Developing trade New facility opens
JACKSON TWP — State and local officials Monday welcomed the new Steamfitters training facility on Wise Road.
The trade school by Steamfitters Local 449, a Pittsburgh-based union, expects its first classes to start in January.
“We're excited to be in Jackson Township,” said business manager Kenneth Broadbent. “We want to blend in with the neighborhood and partner with the community, because we believe we are a vital part of the community and create middle-class jobs.”
Among those who helped in the pipe-cutting ceremony was Gov. Tom Wolf.
“We need more skilled people,” Wolf said. “Thanks to this facility, you will be able to turn out about 270 (graduates) a year, and that is something that's going to help with the crisis that's emerging — how we're going to fill all of those jobs that will be created (with manufacturing).”
Wolf cut a copper pipe with a tube cutter rather than a ribbon with scissors.
He said the state invested $5 million for the Steamfitters facility, calling it “essential.”
“It's exactly what we need,” Wolf said. “Within the next 10 years, places like this are going to be turning in people who are going right into the work force.”
The 75,000-square-foot facility cost about $18.5 million. The land it's on was previously undeveloped.
Wolf and union officials took a tour of the facility's labs, welding pods and classrooms.
The Steamfitters deal with appliance- and industrial-based work, such as heating, refrigeration, air conditioning and process piping.
Officials said about 350 students will be enrolled for the first year, although they all will not be taking classes at the same time.
Union members pay $1 an hour that goes toward education for apprentices.
“We have them do 17 weeks of welding along with OSHA training, drug testing, soldering, brazing, etc.,” Broadbent said of first-year apprentices. “Our apprentices hit the ground running like a second- or third-year apprentice, rather than a first-year apprentice.”
Apprentices also will do on-the-job training along with classes in their five-year program.
Union officials said the reason why the township was chosen for the facility was because of its location.
Local unions in Pittsburgh and Erie were consolidated a few years ago and the township was determined to be the halfway point between Erie and the Pittsburgh/West Virginia border.The union spans 15 counties in Western Pennsylvania, with about 2,700 members total.“This location is such a dynamic place,” Broadbent said. “They put a four-way interchange by Exit 88. Our people from Erie can get here in an hour and 20 minutes, Pittsburgh is 30 minutes away, we're 10 minutes north of the Turnpike and 20 minutes south of Interstate 80.”“We're poised to service anything in Western Pennsylvania,” he continued.Broadbent said an open house will be held on June 1 and 2.Local officials also said they hope the facility will have a positive impact on the area.“We're excited about it,” township manager Chris Rearick said. “It's a positive location.”One of the concerns union officials had was the possibility of a roundabout at the intersection between Mercer and Little Creek Roads. They said they would rather have a standard traffic signal setup than a roundabout.“I think a roundabout with semi-trailers coming through could be dangerous,” Broadbent said. “But we'll leave that up to the experts.”No updates on the project have been given by the state Department of Transportation.Township Police Chief Terry Seilhamer said whether a roundabout or standard traffic signals are installed in that area, it will improve safety.“It's a bad intersection for crashes,” he said. “Either way, there needs to be a control in the area.”
