Okuma America Corporation Announces Rowan-Cabarrus Community College as Partner for New Machine Tool Training Academy

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Jun 01, 2021, 09:00 ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Leadership teams from Okuma America Corporation, a world-leading builder of CNC machine tools, controls and automation systems, and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College (Rowan-Cabarrus) are pleased to announce a corporate training partnership between the two organizations.

Leaders from Okuma and Rowan-Cabarrus Community College stand in the new Okuma Machine Tool Academy at the Rowan-Cabarrus Advanced Technology Center. Pictured left to right: Craig Lamb, Vice President of Corporate and Continuing Education at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College; Tim Thiessen, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Okuma; Natalie Rogers, Training Program Manager at Okuma; and Dr. Carol Spalding, President at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.

The Okuma-Rowan-Cabarrus partnership will provide technical training to Okuma customers, distributors, and employees at the new Okuma Machine Tool Academy (OMTA) located within the College's Advanced Technology Center on the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, N.C. The Okuma Machine Tool Academy is expected to house several Okuma flagship products, including an Okuma LB3000 EX II horizontal lathe and an Okuma GENOS M460V-5AX five-axis vertical machining center. Courses are planned to commence in October 2021 and will be offered in three focus areas: electrical maintenance, mechanical maintenance, and programming and operations. All courses will be led in-person by a full-time instructor, and online and hybrid course offerings will be made available in the future.

The state-of-the-art Advanced Technology Center opened its doors in 2019 and is over 53,000 square feet in size. It provides various classrooms, collaboration spaces and lounges for program participants to utilize. The Okuma Machine Tool Academy was built specifically for industrial machine tool training and is equipped with overhead utilities and six-inch level concrete floors to support flexible machine layouts and configurations.

Ira Busman, Vice President of Customer Service at Okuma, expressed his excitement about the program – "Providing robust training and ongoing educational tools for our customers is one way that Okuma fulfills our mission of passionately pursuing a customer for life. We are very excited about the alliance with Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and the modern tools and services they can provide at the new ATC facility."

The Okuma Machine Tool Academy is conveniently located less than 30 minutes away from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and is steps away from various lodging, restaurant and entertainment options in downtown Kannapolis, N.C. Program participants also have the option to incorporate a visit to Charlotte, N.C., to tour Okuma America Corporation's headquarters, and to visit Welcome, N.C., to experience the campus of Okuma's official NASCAR partner, Richard Childress Racing.

"Rowan-Cabarrus is thrilled to partner with Okuma to provide an outstanding location for the training academy at the College's Advanced Technology Center located in Kannapolis," said Rowan-Cabarrus President Dr. Carol Spalding. "By collaborating to offer these training opportunities, Okuma and Rowan-Cabarrus will be helping tomorrow's professionals develop top-notch skills. We are excited to welcome future participants to the North Carolina Research Campus."

Future updates about the training courses will be shared at okuma.com/training. For more information about this program, please contact Okuma's training program manager, Natalie Rogers, at [email protected] or 704-504-6040.

About Rowan-Cabarrus Community College:
Opening its doors in 1963, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is one of 58 colleges in the state-supported North Carolina Community College System. Rowan-Cabarrus is a comprehensive, community-focused institution of higher learning, serving the residents of Rowan and Cabarrus counties at multiple campus locations and through on-line programs. Rowan-Cabarrus offers fully-accredited associate degree programs in more than 30 areas of study, including arts and sciences, business, information technology, health and public services, engineering technologies, and biotechnology, as well as dozens of diplomas and certifications. Rowan-Cabarrus provides more than 2,000 course offerings, serving a yearly overall enrollment of more than 20,000 students. In addition, Rowan-Cabarrus provides education and job-training programs at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis. https://www.rccc.edu/ | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter

About Okuma America Corporation
Okuma America Corporation is the U.S.-based sales and service affiliate of Okuma Corporation, a world leader in CNC (computer numeric control) machine tools and controls. The company was founded in 1898 in Nagoya, Japan, and is the industry's only single-source provider of CNC machines, controls, drives, motors, encoders, and spindles, all manufactured by Okuma. The company designs its own CNC controls to integrate seamlessly with each machine tool's functionality. In 2014 Okuma launched the Okuma App Store, the industry's only centralized online marketplace for machine tool apps and related content. Along with its extensive distribution network (largest in the Americas), and Partners in THINC network of enhanced manufacturing technologies, Okuma is committed to helping users gain competitive advantages through the open possibilities of machine tools today and into the future. https://www.okuma.com | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter