HOUSTON — The George R. Brown Convention Center was transformed into a manufacturer's playground for three days.
HOUSTEX, a manufacturing technology series event, displayed not only the latest impressive equipment and technology but also recruited the next generation of manufacturing workers.
Attendees got to see a high-pressure water jet cutter that uses water, sand, and pressure to cut through anything, including fabric, steel, and fashion components.
“We cut anything as fine as three human hairs," Ky Apodaca with OMAX said. "We cut metal, ceramics, silicone, carbon fiber, different composites, bulletproof glass.”
3-D printers that can pump out anything from flexible rubber to hard steel items were also on display. Ben Bianco with MLC CAD Systems showed off a wrench, a gasket and a brake lever for a motorcycle made of stainless steel.
Houston high school students stopped by the convention and got a chance to see a virtual reality training program where machines are used to simulate the floor of a worksite. Harmony H.S. Junior Ogechi Sea-Akwaegbu said the program takes the potentially dangerous risk out of certain scenarios.
“I play a lot of games," he said. "I might have a little experience in this one.”
According to Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute, two million vacancies within manufacturing are expected to be open by 2030.
Jacob Rahdarian with Society Of Manufacturing Engineers said perception is a big issue and the dirty dangerous work environments of manufacturing have changed.
“They look like science labs, a clean room, you can practically eat off the floor," Rahdarian said. "And not to mention, the average annual pay with benefits for manufacturing is just under $94,000 a year.”
An experienced welder can make six figures a year. That’s a living that can transform a life.