Students and instructors at Coffeyville Community College Technical Campus are busy as they’re working on a project brought to them by Cessna in Independence. The project, which started late August, involves building high quality crates to ship 21 diesel engines overseas to France.

Construction Instructor, Clarence Ray, built a proto type which was sent to Cessna and evaluated for quality against other bids; CCC’s crate was selected for the project. Various crate requirements, required several programs to lend their expertise.

“The crates are made from special lumber to resist water damage as they are being shipped via ocean liner to France,” said Marlon Thornburg, V.P. for Innovation and Business Initiatives. “There are numerous requirements for the crates to meet Cessna's expectations, including waterproofing, forklift accessible, internal brackets, and being able to be disassembled easily.”

The crate makes it through three departments before completion. First, construction students, alongside Ray, create the body of the crate. Next, welding students and instructor, Scott Hammer, weld the mounting bracket that goes inside the crate. Then, machining students and instructor, Cleo Ruark, machine holes into the metal bracket. Ruark, also, built the jig for the metal bracket to get started. Once the crate is built and the metal brackets are ready, Ray delivers the crates to the Cessna plant in Independence.

Money raised from the project goes back into the program activity account to purchase additional supplies for other training projects within the three programs. The project is intended to teach students basic construction techniques, familiarize them with the use of special lumber and materials, and show them the process of completing a project to the highest standards.