News

PPG Industries gift $12,000 to UA-PTC's Industrial Maintenance courses

The UA – Pulaski Tech Foundation received a generous grant in the amount of $12,000 from PPG Industries on Tuesday, February 2.

The purpose of this grant is to fund the purchase of new simulation software, Automation Studio, for UA - Pulaski Tech's Industrial Maintenance courses to enhance the learning experience of our Business and Industry Center students and increase enrollment capacity.

The new software offers 12 student access points that will assist in the continuation and growth of college workforce training programs. Automation Studio™ is a unique design and simulation software covering all project/machine technologies including fluid power, electrical, controls, communications, and more. It helps to easily combine these various technologies in order to design, document, and simulate complete systems. This helps students to better understand the behavior and interaction of technologies with an intuitive visual learning approach before they move on to hands-on experience.

The Industrial Maintenance program prepares students to install, maintain, and troubleshoot a variety of industrial applications, such as fluid power systems and industrial electrical control systems. The simulation feature improves teaching and learning of technologies, such as pneumatics, hydraulics, electrical, programmable logic controllers, and others. The technology facilitates students’ skills to locate, identify and interpret schematics, legends, line types, component symbols, and blueprint-reading capabilities. The instructor can create a digital twin of a trainer to provide the best virtual environment for students to create, simulate, and troubleshoot different systems before moving on to the hardware trainers, filling the gap between theory and practice.

Founded in 1883 as Pittsburgh Plate Glass by Captain John B. Ford and John Pitcairn in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Today, PPG is a global supplier of paints, coatings, optical products, and specialty materials.

Pictured: (left to right) David LeSieur, PPG Plant Manager; Reda Underwood, PPG Human Resources Coordinator, Southeast Region; Michele Grainger, UA-PTC Foundation Finance Manager; and Shaun Everest, UA-PTC BIC Training Specialist.