LUDINGTON —Students involved in MI STEM robotics competitions in Northern Michigan now have a new facility to practice out of-calld the UACJ FIRST robotics practice facility.
The new facility is housed on the grounds of UACJ’s Madison manufacturing facility in Ludington.
The company makes aluminum automotive parts and turned their warehouse into a permanent facility for practicing for robotics competitions.
MI STEM Region 9 Director, Brian Dotson, said the facility will help level the playing field and give more accessibility for FIRST robotics teams in the regions.
“This started probably two years ago when I sat down and had a conversation with a couple of coaches and they explained to me their issue of ‘we build this robot, we engineer it, but we have no place to practice it,” said Dotson.
He said you need a lot of space and money to keep the program going year after year.
“You need a space that’s at least, I would say, 80 feet by 40 feet and with 16-foot ceilings is ideal. And then the cost of it all, just to get the perimeter alone is $28,000. And so then each year when you’re doing the yearly builds, that’s another $5,000 or so,” said Dotson.
Dotson said he has a personal connection to the president of the UACJ Automotive Whitehall Industries, Inc. President, Mike Wegener.
He said he reached out to Wegener to see if they could help.
“Right away it was a profound yes, yes, we’re very interested and we have some space that we can make available for you. And so, what they’ve allowed us to do has been incredible,” said Wegener.
Wegener said the company makes aluminum automotive parts.
He said they see the value of the robotics program manufacturing is getting more and more high tech. So, getting these learning these skills at a young age really is a good step forward for them.
Wegener said a lot of the hands-on skills the students are exposed to isn’t much different than the real world.
“It’s very rewarding being able to see these students come in here and work on problem solving skills. Same things that we see every day in the factory,” said Wegener.
Students, community leaders, and MI STEM officials were among those in attendance for the ribbon cutting and grand opening held earlier in the day.
“Today’s grand opening is really a time for us to give thanks to the many sponsors and the partners that have made this possible,” said Dotson.
Students got to test out the new facilities with a scrimmage. Dotson said the new facility couldn’t have been made possible without the community.
“The community that has really come together to make this happen. It’s been a lot of local area businesses, community foundation, and it’s been ESD, school districts, kids have been in here working nonstop to get this thing ready for today,” said Dotson.