June 27, 2017—Last week, technical school students from across the United States gathered in Louisville, Kent., for the SkillsUSA competition.
In the collision repair technology segment, Alan Zimmerman of Vanguard-Sentinel Career and Technology Center in Fremont, Ohio, won the secondary competition, and Joel Hartstack of Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa, won the post-secondary competition.
In the plastic repair portion of the competition, Kurt Lammon of Polyvance presented a demonstration of a new nitrogen plastic welding component, which will become an official part of the competition in 2018. So, in 2018, competitors will be required to repair a 3-inch long cut and a tab using 3M's two-part repair material and, in addition, will be required to repair a 3-inch long tear to the edge of the bumper with the Polyvance nitrogen plastic welder.
The technical requirements of the new nitrogen plastic welding component are shown at the SkillsUSA YouTube channel, which may be reached by watching a video on "2018 SkillsUSA Nitrogen Plastic Welding Requirements".
To help underfunded technical schools across the country prepare for this new plastic welding requirement, Polyvance is promoting a "tech school trade-in program." Body shops that donate their old nitrogen plastic welders (of any make) to a tech school will be able to take the tax deduction on the donation, and, when they purchase a new Polyvance plastic welder, Polyvance will provide a $300 rebate to the shop.
