Peninsula College hosts open house at Port Angeles composites center

PORT ANGELES — Peninsula College showed off its new facility for its advanced manufacturing and composites technology program during an open house.

Guests toured the college’s 5,000-square-foot section of the Composite Recycling Technology Center (CRTC) at 2220 W. 18th St. in Port Angeles on Tuesday afternoon, getting close looks at examples of student work and the machines they use.

The college’s program moved into the CRTC in September, and so far, it has been a great fit, said Maitland Peet, one of the program’s instructors.

One of the major improvements over the old facility at the North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center is that the layup area is separated from the finishing area, he said.

“In composites, you need a clean, dust-free environment when you’re laying stuff up, then you also need to machine, sand and finish,” he said. “In this space, we’re able to separate that dirty side from the clean side.”

At the skills center, the machines were separate, but there were no walls or barriers separating the two areas.

Since moving to the CRTC, students also have had access to newer equipment, Peet said. The program did bring some machines with it during the move, but the program needed more once it moved.

“It’s new and it’s designed for the program we operate,” he said.

Among the new features are compressed air and vacuum lines that hang above stations, he said, calling those features state-of-the-art.

Students focus on major areas that use composites, he said, which includes the aerospace industry, marine industry and recreational fields.

At the open house, people could look at longboards made by some students.

“We don’t build aircraft, obviously, but we do look at the processes that go into manufacturing and repair of aircraft parts,” Peet said.

Much of the time, students are actually creating products. They also practice processes without producing an actual product that could be used.

The goal of the program is to train students to join the workforce, and the college’s partnership with the CRTC should help with that, he said.

The plan is to work closely with the CRTC to provide internship, job training and employment opportunities for students. Now that the program is in the new facility, Peet hopes to expand it.

About 20 students are in the two-year program now. Peet hopes to see it grow to serve about 40 or 50 students over the next couple of years.

Thanks to its partnership with the CRTC, Peninsula College is the only college in the state to teach a composites recycling class.

Gov. Jay Inslee and other dignitaries attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the publicly funded CRTC in September 2015. A ribbon-cutting ceremony opened the building Sept. 1.

The CRTC building was funded by a $2 million U.S. Department of Commerce grant, a $1 million Clallam County Opportunity Fund grant and $1.35 million in Port of Port Angeles funding.

________

Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsula dailynews.com.