Pewaukee-based Waukesha County Technical College has announced an anonymous donor has pledged $1 million toward its new Integrated Manufacturing Center.
The $1 million, however, is contingent on the college raising another $2 million in private funds for the project. It has so far raised about $200,000.
The total project cost for the IMC is expected to be $4.5 million. A state capital spending limit means WCTC can spend a maximum of $1.5 million of its funds on a building expansion product, unless the additional private funds are available as cash on hand when it seeks approval, said Kaylen Betzig, interim president of WCTC.
Since WCTC plans to seek approval for the project at the bi-monthly Wisconsin Technical College System Board meeting on Sept. 8, it would need to raise the additional funds very soon, Betzig said.
“I am very hopeful, I am very positive, and we’re doing everything we can,” she said. “We’re doing this not just for us to build a building. We’re doing this so we can help the manufacturers of Waukesha County and provide them with the skilled workforce that they’ve been asking for.”
The college began planning the IMC addition in January to meet growing demand for manufacturing courses and skilled workers. The WCTC Foundation has been fundraising in cooperation with the Waukesha County Business Alliance.
“It really for us is a matter of capacity,” she said. “I can offer all the sections I want, but I have to put five welders in one welding booth.”
The 24,000-square-foot Integrated Manufacturing Center would include be connected to the Industrial Building on campus, and house several School of Applied Technologies programs, including automated systems, electronics, welding, computer and numerical control, engineering, industrial machine technician, robotics and industrial maintenance.
The proposed building includes two Automated Systems Technology labs, an integrated manufacturing and engineering lab, an industrial maintenance technician lab, two electronics labs, an electronics fabrication lab, a technology lab, an engineering lecture hall, an AST classroom, two engineering classrooms and two conference rooms.
“Having targeted and cooperative experiences through the IMC will develop students’ skills to a higher level and prepare them for the types of systems they will use in the region’s manufacturing companies,” said Suzanne Kelley, president of the Waukesha County Business Alliance. “We’re thrilled to see such strong private-sector support for this project, as we think it will be a huge win for the region, and will only further enhance WCTC’s reputation for producing job-ready grads with the technical skills needed to support our manufacturers.”
