Lorain County JVS students in the Industrial Equipment Mechanics program have an exceptional opportunity to be trained on a hi-tech piece of agriculture equipment, thanks to the partnership and generosity of the Wellington Implement Company.
Tom Stannard, president and general manager of Wellington Implement, delivered a Case IH Magnum 310 tractor to the Lorain County JVS Industrial Equipment Mechanic students.
“Obviously the school can’t afford to go out and buy brand new equipment every year, so with the partnership with Case IH, they allow us to place equipment like this in programs like this one so the students can get familiar with some of the newer equipment,” said Stannard.
Along with the donation itself, Wellington Implement sends employees to Lorain County JVS a few times throughout the school year to work one-on-one with the students and help familiarize them the piece of equipment.
According to Stannard, there are several things for students to learn about on this tractor. “There are a lot of different systems on it; electrical, hydraulic, emissions, the technology part, and so we hope the students spend time with each part so when they do go out on that job interview, they are able to really talk the talk.”
“This partnership is important to my business also because we hope some of these students will come work for us one day, and the more exposure they have to the newer technology, the better it is for us all.”
Mason Bremke, Lorain County JVS Industrial Equipment Mechanics instructor and 2011 graduate of the same program, looks forward to this donation each year. “It is so important that our students learn on the equipment that is currently out there in the real world, and this piece of equipment shows them the exact types of things that are coming into the shops to be worked on.”
Morgan Eid, Industrial Equipment Mechanics junior, shared what he thought about the donation. “I’m honestly not too familiar with tractors, so this is new to me and I’m really excited to work on it.”
“The tractor is valued at over $400,000 and represents the very cutting edge of farm equipment technology, complete with GPS autosteer, a new display and new cab from what has been seen here in the past. There are no gears in the transmission, and it can go .1 MPH up to 30 and really, it’s just pretty cool,” Stannard said with a smile.
Bremke is thankful for this long-lasting partnership with this local company. “Every year Wellington Implement is so gracious to make this donation so that the students have the opportunity to learn and work on the equipment for a little while and we are incredibly thankful.”