Hypertherm partners with Lebanon School District on STEM camp

Hypertherm, a U.S. based manufacturer of plasma, laser, and waterjet cutting systems, today announced the conclusion of its first Middle School STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Camp with more than a dozen students from Lebanon Middle School.

The students spent their February break at Hypertherm’s 71 Heater Road facility learning about STEM careers and lean manufacturing. Students enjoyed tours of several Hypertherm facilities, interactions with many Hypertherm Associates, and learning about and creating LEGO brick models using lean manufacturing principals and coordinate geometry. The week long camp was developed, jointly-funded by, and run in partnership with the Lebanon School District.

Lead staff were Tim Renner, a program manager at the Hypertherm Technical Training Institute, Jessica Frazer and Trisha Stott, both Lebanon School District teachers, and Tracy Bricchi, Lebanon’s Director of Curriculum and Instruction. Many other Associates from Hypertherm participated in and supported this camp, along with Lebanon Superintendent Dr. Joanne Roberts, a huge proponent who worked to remove any barriers to students attending the camp.

Students gave presentations to a large group on their last afternoon displaying what they had learned during the week with one student saying, “I LOVE figuring out the impossible. This was the best camp I’ve ever attended.” Parents and friends agreed that this was an important opportunity for their children, thanking both Hypertherm and the Lebanon School District.

Barbara Couch, President of the HOPE (Hypertherm Owners’ Philanthropic Endeavors) Foundation, attended the student presentations and had high praise for all those involved. She said, “This is an excellent example of what a strong business and education partnership can create when there is a shared vision and strategy.” Couch promised Hypertherm will share this model at no cost as a way of promoting STEM education and STEM career pathways.

Hypertherm designs and manufactures industrial cutting products for use in a variety of industries such as shipbuilding, manufacturing, and automotive repair. Its product line includes cutting systems, in addition to CNC motion and height controls, CAM nesting software, robotic software and consumables. Hypertherm systems are trusted for performance and reliability that result in increased productivity and profitability for hundreds of thousands of businesses. The company’s reputation for cutting innovation dates back 50 years to 1968, with Hypertherm’s invention of water injection plasma cutting. The 100 percent associate owned company has more than 1,400 associates along with operations and partner representation worldwide.