BIG DAISHOWA Tools for Schools Program a Big Success

BIG DAISHOWA issued nearly $30,000 in tooling certificates to high schools, vocational schools, colleges and universities through its inaugural Tools for Schools program.

To give back to the local communities, BIG DAISHOWA customers selected a school of their choice to receive a tooling certificate valued at 20% of qualifying orders from November 2022 through January 2023. The certificates were redeemable for any BIG DAISHOWA product including best-in-class tool holders, boring tools, cutting tools, workholding products and presetters.

“The Tools for Schools program is innovative,” explained Shannon Sweatman, CTO of Southern Manufacturing Technologies, Inc. (SMT) in Tampa, FL. “We were excited to participate because it’s a nice personal touch for our area, and another way for us to be involved in providing support to the industry. Thank you to BIG DAISHOWA for being good stewards of the industry.” 

SMT choose Pinellas Technical College as a recipient of the BIG DAISHOWA tooling certificate. SMT has been a long-time partner with college and currently has 12 employees going through their apprenticeship program. The company still employs an apprentice who went through the first class in the 1980s.

Through the Tools for Schools initiative, Tulsa Tech (Tulsa, OK) also was a recipient of a tooling certificate. “I just wanted to thank everyone for thinking of Tulsa Tech and our future machinists,” said Aaron Runk, instructor at Tulsa Tech. “Students have already started to use the tooling and it’s working great. BIG DAISHOWA’s tooling certificate allows Tulsa Tech to add another level of understanding for tool holding, and this will better prepare students for the world of work. Thank you again for your support.”

With the resounding success and positive impact of the initiative, BIG DAISHOWA will continue the program again this fall to bring even greater benefits to the industry.
 
“We are committed to workforce development. This program allows our customers to support local communities by providing their future workforce with the same tools they use in their shops,” explains Jack Burley, president & COO of BIG DAISHOWA. “By using BIG DAISHOWA tooling in school, students gain experience with the same tools they will use as future engineers and machinists.” 

BIG DAISHOWA has long been a proponent of supporting students interested in manufacturing. As part of its efforts to address the skills gap and support workforce development, BIG DAISHOWA is a sponsor of GCAMP (Greater Chicago Advanced Manufacturing Partnership) and the TMA Precision Machining Competition, supports local robotics league competitions, participates as a student-friendly exhibitor at industry trade shows, hosts students at its headquarters and has an internship program.
 

To build on the success of the program, BIG DAISHOWA is continuing the initiative for the remainder of 2023. To find out how you can donate tools to a school in your area, click here.