Construction continues Thursday, June 1, 2017, on the Logan County Area Technology Center. (Bac Totrong/photo@bgdailynews.com)

RUSSELLVILLE – When Tom Harned walks the factory floor of Logan Aluminum, he compares it to the bridge of the Starship Enterprise rather than the dated image of an assembly line that many still associate with manufacturing.

For Harned, Logan County’s economic development director, the facility acts as a reminder of the need for the area technology center currently under construction that officials hope will be complete by January.

“As we recruit employers, labor force is one of the first things that comes up,” he said. “To be on the cutting edge with people who are prepared for advanced manufacturing jobs, we need advanced training facilities.”

Logan County Schools recently received a $932,000 grant from the state’s Work Ready Skills Initiative Advisory Committee. It plans to use the money to purchase new robotics training equipment and replace aging manufacturing equipment that either doesn’t comply with industry standards or, in some cases, poses dangers to students at its current 1960-era technology center in Russellville.

The new Logan County Area Technology Center situated along Bowling Green Road will total 64,000 square feet, an increase of 34,000 square feet over the current center. It’s been under construction since September.

“We are on schedule,” said Logan County Superintendent Paul Mullins. “We’ll begin moving some things over in November, the rest of the things over in December and we’ll have students in the building in January.”

The newer facility will educate an additional 200 students from the area and house programs in industrial maintenance, electronic technology, information technology, automotive technology, health sciences, carpentry and others.

The center’s facilities won’t necessarily be limited to high school students from Todd County Central, Russellville and Logan County high schools. Mullins said the scope of the project has expanded beyond school-day instruction.

“We also see the opportunity here to retrain our adult workforce,” said Mullins, adding that could include evening training sessions for Logan Aluminum – which is slated for another major expansion – and other area industries or for community education courses.

“We see this facility as a way to give back to the community a trained workforce of both students and adults,” he said.

As it stands, much of the equipment at the current technology center is outdated and unsuited for training students to meet current industry expectations. More than $1.5 million worth of brand new equipment will go into the new center.

“Currently, our industrial maintenance program doesn’t have the equipment to certify or properly prepare students for a career in industrial maintenance,” said Beth Frogue, principal of the Russellville Technology Center.

The new money will allow for the purchase of KUKA robotic training equipment and training equipment for industrial maintenance to better prepare students for manufacturing careers.

Other equipment is also outdated, including a lathe that dates to 1948, milling machines that were new in 1965 and 1990s welding technology that currently needs repair and poses dangers to students who use it.

The center’s automotive program needs another lift to supplement the current lift that more than 70 trainees are using. Officials would also like to purchase smaller lathes to replace a CNC lathe that more than 60 students use, along with making other upgrades.

For Harned, the antiquated equipment doesn’t reflect the bright future that students can build for themselves in the advanced manufacturing field. Skilled workers are in demand and could make $50,000 to $60,000 out of high school.

“Skilled technicians are hard to find,” he said. “There’s a huge demand for industrial maintenance, industrial technical people.”