VALDOSTA – Henry Ford revolutionized the manufacturing world with his moving assembly line more than a century ago. 

If Ford was a child today, he would probably dream of becoming a famous YouTuber instead of tackling the manufacturing industry.

To help connect kids with Ford’s world, the Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority organized a day for students to get familiar with local manufacturers and companies.

On Wednesday, Nov. 13, 140 students from Echols High School, Lowndes High School and Valdosta High School spent the morning touring local industries. 

Each school toured two different companies. The development authority paired with Letica, Home Depot Rapid Deployment Center, Langdale Forest Products, Lowe’s Distribution Center and American Drill Bushing to tour students around their facilities. 

After the tours, students attended a lunch and panel discussion at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College. The panel discussion featured industry leaders speaking about the role of their companies, job opportunities and misconceptions about their respective industries. 

Speakers on the panel were Jeff Worn, president/chief operating officer of South Georgia Pecan Company, Inc., Aneesha Johnson, plant manager of Corteva Agriscience, Laura Fitch, human resources coordinator, Smith Drug Company, and Jim Hickman, Langdale Forest Products.

The goal of the day was to introduce students to future job opportunities. Students will graduate and need jobs, and companies will need a new workforce.

“Tours like these are very important because we showcase local industries and future job opportunities to students, so when they graduate from high school and either enter the workforce or attend a higher educational institution, they are aware there’s a good quality job waiting for them here in Valdosta Lowndes County,” Schruijer said, development authority executive director.

Donning hard hats and safety glasses at times, students received a front-row look at what manufacturing jobs entail.

“It was great being able to see inside the companies and see what exactly it is all about behind the scenes and up close and personal,” said Jose Tenorio, an 11th grader at Echols High School.

Students were surprised to find local job opportunities in their community.

“I never knew there were jobs like that around us,” said Ramirez Vasquez Lopez, 11th grade at Echols High School. “It inspired me to actually take more time to explore other industries and jobs and learning more about what is available.”

Educators such as Jason Van Nus, a work-based instructor at Lowndes High School, also noticed his students surprise as they learned about the numerous local industries.

“The students I interacted with were impressed at the type of industries that we have in our local community,” Van Nus said. “Some even rhetorically asked, ‘How did I not know that this business was here in Valdosta?’”

He appreciated that the event helped broaden students’ perspective about working in Valdosta.

“(The industry tour event) erodes the misconception that students must leave Valdosta to get a quality, high-paying job in an exciting and rewarding career,” Van Nus said.

This was first time the development authority put on an event such as this, and the authority hopes to coordinate two industry tour days per year.

“Education and future workforce play a key role in today’s world of economic development,” Schruijer said.

One of the industry tour locations was at ADB, a hoist ring manufacturer. Founded in 1943 in California, ADB moved its headquarter and manufacturing operation to Valdosta in 2003.

Hoist rings are heavy-duty lifting rings used in connection with a hoist to raise and lower loads. ADB makes hoist rings of all sizes, from small rings the size of a carabiner all the way to ones that are the size of small church bells.

“There’s always a need for hoist rings,” said Benjie Bradshaw, vice president/general manager of ADB.

Bradshaw and three of his employees toured Valdosta High School students around the ADB factory in groups of 20 or less.

“It was an exciting opportunity to give the students a view outside the classroom of a manufacturing environment,” Bradshaw said.

He wanted to impart that manufacturing is not just operating a machine or standing on an assembly line.

“The biggest thing that I tried to emphasize was that in manufacturing, there’s more job roles than the hands-on manufacturing … there’s many different roles that support manufacturing,” Bradshaw said, citing engineering and production planning.

The best way to inform future employees about the various career opportunities in manufacturing is to show them.

Bradshaw, a Valdosta native, said he never had the chance to see local industries at an intimate level as a student.

“If I was a student now, a whole other career path would have been discovered for sure,” Bradshaw said. “I think it’s a key for we as manufacturers to plant those seeds (in students’ minds) for a future in manufacturing.”

Introducing students to local industries not only helps companies find future employees, but it shows kids a concrete example of life after they graduate.

“It really helps when we are still in school to get a little taste of what is going on in the real world and in the community,” said Dusty Cowart, an 11th grader at Lowndes High School. “This helps narrow down some ideas of what we want to choose as a career.”