National Tooling & Machining Association to Hold Its Annual Apprenticeship Competition April 12-13 in Fremont.

Business Editors

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 4, 2000

Bay Area Resident, Roger Kleman, One of Twenty Participants

Competing for Over $40K Worth of Prizes

The National Tooling & Machining Association (NTMA) annually organizes a yearly competition that tests the knowledge and hands-on skills of senior year apprentices in the precision tooling and machining industry.

This year's competition will be held April 12-13 at the NTMA training center in Fremont, CA and will feature a Bay Area resident among the twenty participants from across the nation. Each participant has undergone rigorous training and has won their respective regional competition in order to qualify for the national event.

"As you sit in front of your computer, watch your TV, drive to work, or do just about anything, a machinist has touched your life," said Dan Sarkasian, chairman of the NTMA apprenticeship competition. "Machining is one of the most important, yet overlooked trades in America and it plays a crucial role in the boom of the Silicon Valley. That's why were proud to support this competition as a means of both rewarding the hard work of these students and promoting the role of machining as a high-paying career choice."

The April 12-13 competition will feature contestants working on lathes, vertical milling machines, and surface grinders to make parts that will be judged for the quality of the work, their blue print specification accuracy and the amount of time it takes them to make the parts. They will also be graded on a written test that will challenge their knowledge of math and machining specifications.

The contest is organized to highlight and showcase the NTMA's structured apprenticeship programs. These training programs involve a minimum of four years or 8,000 hours of intense internship under the guidance of skilled journeymen. Apprentices earn a salary during the course of the training program and graduate to become skilled toolmakers, diemakers, moldmakers and precision machinists.

The representative from the Bay Area, Roger Kleman, works for LaserFab in Concord, CA. Kleman, 28, began his machining career eight years ago and became interested in the apprenticeship program while working at Star Tool in Redwood City, CA. He has remained committed to the program through several job changes and is very excited about the upcoming competition. "Throughout the apprenticeship program, I set a goal of participating in the competition," said Kleman. "I'm anxious to test the skills I've acquired over the past few years and represent California well in the competition. I'd also like to say thanks to all who have sponsored me throughout this program."

For contact information on the competition, please call Frank Lux at 408/617-0635 or visit us at www.ntmaac.com.

About the NTMA

The NTMA, comprised of over 2,500 member companies throughout the United States, is the national representative of a $30 billion a year "precision custom manufacturing" industry. Without the services of tooling and machining industry, modern hi-tech manufacturing would not be possible. Member firms contract to design and manufacture tools, dies molds, gages and special machines. They provide precision machining services to virtually every other manufacturing industry. Among those that depend upon these companies are the automotive, aerospace, agriculture, chemical, home appliance, electronic, telecommunications and defense-related industries. Founded in 1943, the NTMA is proud of over 50 years of dedicated service to American industry.