Manufacturing Week - WKTV Journal

By WKTV Staff

Quote of the Day

“It’s relatively easy to act nice and normal in front of a crowd, or in public. The tricky part is doing it in private.”
  
                                                  ~Robert Black

Where are they coming from?
Where are they going?

We really want to know.

After serving more than a quarter-million passengers in the month of July, the Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GFIA) topped that with an August that served close to 300,000 passengers.

August marks the eighth record-breaking month in a row for 2018, and the airport has seen growth in 61 of the last 68 months. August 2018 was the busiest August ever, with passenger numbers up 17.8-percent year-over-year.

Through August 2018, GFIA has already surpassed its annual total reached in 2012, with 2,176,525 passengers served in 2018. Read more here.

It’s about time:
Kent County appoints
first female sheriff

Kent County administration announced Thursday that Undersheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young has been appointed Sheriff to fill the unexpired term of Sheriff Larry Stelma, who retires on Nov. 1 of this year.

Two individuals applied for the position — Undersheriff LaJoye-Young and Lt. Marc Burns. Kent County Chief Probate Judge David M. Murkowski chaired the statutorily mandated selection appointment committee and served along with Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker and Kent County Clerk Lisa Posthumus-Lyons. The committee’s decision was unanimous. Read more here.

Secrets revealed

Manufacturers throughout West Michigan are holding community open houses and student tours that showcase their facilities and career options. The tours are part of Manufacturing Week 2018, which runs through Oct. 5, 2018. More than 100 manufacturers are hosting more than 1,000 students during this year’s event.

According to Talent 2025’s 2017 West Michigan Talent Assessment and Outlook, manufacturing is the largest industry in West Michigan, accounting for more than 20 percent of all jobs in the region. Manufacturing has added more than 38,000 jobs since 2009, a growth rate of 33.3 percent. Read about it here.

Fun Fact:

51% of people think stormy weather affects cloud computing.

You mean... it doesn't? Source.

By West Michigan Works!

Manufacturers throughout West Michigan are gearing up for community open houses and student tours that will showcase their facilities and career options. The tours are part of Manufacturing Week 2018, which runs from Oct. 1-5, 2018. More than 100 manufacturers are expected to host more than 1,000 students during this year’s event.

Manufacturing Week is part of the nationwide Manufacturing Day® movement, created to change people’s outdated images of the industry and to inspire the next generation of manufacturers.

“My freshmen students are able to experience and observe modern technology and equipment at Dicastal — one of the world’s cleanest foundry environments, which is only 20 miles from their homes,” said Jeff Mercer, a teacher with Tri County Area Schools.

“Dicastal could have built their beautiful plant anywhere in the world, and they chose Montcalm County. Manufacturing Week shows students that they have abundant opportunities in their own backyard.”

“Collaborating with manufacturers [during Manufacturing Week] shows students all of the countless career opportunities available in manufacturing,” said Angie Huyghe, finance and human resources manager at Swoboda, Inc., a Manufacturing Week participant since 2015.

Students aren’t the only ones invited to Manufacturing Week activities. The following Grand Rapids-area events open to the community: