August 26, 2024
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Allegion hosts virtual Manufacturing Day event for area high school students

Area students got a virtual tour of Allegion and heard from the plant’s leadership team

By Kim Shute

Allegion (LCN) of Princeton hosted a virtual tour of the facility for National Manufacturing Month. Students from four area high schools attended the session, which is designed to show students career options in local manufacturing. Allegion is a provider of security and entry hardware products and solutions for homes and businesses. They manufacture more than 25 global brands. The $2 billion company employs around 9,000 people and sells products in more than 130 countries worldwide. (submitted photo)

PRINCETON — Allegion (LCN) of Princeton hosted its annual Manufacturing Day event, this year virtually, in hopes of encouraging local high school students to consider a career in manufacturing.

The event is designed to give students an opportunity to learn about lucrative employment outside of the traditional college track and right in their own communities.

Participating manufacturers host open houses across the country during October, which is National Manufacturing Month, that allow community members to see what they manufacture, the jobs offered and the benefits they provide to the community.

Allegion, as a whole, has participated in the National Association of Manufacturer’s “MFG Day” since 2015, Whitney Moorman, Allegion’s reputation management leader, said. But Allegion’s Princeton (LCN) Operations has participated even longer than that – by holding events with other local manufacturers and the local high schools for nearly 10 years.

“With Allegion’s 2021 events now finished across the U.S., Allegion counts that (since 2015) we’ve hosted nearly 3,000 students, teachers and community officials across locations in: Illinois, Kansas, Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, Colorado, Washington and California, Moorman said.

This year, LCN had four schools participate live and offer the virtual field trip to their students — Princeton High School, Bureau Valley High School, LaMoille High School and Streator High School.

Allegion’s local plant leadership team that hosted the virtual field trip included Plant Manager Chris Dybek, HR Business Partner Roni Whitmer and HR Manager Jared Johnson.

“For our 2021 Manufacturing Day event, we pivoted to hosting another virtual field trip. That way, whether students are physically in the classroom this year or if they are e-learning, we could give them a look at the manufacturing industry and the many vibrant and valuable jobs here available now and in the future,“ Dybek said. “They saw a virtual tour of our plants across the U.S. and heard directly from our plant leadership team here in Princeton, plus many employees.

“Spending this time with students annually – and throughout the year in robotics team engagements or other collaborations – is critical to inspiring and building up the future creators and innovators in manufacturing. We look forward to having them back on site at LCN in Princeton for tours and hands-on activities in the future,” Dybek said.

A recording of the tour is available to view at https://vimeo.com/640050844/07f8137a19.