Genie makes donation to area welding students

Equipment, wire assist programs

MOSES LAKE — Columbia Basin welding students are using equipment just like a potential employer.

Distributor A-L Compressed Gases, Inc., Miller Equipment Company, ESAB Welding and Cutting Products, along with Genie Industries donated welding equipment and welding wire Tuesday afternoon to the Columbia Basin Job Corps, Moses Lake High School and Big Bend Community College welding programs.

Genie General Manager George Santiago said the company's work base doubled within the past year, but there were some restraints around acquiring the necessary talent base to grow even further. The company approached A-L, ESAB and Miller to help donate the equipment.

"Our company has always valued education," Santiago said. "We feel like we're a learning company, a world-class company. In order for us to be competitive out in the marketplace, we're only as good as the people that we have, so we thought that by contributing some equipment, we could help prepare some future team members for ourselves."

Santiago said the company realizes not every welding student will end up working for Genie.

"We just wanted to make this donation with the understanding that it will be used for promoting education," he said.

Genie Fabrication Manager Rob Varnes estimated the total value of the equipment donations to be approximately $35,000 to $40,000, and the wire donation value to be at $5,000.

"It's huge, because our students can work on the actual machinery Genie uses, and therefore they can learn the way Genie works, so when they leave our program, they can seamlessly enter Genie Industries and be qualified for that kind of work," said Job Corps Business and Community Liaison Jennifer Thomas. "Which is the main reason most of them went into welding in the first place. It furthers our educational goals."

Moses Lake High School vocational instructor Rick Rosenow agreed the donation provides a direct connection to industry, and some of the required materials and techniques students would use in their field.

"It will raise the validity of our program, really is what it does," echoed high school instructor Chad Utter.

He and Rosenow said they plan to put the equipment into use as quickly as they receive some training from Genie themselves.

Community college welding instructor Shawn McDaniel said the donation allows students to be more easily integrated from the community college program.

"It upgrades the equipment at the shop at the same time, and it does so without taxing my somewhat limited budget to run the entire program," he said.

McDaniel says the college's program continues to grow in response to community needs, and is working in conjunction with Genie to train their employees to fill the demand for welding jobs.