Written by: Bryan Whitaker
I recently attended a scientific cooling course instructed by David Crispino on behalf of Burger and Brown, hosted at the incredible MoldTrax facility in Ashland, Ohio. This was my fourth trip to Steve, Glenn, and Cindy’s facility, and I cannot stress enough how well run their training courses are. If you are serious about general mold maintenance, hot runner repair, tooling component repair, texturing, or a course for your toolroom manager, they offer it all, and the hands-on experience with each course is unforgettable (oh, and the lunches they serve are stellar).
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I’m all for transparency, as I personally believe this to be representative of a person’s character, so I appreciated when David stated this was his first-time solo instructing the course, but here’s the reality (of which I stated to him directly): if he hadn’t told the class this, there’s no way we would’ve known this wasn’t his 100th time teaching it. The quality of information in the course itself was unparalleled to any article, webinar, PowerPoint, or other online media forms that I have been exposed to. His ability to translate energy principles (in correlation with turbulent flow, alloys, polymers, and molding practices) on a level understood by a wide range of job titles present, was nothing short of exceptional. For me, a typical day is spent working with tool room technicians and maintenance personnel, but I walked away armed with the knowledge needed to educate engineers who are interested to learn about scientific cooling.
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I realize as I am typing this, it may seem as though I am asking you to take these courses, and in keeping with full transparency, I must state I have nothing to gain from you or your company doing so. We are a tech partner at MoldTrax, but do not sell or profit from either of the mentioned companies. I simply believe in what both parties are educating their audience on as vital components, especially for those shops looking to make significant improvements. You can often hear Steve mention that a tool room is one of the top expenditures on your P&L; if you can identify pain points and arm your technicians with better knowledge, whether it be on cooling principles, preventative maintenance cleaning systems, or implementing and documenting a PM program, you will position your company ahead of the competition and attract more customers. Last I counted (pre-pandemic), I visited over 60+ shops in the 2019 calendar year and trust me when I say there is not a gray line between companies that have successfully implemented PM programs with those who have not. I will say, however, there are more facilities realizing this, and starting to act.
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If you are looking for ideas, or just want to share shop practices, I would love to hear from you – just be prepared to tell me about the best local restaurant in your area in the event I am in town. I love trying new cuisine and finding new hole-in-the-wall spots. I must admit, when Carolyn asked me to write a blog post regarding my experience on this class, I wanted to work something in food related, so I hope you are not disappointed I did not describe the climate in my area, what inspires me when cooking, or what my spouse thinks about what I am feeling, which is the absolute most dreadful thing to read about when looking up new recipes to try.
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Interested in MoldTrax Classes? Check out the schedule below:
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Hot Runner Maintenance Certification: June 22-25:
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https://www.moldtrax.com/hot-runner-repair
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Maintenance Strategy: August 17-19:
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https://www.moldtrax.com/tool-room-manager
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Component Repair: June 8-9: Course is Full, next course October 19-20
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https://www.moldtrax.com/component-repair
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Texture Repair: June 10-11 Course is Full. Next course October 21-22
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https://www.moldtrax.com/texturing-certification-training
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Component Repair/Texture Combo. June 8-11: Course is Full, Next course October 19-22
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https://www.moldtrax.com/combo-training
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Paulson’s ProMolder 1: September 12-16:
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https://www.paulsonplasticsacademy.com
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Click here to visit Burger and Brown’s website!
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