Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Center Opens in Morris County

By Anthony Birritteri, Editor-in-Chief On Dec 8, 2020

The County College of Morris (CCM) held a virtual grand opening today for its $11 million Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Center (AMEC) in Randolph. The 31,500-square-foot facility, which broke ground almost two years ago, features the latest technology and equipment to prepare the workforce of the future, provide current employees with cutting-edge training, and offer faculty, students and industry the opportunity to work collaboratively on solutions and new developments.

According to Dr. Anthony J. Iacono, CCM president, “This building, like everything we do here at CCM, is built for impact: impact on individual lives, on the communities and business and industry partners we serve everyday, and the local and state economies.

“This is a building where students can earn an associate degree that they can take and transfer to many university partners to earn a bachelor’s degree. It is also for anyone who wants to earn an industry credential in one of the hottest fields today; engineering and manufacturing,” Iacono said.

State Sen. Tony Bucco commented,  “We’ve heard repeatedly from major employers that they can’t find enough qualified workers to fill skilled technical jobs in New Jersey. I’m glad to see CCM making an investment in this new facility, which will provide both students and experienced workers the opportunity to learn the skills that are in high demand by industry. By ensuring this pipeline of talent, we can prevent high-paying research and manufacturing jobs from being moved out of New Jersey.”

Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill commented that CCM is on the forefront of creating innovative programming for students in conjunction with local industry. “This innovation hub will make sure we have the best engineering and manufacturing training for our local workforce. … This will help close the skills gap in engineering and manufacturing and boost our state and local economy,” she said.

Dr. Kathleen Naasz, dean of School of Business, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology at CCM, commented, once a user or business is here with its team, “you can 3D print your product designs, tweak them, modify them, test them, and make them better.

“Once you have that, you can actually manufacture them. We have the most modern computer numeric control (CNC) equipment and technologies. Imagine going from concept to tangible product in one day? That’s what makes this place so special. It is the new manufacturing: It is clean, sleek, digitally enabled with machine power and precision,” she said.

Among the students utilizing AMEC are the apprentices CCM is training as part of a $4 million CareerAdvance USA grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. CCM was awarded that grant to lead a consortium of New Jersey community colleges to create successful apprenticeship models in advanced manufacturing.

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