Plastics industry players in Southern California have arranged for a technical-education career program in Garden Grove to use a 22-ton Boy injection molding press.
The machine replaces a 30-year-old model at Rancho Alamitos High School, part of the Garden Grove Unified School District. A collaborative effort between the Garden Grove, Santa Ana and Orange school districts administers the plastics technology program through the Central County Regional Occupation Program.
The upgrade was made possible through "the generosity of all those involved in this wonderful donation," said Art Rosenberg, program administrator.
"This is a big step for the ROP," said Chris Mitchell, district sales manager for Toshiba Machine Co. America in Ontario, Calif. "They have a good curriculum and a motivated instructor, James McNear, who wants to get this moving. The ROP is working with the school to hook up the press and get it ready."
As a student, Mitchell learned on the outgoing machine, which was then at a nearby school.
Custom injection molder Raymar Mold Inc. of Ontario, Calif., operating as Superior Mold Co., used the replacement press for eight years. The donated machine is in good shape, ran efficiently around the clock and is "the last hydraulic in our clean room," said Albert Schmid, president and chief executive officer. He replaced the Boy with a 45-ton all-electric Toshiba in early April.
Specialized Equipment Systems of Montclair, Calif., relocated the press to the school.
Other support came from the Society of Plastics Engineers' Southern California Section; the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc.'s Western Moldmakers Division; Action Mold Co. of Anaheim, Calif.; Applied Plastics Technology Group of Corona, Calif., Exton; Pa.-based Boy Machines Inc.; Tri-Star Plastics Inc. of Anaheim; and Worthington Consulting Inc. of Riverside, Calif.