WyoTech’s Trim & Upholstery program just got a major upgrade, thanks to the team at NC Carpet Binding & Equipment.
The school recently added 14 new NC6 industrial walking-foot sewing machines to its classroom — a move that’s already making a huge impact on the program and its students.
“The addition of the new machines has allowed the program to expand from a maximum of 30 students to 44 students,” WyoTech said in a recent newsletter.
The machines were purchased at cost through the school’s partnership with NC CEO Mal Maher. NC also donated a leather skiver machine to the program free of charge.
Maher recently spent several days on campus in Laramie, Wyoming, where he met with instructors Martin Healy and Dominic Olson, spoke with students, and shared business insights with a classroom full of future auto upholstery professionals.
“The students are far more advanced than I could have ever imagined,” Maher said. “I was impressed with their enthusiasm, camaraderie, and skill level.”
According to Olson, Maher didn’t just talk shop, he gave students real-world advice and even helped create opportunities on the spot.
“He spent a good half a day in the classroom giving a presentation and in the shop alongside students as they worked,” Olson said. “Many students were excited to show Mal what they had been accomplishing. It’s always great to see students excited and proud of what they do.”
“One cool thing is, while we were standing there, he was able to get a job interview for a student with a company that was fully booked,” Olson added. “It just goes to show how much help he’s offered students and continues to support WyoTech.”
Maher also got a firsthand look at how much the workroom has improved since the arrival of the new machines.
“As far as the new NC6 sewing machines go, it has been amazing not only with productivity, but our downtime due to machine issues has gone down to nearly non-existent,” Olson said. “The older machines we have seem to go down and stay down more often than not. It’s wonderful to have machines that just go and do what they are supposed to do, especially around new students being rough with their learning.”
For Maher, seeing the machines in action reinforced how far the program has come.
“Dominic Olson and Martin Healy have quite literally transformed this program with a more advanced curriculum and allowing the students more creative freedom,” he said.
And this appears to be only the beginning. Maher says NC and WyoTech are just getting started with their partnership, with more collaborations already in the works — all aimed at strengthening the future of the auto upholstery industry and supporting the next generation of trimmers.
Learn more about NC Carpet Binding & Equipment at www.n-ccarpet.com and WyoTech at www.wyotech.edu.
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