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Davis Tech partners with Hill Aerospace Museum to educate, recruit in composite industry

By Deborah Wilber - | Feb 10, 2022

Photo supplied, Davis Technical College

Students participate in Davis Technical College's Composites Day event at Hill Aerospace Museum on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022.

KAYSVILLE — Earlier this month, 120 students from Davis and Morgan county high schools and Davis Technical College participated in a two-day recruiting event at Hill Aerospace Museum highlighting future possibilities working with composite materials.

Davis Tech is ranked among the top recruiting institutions for companies specializing in composite materials technology, according to Mark Hadley, director of technical programs at the college.

Hadley said the Composites Day event allows students to work with composite materials first-hand, providing them with a real-world experience.

Melanie Hall, director of marketing and community relations at Davis Tech, said the institution’s goal is to provide a strong, skilled workforce for the massive aerospace industry in Northern Utah.

The college has been holding Composites Day activities with numerous employers in the industry as a way to recruit. Hexcel, a global leader in advanced composites technology, and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, a leading manufacturer of unmanned aircraft systems and sensors, are among the companies that have participated in the recruitment events.

Photo supplied, Davis Technical College

Students participate in Davis Technical College's Composites Day event at Hill Aerospace Museum on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022.

Due to an increase in COVID-19 cases, plans to visit a potential employer for this year’s event were canceled. Having held a partnership with Hill Aerospace Museum since 2020, the college held its activities at the museum during the Feb. 2-3 event.

Students participated in a tour of the facility and live demonstrations in the composites lab while also meeting with representatives from ENVE Composites, a carbon fiber manufacturer specializing in sporting goods with a plant located in Ogden.

“Utah has a stellar composites industry and a number of employers,” Hall said.

According to Hadley, the museum reached out to Davis Tech late last year for students interested in composite technology materials to take part in an internship program working on the F-117 Nighthawk.

All materials used to work on the aircraft are reportedly donated by Hexcel and Albany International, a manufacturer of advanced composite components for aerospace.

“They were so fascinated by it, students just volunteered,” Hadley said.

Davis Tech holds the Composites Day event every year with the same goal in mind — to provide a better understanding of what jobs are available in the industry.

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