ALAMOSA — Hypertherm, a U.S. based manufacturer of plasma, laser, and waterjet cutting systems and software, announced the recipients of its 2017 Spark Something Great Educational Grant. The winners, selected from a record 119 grant applications, represent 10 high schools, vocational schools, and community colleges from Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. including Alamosa High School.

Hypertherm’s Spark Something Great grant program puts the latest plasma technology into schools so the next generation can train on the equipment they will find once entering the workforce.

...None of the 10 grant recipients had a working plasma so it’s gratifying to know these students can now cut, gouge, and mark using a system as versatile as the Powermax45 XP.

In its third year, the grant program aims to get the latest plasma technology into schools so the next generation of metalworkers can train on the equipment they will find once entering the workforce. Each school will receive a Hypertherm Powermax45 XP plasma system, Hypertherm’s AWS SENSE approved “Plasma Cutting Technology: Theory and Practice” curriculum kit, and in-person training from a Hypertherm industrial cutting expert.

“We are excited to get our systems into the hands of students who would not have the opportunity to learn plasma without a program like this,” said Betsy Van Duyne, who manages Hypertherm’s educational program. “Of particular note this year, none of our 10 grant recipients had a working plasma so it’s gratifying to know these students can now cut, gouge, and mark using a system as versatile as the Powermax45 XP.”

The 2017 Spark Something Great grant recipients are:

Alamosa High School – Alamosa

Judith Nyman Secondary School, Brampton, Ontario (Canada)

Universidad Tecnológica del Centro de Veracruz - Cuitláhuac, Veracruz (Mexico)

Escambia County High School - Atmore, Alabama

Magazine High School - Magazine, Arkansas

Zane Trace High School - Chillicothe, Ohio

Central High School - Independence, Oregon

Salt Lake Community College - Salt Lake City, Utah

Auburn High School - Auburn, Washington

Magnolia High School - New Martinsville, West Virginia

In addition to its Spark Something Great Grant, Hypertherm supports schools by offering educational discounts to both teachers and students, and by making all 10 hours of its plasma curriculum available for free download to teachers. To date, teachers from more than 1,200 schools have acquired the lesson plans helping standardize the teaching of plasma cutting to thousands of students. Hypertherm also offers its ProNest for Education program which places its ProNest CAD/CAM nesting software in schools. Since launching the program last spring, Hypertherm has donated 41 ProNest packages valued at more than $6 million dollars.

Hypertherm designs and manufactures advanced cutting products for use in a variety of industries such as shipbuilding, manufacturing, and automotive repair. Its product line includes plasma, laser and waterjet cutting systems, in addition to CNC motion and height controls, CAM nesting software, robotic software and consumables. Hypertherm systems are trusted for performance and reliability that result in increased productivity and profitability for hundreds of thousands of businesses. The New Hampshire based company’s reputation for cutting innovation dates back nearly 50 years to 1968, with Hypertherm’s invention of water injection plasma cutting. The 100 percent associate owned company, consistently named a best place to work, has more than 1,400 associates along with operations and partner representation worldwide. Learn more at http://www.hypertherm.com.

Caption: From left are Scott Clutz, manager Air-gas, Kevin Rice ag ed instructor and students Robbie Jones, Josiah Shown and Josh Sisneros. Courtesy photo