There are a several options available for students who are looking for a career in manufacturing. I was given the opportunity to check out two. I took a tour of Woodward, Inc. and Nordson Medical to see their facilities and how things run. The experiences were very positive and they made me feel like I was part of their family.

My first tour was at Woodward, Inc. where they gave us a gift bag and free breakfast. They took my group into their assembly area and talked about their work process. They covered everything from what they do when they first get an order to how they ship it out. They had an appropriate setup with everything you could possibly need for the job. They even had software that would update job progressions every 30 seconds.

After the tour, they brought us back into the conference room and showed us a YouTube video that showed their newest apprentices enjoying their experiences at Woodward. They were shown working on projects they were given and walking around the facility. The apprentices were also explained what their favorite part of working their was. The average answer was the people and how they felt it was a family.  

My class and I then took a trip down to Loveland and went to Nordson Medical. We got visitor tags and went into their conference room. They gave us pizza and water and showed us a presentation. Their tour, in my opinion, wasn’t as exciting as Woodward’s. This is the only machine based system in the world that is like this. The design is completely custom as well as the system itself. Each big canister has different elements in it that are used for the many products they make.

If you are looking for a career in manufacturing then you should give these places a shot, they have a great staff and a great attitude towards their futures. I honestly loved each tour, it was so much more fun going somewhere and learning about a place where your there. It gave a bigger look on what i’d like to do. 

This tour was brought to Rocky Mountain by Career Cab. Career Cab is a field trip opportunity organized by Mr.Papp in the College and Career Center. Students can sign up for field trips in their areas of interest. There will be many more field trips this year. See Mr. Papp for more information.