Italian Students Visit PTC for Month of Training

A quiet, word-of-mouth recommendation of Piedmont Technical College’s Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) in Laurens has brought 12 students who are completing their training at Azienda Bergamasca Formazione (ABF) ― a regional technical school in picturesque Bergamo, Italy ― to South Carolina for a month of instruction, training, and manufacturing plant tours.

Since the CAM opened in 2012, industries in the area have taken notice; many have contracted with Piedmont Tech (PTC) to use its state-of-the-art training facility for their own employees. Brawo USA, which produces high-quality forgings across the interstate from the CAM, is part of a global company headquartered near Bergamo. As word of the CAM’s coveted resources traveled the European grapevine last year, ABF officials contacted PTC, and plans for a visit emerged.

“We see America as the biggest country in the world. We are so excited to come here,” said ABF mathematics teacher and chaperone Cristian Alberto Mussinelli. “This is a great opportunity for our students.”

The monthlong program began June 15 and will conclude July 15. During their stay, the students (all young men ages 17-21) and their two chaperones are staying in dormitories at Presbyterian College in Clinton. Their schedule includes instructional days at the CAM as well as tours of area manufacturing plants. Their weekends are free time to explore the region. The group already has visited Charleston and Atlanta. 

“We are interested in offering our students a training and working period abroad as to enrich their school and life experience,” ABF Professor Salvatore Andrea Messina wrote in a letter to PTC last summer.

“Lots of effort went into making this a reality,” said Chris Lipp, director of the CAM. “The students are visiting the United States as part of a grant program to expose them to technical trades in other cultures. The program consists of technical training classes in mechatronics and machine tool along with English classes. In addition to their class work, the students are visiting manufacturers throughout Laurens County and participating in short internships at local plants.”

Laurens-area companies hosting tours for the group include ZF Transmissions, CeramTec, Shaw Industries and CCL Label. Companies hosting the Italian students as interns include Brawo, Alupress, Flamespray and Yanfeng.

Roberta Chitó, an ABF English teacher accompanying the group, reflected on her first impressions of the CAM.

“It is clear that people in South Carolina invest in education. That is a crucial point,” she said. “My main observation is that the CAM is very innovative and very clean. Everyone has their own computer to use. Everything is available.”

Rusty Denning, PTC associate vice president for economic development and continuing education, said this visit is the first of its kind for both Piedmont Tech and ABF. “There has been some buzz of expanding this into an annual exchange between our two institutions,” he said. “It would be great if some of our students could make similar educational visits to Italy. It’s definitely worth exploring.”

“This experience lets the students open their minds and have a larger view,” Mussinelli said. “They are discovering new horizons.”

PHOTO CUTLINES

• The ABF students recently took a tour of ZF Transmissions in Gray Court.
• ABF teacher/chaperones Cristian Alberto Mussinelli, left, and Roberta Chitó.
• PTC Mechatronics Instructor JC Crowder answers questions.
• A student engages with a robot in the classroom at CAM.
• Students gather around PTC Machine Tool Technology Instructor Phillip Calhoun.