ASHLAND — Students stepped out of their classrooms this week and into the workplaces that keep Ashland County’s manufacturing industry moving.
Loudonville-Perrysville, Black River, Heartland Tech and Hillsdale students spent Thursday morning touring local businesses as part of National Manufacturing Day. The tours gave students a look at the processes and careers behind products and services made in their own community.
Tours at Chandler Systems, Simonson Construction, SJE, Barbasol, Novatex and Atlas rotated throughout the morning.
The day also gave local manufacturers a chance to recognize the employees who keep their businesses running.
From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., food trucks sat in the Barbasol parking lot for employees. Workers also received free Culver’s frozen custard as an appreciation for their work.
Cameo Carey, director of Ashland Area Economic Development, said the goal was to give students an opportunity to see local careers firsthand.
“It’s important for them to see what’s in their own backyard,” Carey said. “They don’t have to go far to find these opportunities.”
Students tour Barbasol
Students followed the production of shaving cream at Ashland’s Barbasol facility from the mixing process to the finished product.
Barbasol has manufactured its shaving cream in Ashland since 2010. Barbasol dates back to 1919 and operates its only manufacturing facility at the Ashland location, according to Barbasol Brands President Brent Stine.
Students first walked through the warehouse with Stine, where raw materials arrive and finished products are stored, before moving onto the production floor.
The process begins in the facility’s compounding room.
Large kettles hold as much as 4,000 gallons as employees mix water and other ingredients required to create the different shaving cream formulas. A batch can take about three hours to complete, Stine said.
From there, the shaving cream moves through the production line. Machines fill the cans, add caps and labels, group products together and place them into cardboard boxes for distribution.
The students watched the process from behind marked safety lines as employees worked around them. But the biggest surprise came at the end when students discovered a hidden bowling alley tucked in the Barbasol warehouse.
From classrooms to construction
Students visiting Simonson Construction saw a different side of the local industry.
The company is working on an expansion that will include space for metal fabrication and painting. The project also will add office space as the company grows and its existing space fills.
Students wore hard hats while on the job site and followed other safety requirements based on the areas they visited.
Manufacturing Day is held nationally on the first Friday of October to inspire the next generation of workers and give them a closer look at the industry.
The businesses participating in Thursday’s tours represented only a portion of the manufacturing and industrial work taking place throughout the county.
Ashland residents drive past these businesses every day. Behind those doors, people are making products, building businesses and, apparently, even squeezing in a few games of bowling.
See more from students at National Manufacturing Day:
