Bury St Edmunds West Suffolk College announces new manufacturing training centre after £550,000 grant from Gene Haas Foundation
A college group is looking to engineer a bright future for the manufacturing industry thanks to the creation of a new training centre.
West Suffolk College and the Eastern Education Group have announced the centre will be located inside the University Professional Development Centre, based in Western Way, Bury St Edmunds.
It has been made possible thanks to a £550,000 investment from the California-based, Gene Haas Foundation.
Work is set to be completed by the end of 2025 and once opened, the facility will train engineering and manufacturing students - and apprentices - across all levels of education.
The Gene Haas Centre for Advanced Manufacturing will continue a manufacturing legacy in the town as it will be situated where the company, Vinten, used to be housed.
Andrew Ward, representing the Gene Haas Foundation during a recent visit, said: “In 2014, Gene Haas Foundation launched an initiative to highlight the most technologically advanced computer numerical controlled schools and training programmes in North America, later expanding this opportunity to Europe and the UK.
“Through these partnerships, institutions receive a grant in recognition of their excellence, and they are officially designated a Gene Haas Centre.
“West Suffolk College is the second centre within the UK and we are delighted to be working with them and supporting the training and education of engineering and manufacturing students.”
Laraine Moody, group principal for the University Professional Development Centre, said: “This all came about thanks to our ongoing relationship with Haas UK and the Gene Haas Foundation.
“Thanks to this, we have been given this grant to enhance our engineering and manufacturing training at the University Professional Development Centre in Bury.
“This amazing gesture by the Gene Haas Foundation will enable us to upscale the groundbreaking work we do in this particular area of industry.”
