The Chamber supports a new proposal by Augusta Technical College that would bring a state-of-the-art Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering Technology facility to Columbia County. The article below is provided by Augusta Technical College.

Advanced manufacturing is the number one target industry of all development authorities in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA). It employs over 1/3 of the workforce in the area with major employers such as John Deere, Textron, Club Car, Starbucks Manufacturing, GIW, and Ingevity just to name a few. Within the past six months of 2022 the college has successfully helped the region attract three new manufacturing companies and this facility will continue to drive our economic development activity. However, the college’s current facilities are inadequate to support this growing sector in the second largest MSA in the State of Georgia. Moreover, our current facilities do not reflect modern advanced manufacturing facilities and/or training.
Thus, the college wants to birth a new model of advanced manufacturing training in Georgia. This model involves building a fully simulated manufacturing facility, that captivates the interest of young students. The new facility (rending below) would encompass a 2,500 incubator/economic development soft landing space for future and incumbent companies to utilize for prototyping and research and development. It will also house 6 standardized classrooms, 3 computer labs, 4 chemical technology labs, a metrology lab, hydraulics lab, machining lab (CNC & Machine Tool), mechatronics & robotics lab, additive manufacturing & 3D printing lab, with five separate engineering technology labs in architectural, civil, electrical, mechanical, and nuclear engineering technology. Moreover, the facility will house OEMs such as Fanuc, ABB, Kuka, PF, Phillips, Renishaw, and Haas that would house regional training facilities in the space while supplying the college with new technology on consignment agreements. Understanding that the overall goal is pipeline development, the college is working with Columbia County School District to house an advanced manufacturing- STEM based college and career academy on the campus that feeds into the college’s programs of study. Moreover, middle school summer camps, dual enrollment, apprenticeships, and continuing education offerings will be expanded within this new building. Working with the Development Authority of Columbia County we’ll also have private industry dedicated to innovative manufacturing on the campus to provide a direct connection of K-12, technical education, and private sector all in one location. The college has benchmarked national leaders in the space such as Greenville Technical College’s Center for Manufacturing Innovation and Ozarks Technical Community College’s Center for Advanced Manufacturing as a new model for Georgia. Augusta Technical College strives to be an innovator of educational services within the Technical College System of Georgia, and this project would provide a transformational approach and a national model in advanced manufacturing education for others to emulate.