This week's Manufacturing Tomorrow podcast features Milt Kniss, adult education RAMTEC coordinator at Tolles Career & Technical Center and former vice president of operations at Autotool. Autotool is a single source tooling and automation supplier of complete automation systems and custom automated weld cells in Plain City. Prior to Autotool, Kniss was operations manager for Precision Edge Surgical Products and Executive Vice President of Seating Systems for Commercial Vehicle Group. He also served as president of control systems for Dura Automotive Systems.

Autotool and some manufacturing allies hope a mobile laboratory that visits schools to promote technical education can help shed the bad reputation.

In a recent Business First article about Autotool’s mobile lab effort. Kniss said, “Manufacturers across the country have made clear the disconcerting lack of qualified workers for skilled manufacturing jobs. Part of the problem is bad marketing – guidance counselors, parents and students still envision manufacturing jobs as grease-covered, outdated relics of a bygone era.”

The mobile lab would serve Central Ohio counties and would provide manufacturing lab experience at technical schools in the seven-county area.

Covering the latest topics, Manufacturing Tomorrow guests include company C-suite executives and engineers to industry-facing academics, supportive government and regional economic development agents of change. More information is at http://omi.osu.edu/podcast.