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Huron Expositor, 2016-05-25, Page 1414 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, May 25, 2016 Justin Prince Luke Janmaat, president and co-founder of Progressive Turf Equipment, poses for a photo in front of his facility in Seaforth May 17. Local youth looks to help growth in manufacturing Justin Prince Special to the Expositor For one half of each day, Central Huron Secondary School student Hayden Pot- ter is usually sitting in a classroom for his Grade 11 courses. During the second half though, the 16 -year-old is working at his cooperative education placement at Pro- gressive Turf Equipment on West William Road in Seaforth. Potter, who is enrolled in CHSS's Specialized High School Major program for manufacturing, spends this part of each weekday gaining hands-on experience in the industry, operating machin- ery at the specialty lawn- mower company's facility. The company focuses on creating specialized prod- ucts for golf courses, sod producers, grounds care for municipalities, professional landscapers and for main- taining sports turf. "There's a lot of different things you can do here (that you) then could do in other places," says Potter, who lives in Seaforth. "There's a lot more learning experiences you can get through here than you would during school." Programs such as the one Potter is a part of, are what will help tradesman in Sea - forth and across Huron County retain workers and potentially grow in the ever- changing field of manufac- turing, according to Huron Manufacturing Association Vice -Chair, Andrew Masse. Masse, who is also the general manager for WindTrans Systems Ltd., says he considers the current industry in Huron to be quite healthy. He explained that while all companies are going through changes, he believes they are not seeing the same amounts of cuts made in other areas, such as the closure of the Caterpillar locomotive plant in London, Ont. last year. Huron County Economic Development says manufacturing cur- rently accounts for 16 per cent of all jobs in the county. However, Masse also noted that companies in the area are finding it harder to compete with larger firms to hire and, in some cases retain, more technical work- ers such as CAD and machinery operators. He explained one of the ways the HMA and its manufac- turers have been trying to do this is by supporting pro- grams such as co-op place- ments and the SHSM at Cen- tral Huron as well as with colleges and universities. AA They will be the lifeline to some of these companies," — Progressive Turf president and co-founder Luke Janmaat, from Seaforth "We need our local youth to get experience in manu- facturing here because this will be the lifeline to some of these companies," says Pro- gressive Turf president and co-founder Luke Janmaat,. He noted his company has hired 12 former co-op stu- dents who eventually spent a fair amount of time working at PTE since it started creat- ing mowers in 1989. "With- out locals for some of these factories, they're not going to sustain themselves." The HMA has also been giving students from local schools tours of neighbour- ing facilities to show them what the industry is doing nearby. Masse added the HMA hopes to increase its efforts over the next two years to increase awareness. "It's important for people to know they can do those types of jobs and stay here," says Masse, who also does work for Sun -North Ltd. and Envira-North Ltd. in Sea - forth. "I think a lot of the stu- dents when we were doing our tours here didn't realize what jobs are here and what the things (the companies) do." Masse predicted compa- nies in the area will be expanding in the near future. He noted that the smaller manufacturers connected to his group of employers have been researching and devel- oping a lot of new products. Janmaat, says his company is in the same boat, as they are looking to continue to create new innovations in its niche markets. It also recently sup- plied equipment to the sod producers for the golf course at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Masse says he can see his companies and others increase their capacity by "a quarter, a third or double" in the next three to five years. "I can only see (the industry in the area getting) better," says Masse.