ENGEL Earns Top University Honors

ENGEL North America, a world leader in the design and manufacture of injection molding machines and parts-handling automation, is truly honored to be one of the first recipients of the Partners In Education Award presented by the Plastics Engineering Technology Advisory Council (PETAC) at Pittsburg State University (PSU; Pittsburg, KS; http://www.pittstate.edu)—a 107 year-old educational institution with an enrollment of more than 7,000 students.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of their four-year, Bachelor's degree, Plastics Engineering Technology program this year, PETAC officials decided to formally acknowledge the individuals and the companies that have supported their curriculum.

Eight companies were chosen to receive the first awards, and ENGEL led the field.

Over the past decade, ENGEL has supplied three different machines on consignment to PSU's Kansas Technology Center (KTC) for its plastics program, the latest being an all-electric, tiebarless, ENGEL e-motion 110 US – which was then donated to the university. There presently are 85 students in PSU's four-year Plastics Engineering Technology Program, which graduates about 20 students each year. The program includes three courses, during which students can receive hands-on training on the KTC's molding machines.

ENGEL also has been generous in providing technical assistance to the program—often offering both service and training free of charge, according to ENGEL's regional sales representative Mike Mirocke of Mirocke Sales Corp. (Shawnee, KS; http://www.mirockesales.com). Mirocke—a graduate of PSU's Plastics Engineering Technology Program and a PETAC member—was instrumental in establishing ENGEL's active participation in the University's Plastics Engineering Technology program:

“I've been involved with the PETAC advisory board since shortly after graduating in 1989, and I'd say that the KTC lab is second to none,” Mirocke states.

“ENGEL is kind enough to rotate a few late-model molding machines in and out of the lab every couple of years, and then donated the last machine.  When a student begins their injection molding career, ENGEL's commitment provides the students something more in-tune with what they'll be working with in the field.”

“My personal goal is to ensure that we can continue supporting them, and ENGEL shares that commitment.”