Ivy Tech opens Peru lab for advanced manufacturing training

Miami County government, development organizations provide needed support

Miami County government and economic development leaders joined administrators from Ivy Tech Community College Monday to officially open the new Smart Manufacturing and Digital Integration Laboratory in the College’s Peru Instructional Site at 425 W. Main St.

The new classroom/laboratory facility features cutting-edge equipment that is playing a pivotal role in advancing education in the field of smart manufacturing. The equipment purchase was supported by a $104,000 gift from the city of Peru, Miami County and the Miami County Economic Development Authority.

In thanking the Miami County leadership for their donation, Dr. Ethan Heicher, chancellor of the Ivy Tech Kokomo Service Area, said, “This investment not only reflects the shared vision we have for the future of our community but also underscores the importance of preparing our students with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in the ever-evolving manufacturing sector.”

The new SMDI lab spans two classrooms, one a computer lab with customized software specifically for SMDI and the second a lab with SMDI robotics and other equipment for hands-on experience that replicates today’s high-tech manufacturing environment.

“Miami County and the City of Peru believe investments in preparing our citizens for the jobs of the future are just as critical as investing in infrastructure to support economic growth,” said Jim Tidd, executive director of the Miami County Economic Development Authority and a member of the Ivy Tech Kokomo Board of Trustees. “This SMDI Lab, situated at the Peru Ivy Tech Campus, will create significant training opportunities and certifications for local students and adults to meet requirements of regional employers.”

Ivy Tech’s SMDI program in Peru will be offered to students from Maconaquah, North Miami, and Peru high schools, extending opportunities that have been available to students at the Kokomo Area Career Center and Lewis Cass Polytechnic. Ivy Tech SMDI instructor Bob Sucharski, a Peru native, is serving as full-time faculty at the new lab.

Monday’s event highlighted the four students enrolled in the program’s first cohort. Plans are for the program to expand to a full three-year high school pathway leading to Ivy Tech certificates and technical certificates that form the foundation of an associate degree in Smart Manufacturing and Digital Integration. Students also complete multiple industry-recognized certifications as well as work-based learning or internship opportunities with local industry that prepare them to move into the data-rich manufacturing and productions environments now being developed.

Ivy Tech’s SMDI program is broad-based, featuring traditional manufacturing fields like electrical, mechanical and pneumatic technologies and goes on to new technologies like production integration, sensors, data collection and preventative maintenance, and the cyber-security that underpins the entire process.

“We are training people who are going to be managers as well as technicians,” Heicher said. “Everyone can benefit from understanding a production line, and from seeing the work on the production floor from the perspective of the technician. This program offers hands-on experience and practical knowledge that the students will be able draw on throughout their careers.”

For more information on Ivy Tech’s SMDI program, contact Tammy Herschberger, assistant vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, at therschberger1@ivytech.edu or 765-252-5490.

Student Isaiah Pohlman talks about robotics with Peru Mayor Don Sturch.

Ivy Tech SDMI instructor Bob Sucharski serves as full-time faculty at the new lab.

Isaiah Pohlman of Peru High School and Kevin Nord, Corey Nord and Bennett Isenburg of Maconaquah High
School -- students in the first cohort of Ivy Tech’s Peru SMDI program – display nationally recognized
Industry 4.0 certifications they have earned.