News about Heavy Equipment

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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After a year’s absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Baja SAE team returned to action with a flourish, posting four top-10 results at Baja SAE Louisville.

The recent Society of Automotive Engineers competition – hosted by the University of Louisville – required students to design and build a single-seat, all-terrain sporting vehicle to meet various challenges. Penn College topped several prominent colleges and universities in the 78-car field, including Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Auburn, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.

In dynamic events, Penn College finished first (acceleration), fourth (suspension) and eighth (maneuverability) before capping the competition with a third-place showing in the endurance race, considered Baja SAE’s toughest test.

The overall performance was Penn College’s best in the team’s 16-year history.

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Through a newly formed partnership, Terex Corp. is providing the latest technology to Pennsylvania College of Technology with the donation of a new crane engine and four drive axles.

The equipment, valued at nearly $70,000, will be used to enhance instruction in the college’s heavy construction equipment technology and diesel technology programs.

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The mikeroweWORKS Foundation recognized the potential of nine Pennsylvania College of Technology students to shrink the skills gap by awarding them Work Ethic Scholarships for the 2020-21 academic year.

The foundation, created by skilled-labor advocate Mike Rowe, distributes the scholarships annually to students who “embrace personal responsibility, delayed gratification, a positive attitude and a strong work ethic” in preparing for a career in the skilled trades. Over $1 million was distributed to 223 recipients nationwide. Nearly 1,000 students applied for the scholarships.

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From the Spring 2020 Penn College Magazine: “Volvo is king in Portugal,” said heavy construction equipment technology student Jonathan G. Vasconcelos as he sat in a Volvo EC220 excavator recently loaned to the college by Volvo Construction Equipment and facilitated by Highway Equipment & Supply Co. Vasconcelos was born in Massachusetts, but his family hails from the Azores, a nine-island archipelago off the coast of Portugal. Read more about his experiences as a member of the Penn College Family in “Scooping up skills.”

A member of the diesel equipment technology faculty has been honored by Pennsylvania College of Technology and Caterpillar Inc. with the annual “Pathfinder to Excellence” award.

John D. Motto, an instructor at the college’s Schneebeli Earth Science Center near Allenwood, is the latest recipient of an award presented since 2003 to someone who “develops effective teaching techniques, enhances learning materials, demonstrates a keen sensitivity to student needs and maintains high academic standards.”

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Three pieces of Komatsu construction machinery are on loan to Pennsylvania College of Technology for use at the institution’s heavy equipment operations site in Brady Township.

Operations students at the 125-acre outdoor lab south of main campus are afforded regular access to the wheel loader, bulldozer and excavator through the end of the semester, the latest in Komatsu’s philanthropy on behalf of its future workforce.

“The equipment that Komatsu has provided to us has been a valuable asset to student learning in our operations lab,” said Ryan W. Peck, instructor of diesel equipment technology. “The exposure the students have gotten from this equipment is indescribable in how it has helped prepare them to go into the earth-moving industry.”

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Two associate-degree majors within the heavy construction equipment technology program at Pennsylvania College of Technology have been reaccredited by The AED Foundation.

Accredited for five more years are heavy construction equipment technology: Caterpillar equipment emphasis and heavy construction equipment technology: technician emphasis, two-year majors offered at Penn College’s Schneebeli Earth Science Center south of main campus.

“We are pleased that you have chosen to demonstrate your commitment to academic excellence and continuous improvement through the process of accreditation,” AED Foundation Chairman Whit Perryman said.

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The corporate generosity that provides Pennsylvania College of Technology students with up-to-date tools befitting a campuswide pool of “tomorrow makers” lives on in an equipment loan from Volvo Construction Equipment, facilitated by Highway Equipment & Supply Co.

A Volvo EC220 excavator has been made available through the end of the Fall 2019 semester, and already has seen considerable use by students in the summer operations classes.

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Hosted by Highway Equipment & Supply Co., the Volvo Construction Equipment/Discovery Gold Rush Excavator tour will stop at Pennsylvania College of Technology from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5.

The Gold Rush Excavator celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Discovery show, “Gold Rush,” and is on tour in the United States and Canada, featuring the new Volvo CE EC200E 20-ton model with an Akzo Nobel paint job valued at $5,000 to $7,000; one-of-a-kind, custom premium leather KAB seating with the embroidered signatures of co-stars Tony Beets, Parker Schnabel and Rick Ness; and gold custom track pads.

The Gold Rush Excavator will be stationed on the parking lot between UPMC Field and the Parkes Automotive Technology Center. The college community is invited to attend this unique “selfie opportunity,” then post photos with #GoldRushExcavator and #HwyEquip.

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A total of 275 students have petitioned to graduate following Pennsylvania College of Technology’s summer sessions. A commencement ceremony is set for Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Community Arts Center.

The student speaker for the 11 a.m. event will be Dylan Gary Otis, of Wyalusing, who will be presented with Associate of Applied Science degrees in heavy construction equipment technology: technician emphasis and heavy construction equipment technology: operator emphasis.

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