July 16, 2014—An AkzoNobel representative visited Maryland-based Gaithersburg High School recently after the school received an AkzoNobel-sponsored Sustainability Challenge Grant from the Collision Repair Education Foundation.
Buck Storck, district sales leader for AkzoNobel, talked to collision repair students at the high school about the importance of sustainable practices in the collision repair industry.
“The need to achieve sustainability impacts individuals and industries around the world, and the collision repair industry is no exception,” Storck said. “At AkzoNobel, we recognize that the future of our industry lies in the hands of students who are preparing for a career in the field, and we are planting the seeds to stimulate awareness of sustainability and environmentally friendly business practices with the Sustainability Challenge Grant.”
Gaithersburg was one of five schools to receive the grant earlier this year in order to implement student sustainability plans. The Gaithersburg collision repair program received its grant so it could invest in a paper compactor and a waterborne solvent recycler.
The other schools chosen for the grant include:
- Applied Technology Center in Rock Hill, S.C.
- Cerritos College in Norwalk, Calif.
- Manhattan Area Tech College in Manhattan, Kan.
- Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle, Maine
“The focus on sustainability—and programs like AkzoNobel’s Sustainability Challenge Grant—have helped our students make the connection between what’s being taught in the classroom and what’s being practiced in the real world,” said Kevin Lester, Gaithersburg’s collision repair instructor. “Together, we’re all improving the way we go about our work on a day-to-day basis and learning to be better stewards of the environment.”
