Students from Eastern Monroe Career Centers’s Automated Manufacturing and Machining class were able to tour a local company to see their chosen career path in action.

On Tuesday, Rochester Gear, Inc. hosted the group of local high schoolers from EMCC who were able to tour the gear manufacturing business.

The local company started as a machine shop in 1925, making gears in the 1940s and changing ownership in 2007 to continue the high-quality reputation of providing commercial gear tools to a diverse customer base. Its gears helped launch the production of printer copiers by Xerox.

The class, led by Len Hall, is made up of Year 1 students who are getting hands-on experience in EMCC’s state-of-the-art Automated Manufacturing and Machining workshop. Through the two-year program, students are introduced to the field of precision machining.

Fostering community partnerships like this extends far past a one-day field trip. Often, it can lead to job opportunities for EMCC students. A 2021 graduate of the Automated Manufacturing and Machining class currently works at Rochester Gear Inc and was able to show his former classmates around. 

By touring the local business, students were able to see first-hand the range of products their education can lead them to produce. Rochester Gear, Inc. produces gears for a number of products, including for the medical, aerospace, military, law enforcement, and automotive industries.

You can find their gears in handheld power tools, portable mixers, off-road vehicles, meat-processing equipment, agricultural equipment, X-ray machines, airplane cargo equipment, and more.