AROOSTOOK COUNTY, Maine — Northern Maine Community College Diesel Hydraulics students recently toured several manufacturing facilities in order to gain exposure to new industry technology and machinery.
The college arranged “The East Coast Trip” to showcase different components of diesel trucks including engines, emissions, power trains, differentials, undercarriages, and more.
The six-day tour began in Westbrook, Maine at O’Conner GMC where Guy Michaud, a past student of NMCC, works. Michaud performed a Mack Truck filter re-generation process for the students and instructor Bob Rice, and also provided them with a tour of the facility.
The group also visited Milford Cat in Milford, Massachusetts; the Volvo Power Train Manufacturing Facility in Hagerstown, Maryland; and the Jamestown Engine Plant for Cummins Engine in Jamestown, New York. While there, the students witnessed engine technology and designs that have yet to enter the market and learned how manufacturing companies work together.
“Most of our projects that come into the lab on campus are on equipment from pre-2004,” said Bob Rice. “This trip is invaluable to our students’ education. Not only did we have the experience of learning about new technology, but it gave the students an opportunity to meet potential future employers.”
“I learned a lot on this trip,” said Dustin Roy, Class of 2017. “One of the things that stood out to me was learning about the new emissions systems which incorporates the new regulations of the EPA.”
The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) regulates emissions systems under the Federal Clean Air Act. Students learned that part of the advances in emissions manufacturing includes improving fuel economy.
Another interesting aspect of the trip was a visit to the Mack Truck Customer Care Center in Allenstown Pennsylvania where the History of the Mack Truck Museum resides. The museum displays the evolution of trucks over the years — ranging from an early truck made of wood to Megatron, the Mack Truck built especially for the Transformers movie.
“The whole trip was fun. We were able to get up-close and personal at assembly lines and get a good look at how things are made. The advantage of being a small group is that they didn’t have us stand ten feet away,” added Mitchel Rioux, class of 2017.
Students funded The East Coast Trip entirely. This was the second year the students have had this opportunity.
For more information about the Diesel Hydraulics program at Northern Maine Community College, visit nmcc.edu.
