Among the exhibitors at this year’s Motorama, making a triumphant return to the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg after a COVID-caused hiatus, was Penn College’s Diesel Performance Club and its 1959 B Model Mack drag truck. “The club gets really excited about Motorama and being able to show the truck to future students and alumni,” President Marcayla M. Lutzkanin said, adding that members gladly allow children to have their photos taken inside the vehicle. “Seeing the kids get all excited about being able to sit in the truck by far was my favorite part of the weekend. It is just an amazing feeling to make younger kids’ dreams come true and hopefully encourage them to be involved in trades when they get older and in high school. We created a memory for them that they won’t forget.” Although the organization didn’t bring home any trophies from the event earlier this semester, and members will continue to fine-tune their booth presentation, she said the club enjoys the public interaction and the recruitment potential that the popular venue provides.

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Allan Myers, the Mid-Atlantic’s largest heavy civil contractor and a valued Pennsylvania College of Technology Corporate Tomorrow Maker, has pledged $250,000 to expand its support of students and programs at the college.

The funds will be used for branding at the college’s heavy equipment operations site in Brady Township, to help support equipment needs and to expand the company’s scholarship through the Allan Myers Corporate Scholar Program at Penn College.

“This support from Allan Myers will significantly impact not only the experience and instruction for the heavy equipment operations program, but will also help Allan Myers Corporate Scholars with much-needed financial support,” said Elizabeth A. Biddle, director of corporate relations. “We sincerely thank Allan Myers for its longtime partnership and the generous support it provides to our programs and students. We look forward to seeing more great things happen.”

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Connections between Penn College and such corporate partners as Anderson Equipment Co. have always been invaluable, whether through equipment and monetary donations or in the hiring of skilled graduates. Join Justin W. Beishline, the college’s assistant dean of diesel technology and natural resources, and Jerry Skiff, director for service for Anderson – against the video backdrop of engaged faculty and students in the Schneebeli Earth Science Center’s well-outfitted labs – for a cogent assessment of what industry alliances mean when recruiting and educating the employees of tomorrow. “It’s amazing how many people are unaware of the opportunities in this industry,” Skiff says. “There’s a lot of job satisfaction in coming to work in the morning, working on a machine that costs $750,000 to $2 million, and you’re the one that got that machine up and running. Penn College provides those type of technicians for us.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Some archival lab footage predates the college’s COVID-19 precautions.)

Pennsylvania College of Technology and Anderson Equipment Co. have entered into an entrustment allowing for students in the heavy construction equipment technology program to hone their skills on a construction bulldozer.

The five-month entrustment, which runs through April 2022, enables students in the heavy construction equipment technology: technician emphasis major to access a new 2022 Komatsu D51PX-24 crawler dozer – valued at $245,190 – for instructional purposes.

Students will do undercarriage measurements; emission training; and electronic, hydraulic and HVAC diagnosis on the dozer.

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Twenty-eight students from a variety of Career and Technical Education schools participated in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s inaugural diesel competition at the institution’s Schneebeli Earth Science Center.

The well-planned Dec. 10-11 event – which shone a spotlight on hands-on learning, as well as illuminating the corporate partners who encourage students and hire graduates – resulted in scholarships to three top performers should they enroll in the college’s heavy equipment technology (Caterpillar, operator or technician emphasis), diesel technology or electric power generation: diesel emphasis majors.

Northern Tier Career Center, which won first place overall and received a $5,000 certificate for training aids from Cleveland Brothers Equipment Co. Inc., also claimed the top-finishing student: Adam Leonard, who won a $10,000 Penn College scholarship. Second place ($7,500) went to Aidan Nunan, from Berks Career & Technology Center (diesel); Bryce Hahn, from North Montco Technical Career Center, was third ($5,000).

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Cross-campus collaboration has put Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Baja SAE team in the driver’s seat for this spring’s competitions, featuring top schools from throughout the nation.

A student-driven partnership between the Baja team and the heavy construction equipment technology program resulted in the creation of a quarter-mile test track through the woods at the college’s operations training site near Allenwood. The track replicates conditions the team will face at Baja competitions conducted by SAE International, an organization for engineering professionals.

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The loan of a Volvo Construction Equipment excavator to Pennsylvania College of Technology, facilitated by Highway Equipment & Supply Co., builds on the partners’ historic commitment to enhancing the skills of their future employees.

“We are grateful for the continued support of Highway Equipment & Supply and Volvo Construction Equipment,” said Ryan W. Peck, an instructor of diesel equipment technology at Penn College’s 125-acre operations site in Brady Township. “Our students remain excited to have different industry leaders as part of the curriculum and to learn the different facets of technology by Volvo.”

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The 2021 recipient of the annual “Pathfinder to Excellence” award, presented by Pennsylvania College of Technology and Caterpillar Inc. to an exemplary faculty member, is no stranger to the distinction: He also won it last year.

John D. Motto, an instructor at the college’s Schneebeli Earth Science Center near Allenwood, was the back-to-back selection for an honor presented since 2003 to someone who “has developed effective teaching techniques, enhanced learning materials, demonstrated a keen sensitivity to students’ needs and maintained high academic standards.”

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With a customary Penn College mix of theory and hands-on experience, aided by machinery donations from such industry leaders as Caterpillar and Allison, tomorrow makers in diesel technology, electric power generation: diesel emphasis, and heavy construction equipment technology (with its technician and Caterpillar emphases) are moving confidently toward career satisfaction. “We have it really good,” says Chris S. Weaver, assistant professor and department head for diesel equipment technology. “We have a lot of new equipment and a lot of backing to teach these students what they need to know before they leave here.” Join Weaver for a virtual tour of the Schneebeli Earth Science Center, about 10 miles south of main campus, home to fully loaded labs for diesel truck, heavy equipment and power generation majors.

Komatsu is once again providing Pennsylvania College of Technology with an excavator for instructional use at the college’s 125-acre heavy equipment operations site in Brady Township.

The like-new unit – a Komatsu PC210LCi intelligent machine control excavator, featuring onboard GPS guidance – is being provided as part of an entrustment agreement with Komatsu. The company has entrusted similar equipment to Penn College since 2019.

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“Because tomorrow begins today,” Penn College campuses welcomed scores of high school students for six more Pre-College Programs in recent days. (A variety of programs focused on more of the college’s academic majors were held in June.) The past week’s schedule included three new summer offerings – Diesel Truck & Heavy Equipment, Fundamentals of Emergency Response, and Thingamajig Fabricators – joining returning favorites Automotive Restoration; Design, Build & Grow Landscape & Horticulture; and Graphic Design Summer Studio. All told, the college hosted 211 high schoolers for two sessions of overnight camps this season and 40 middle schoolers during two weeks of My Tomorrow day camps.

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A full-service commercial construction company, founded in 1911 and based in Lancaster County, has endowed a scholarship to assist Pennsylvania College of Technology students in a variety of related majors.

The Warfel Construction Endowed Scholarship is focused on students pursuing degrees in building construction technology, concrete science technology, construction management and heavy construction equipment technology: operator emphasis.

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Penn College’s “My Tomorrow” program (June 21-24 and June 28-July 1) opened middle-schoolers’ minds to a variety of vocational possibilities through hands-on activities and faculty-led sessions. The initiative, sponsored by the Soars Family, exposed students to a number of prospective careers – such as engineering, business and hospitality, the arts, and health sciences – as well as giving them a jump on charting their paths to success and satisfaction.

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