Men finish apprenticeships
Company partners with Ivy Tech to aid journeymen program

Times-Mail

Bedford Machine & Tool's first group of 10 apprentices recently achieved journeyman status.

Bedford Machine & Tool managers, employees and family members joined together on Sept. 13th to award 10 senior apprentices their Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training journeyman cards.

These senior or "grandfathered" apprentices entered the Bedford Machine & Tool apprenticeship program with degrees and a significant amount of work experience. They completed their apprenticeship requirements by taking an Ivy Tech course in quality control and advanced problem solving and completing a final semester of work experience.

"Excellent customer service, skilled technicians and efficient manufacturing processes are our best defense against cut-rate overseas competition," said BMT co-owner Doug Conrad. "The apprenticeship program and the exercises senior apprentices go through to evaluate and continuously improve our internal processes will help our company survive and thrive."

Tim Bauer, Matthew Brock, Matthew Claffey, Roger Crane, Curt Day, Tony Fasbinder, Chad Jerrell, Jon McCracken, Brandon Spinks and Kevin Steber achieved journeyman status as machinists, design engineers or tool and die makers and will then serve as mentors and guides for future groups of new apprentices.

Sister companies Bedford Machine & Tool and Metal Technologies currently have 10 other apprentices who are completing the regular four-year apprenticeship curriculum and 8,000 hours of on-the-job training leading to an associate's degree from Ivy Tech Community College and a journeyman card from the Bureau of Apprenticeships and Training. They will now have the support of the newly certified journeymen to help guide them through their program.

During the Sept. 13 celebration, representatives of Ivy Tech Community College gave award certificates of appreciation to both Bedford Machine & Tool and BMT employees Doug Conrad, Teresa Saunders, Tim Acton and Mike Arnold for their active and effective support of the apprenticeship program.

"This is an example of partnership at its best," said Ivy Tech Apprenticeship Coordinator Cindy Webster. "Bedford Machine & Tool not only shared the expertise of its skilled employees with their new apprentices but completely renovated the classroom used for instruction and allowed members from the community to participate in many of the courses offered at BMT. Ivy Tech contributed a computer lab and the state of Indiana provided needed grant funding.

"We are all working together to support economic vitality in the southern Indiana region."