Englewood, Ohio – A representative from Caterpillar contacted Mrs. Watts in the Business Ownership program at Miami Valley Career Technology Center (MVCTC) to open their doors to the Business Ownership juniors and seniors to tour their facility and learn some real life lessons about what goes on in a business of this size.

The junior class tour started off watching an awards ceremony to Caterpillar employees in honor of National Manufacturing Day. Caterpillar employees were competing in a week-long Caterpillar Trivia challenge and a Product Knowledge challenge. Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman and Vice President of the Industry Solutions, Components and Distribution Division Greg Folley were on site to hand out prizes to winners. It’s the first time the Caterpillar CEO had ever been on the site, so it was quite an honor to be there that day.

Andy Pittz, Supply Chain Planning Engineer/RAM Coach, and Ryan Humfleet, Outbound Team Leader, escorted students throughout areas of the distribution center from receiving to packaging to shipping. As we walked, Andy and Ryan would pose questions to students asking, “Why does this matter to the success of the business?” Students would answer and then they would explain how it impacts the business. They explained each department’s functions and how one relies on the other.

One stop was made at the quality control department where quality technicians demonstrated the testing of an 8” bolt put under stress. Students were able to watch the pressure reading on the computer as it was gradually increased until it snapped the bolt in two. Approximately 100,000 lbs of pressure was required and when it snapped it sounded like a shotgun!

Andy and Ryan did a fantastic job at explaining and including the students in the tour! We thank Caterpillar for sharing with us. Below are some of the comments from students.

“As a person hoping to own a business one day, the tour guides did an awesome job of relating their information back to business and providing useful tips on how to keep things running smoothly.” Alison Pierce, Junior, Huber Heights

 “I enjoyed how Cat[erpillar] is being run as a company. They use recycling to their best advantage and safety is their top priority.” Nick Daily, Senior, Eaton

“They have a 15-20 minute meeting every single day to gather and talk about how the day should go. The other thing I really like was that they take the workers’ opinions and if it's valid, they really will make things happen.” Paige Tackett, Senior, Valley View

“The field trip that we took to Caterpillar was amazing. I enjoyed every bit of it, watching people do what they do and hearing what they know is a great experience. My favorite part was looking at how the robots worked and made their work go faster. It was interesting to hear how their workers couldn't keep up with the robots even when they weren't turned up half way.” Michael Nelson, Junior, Vandalia Butler

The MVCTC Business Ownership program focuses on entrepreneurship and teaches students how to start and manage a successful business of their choice while completing fun activities to gain hands-on experience! Students receive training in the Microsoft Office Suite. Business Ownership is a College Tech Prep program, which guides students to do additional learning at Sinclair Community College in Entrepreneurship or Business Management Associate Degree programs. 

For more information about MVCTC, please visit www.mvctc.com.  For over 45-years, MVCTC has been providing career technical education for 27 partner school districts encompassing five counties in Southwest Ohio.  MVCTC is dedicated to providing in-demand workforce training for youth, adults, and organizations in the Miami Valley.

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