On Friday, October 5th, area students from Lehigh Career and Technical Institute and Parkland High School visited ATAS International during the Manufacturing Day 2018 celebration.  This was the sixth year that ATAS participated in this event.  

Students, school staff, and families toured ATAS to experience first-hand the processes in which metal components for the building envelope are manufactured.  They also participated in a question and answer session consisting of several ATAS employees who spoke about their positions in departments that included production, purchasing, international sales, inside technical sales, marketing, technical services, maintenance, clerical, and human resources.  Students learned that every person within a manufacturing company must work together to produce a quality product and provide exemplary service to their customers.  

Manufacturing Day addresses common misperceptions about manufacturing by giving manufacturers an opportunity to open their doors and show, in a coordinated effort, what manufacturing is – and what it isn’t.  By working together during and after Manufacturing Day, manufacturers will begin to address the skilled labor shortage they face, connect with future generations, take charge of the public image of manufacturing, and ensure the ongoing prosperity of the whole industry.  The event is designed to amplify the voice of individual manufacturers and coordinate a collective chorus of manufacturers with common concerns and challenges, so they can help their communities and future generations thrive.

Created by Founding Partner Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, International in 2012, Manufacturing Day has enjoyed support from many organizations aligned with its mission of positively changing the public perception of modern manufacturing.  Manufacturing Day is now produced annually by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).  NAM is the nation’s largest industrial trade association, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states.