Plastics Manufacturing Center Hosts National Extrusion Seminar

The ninth annual Extrusion Seminar and Hands-On Workshop, hosted by Pennsylvania College of Technology's Plastics Manufacturing Center, was held on the college's main campus July 31-Aug. 2, attracting participants from eight states and Canadian provinces.

The seminar was led by Chris Rauwendaal, of Rauwendaal Extrusion Engineering in Auburn, Calif., and Kirk M. Cantor, professor of plastics technology at Penn College. Twenty-seven participants attended, representing 14 companies from Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Ontario.

Rauwendaal presented course topics in a multimedia format, supplemented by printed materials. Cantor led participants in hands-on training about 50 percent of the course including the use of extrusion-industry equipment.

Some testimonials from the seminar participants follow:

• "Chris Rauwendaal and Kirk Cantor provide the perfect combination of real-world theory and hands-on activities. Their years of experience provide the extra information that takes the seminar from a basic extrusion overview to an interactive and worthwhile course."Daniel Zimmerman, associate manufacturing engineer, S.C. Johnson, Bay City, Mich.
• "With state-of-the art facilities and knowledgeable and enthusiastic professors, Penn College was the perfect setting for a professional workshop."Bryan Bickhart, R&D technician, Thomas Medical Products, Malvern
• "Excellent seminar with extremely knowledgeable instructors."Matt Putnam, production manager, The Bohning Co., Lake City, Mich.
• "For me it clarified a lot of myths I had about extrusion. For a person who has a very short time in the industry, I feel I have now built a great foundation for my career."Rahul Soni, production coordinator, Flexpipe Systems, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Extrusion is a process for molding plastic parts by melting the plastic and either pushing or pulling it through a die to make such products as tubing, drinking straws, weatherstripping and window frames.

For more information about the Plastics Manufacturing Center, which is part of Penn College's Workforce Development & Continuing Education Office, call (570) 321-5533, e-mail or visit online .