Our Alabama Automotive Manufacturing Technology Institute (AAMTI) is serving as a one-stop training facility for the current and evolving technician-level workforce in the automotive manufacturing field, in response to Hyundai Motor Company's recent decision to locate its first U.S. auto manufacturing plant in Montgomery, Alabama. Several other automobile manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz/Daimler Chrysler (Vance, Alabama-70 miles from Montgomery), Honda (assembles Odyssey minivans and engines in Lincoln, Alabama facility) and Toyota (Huntsville V-8 engines assembly plant) have announced larger manufacturing operations in Alabama during the past few years.
Our efforts have involved the development of an effective multi-sector collaboration among Alabama's two-year colleges and the many players in the State's burgeoning automotive industry, and have promoted shared goals, processes and resources. We have fostered relationships with organizations and model programs locally as well as nationally and have incorporated lessons learned from their respective experiences to our local efforts in automotive education. We have coordinated the development of an interdisciplinary collaborate among our technology programs in automotive manufacturing technology that meets both academic and industrial standards. This collaborative effort will lead to the development of a regional ATE center proposal aimed at developing a highly competent and responsive technology workforce in automotive manufacturing technology.
