Their names are prominently featured on the donor wall at the main entrance to the building. More than one hundred institutions and individuals contributed to the Plaster Manufacturing Center project. “But the guy that deserves credit for this building is Hal Higdon. “My father’s name is on the outside of this building, and we were able to give some money to make this building a reality,” said Stephen Plaster, Robert W.

Plaster Foundation is a long-time OTC supporter, and in the fall of 2020, the foundation’s contribution secured the naming rights to the facility. Louis-based manufacturer, Emerson has operations in Lebanon and Ava. This facility is how we change that.”Įmerson made the first donation to the PMC. “We hear all of the time that we’re short on workers. There is no end to the educational opportunities, business opportunities and workforce opportunities,” said State Senator Lincoln Hough. “There is no end to the possibilities for this community. Between the MoExcels Workforce Initiative and other state funding, the State of Missouri contributed a little more than $12 million to the Plaster Manufacturing Center. The state government and private donors have made significant investments in the PMC. OTC broke ground on the building at the corner of Chestnut Expressway and National Avenue in Springfield on Nov. OTC promised voters that if they approved the tax, the college would, among other things, build a state-of-the-art training center focused on advanced manufacturing. The new tax brought OTC’s levy to 20 cents – still the lowest of any community college in the state. The project began on April 3, 2018, when voters approved a 5-cent property tax increase for the college. “As the first advanced manufacturing training facility in the state, the PMC will not only educate the next generation of workers, but it will attract new businesses to the area looking to hire these highly skilled graduates.”īased on a 2017 economic impact study, OTC projects that over a decade, the Plaster Manufacturing Center’s economic impact on the region will be more than $400 million. “We envisioned the Plaster Manufacturing Center to be an economic catalyst to the entire region,” said Dr. DT Engineering is expected to begin using the Industry Partner Space later this fall. would be the first business to take advantage of the space. At the grand opening, the college announced that DT Engineering of Lebanon, Mo. Local companies may use the facility for activities such as training employees, creating operational processes for new equipment, and conducting research and development. The PMC will be home to seven of the college’s technical training programs, including:Īdditionally, 15,000 square feet of the PMC is reserved as Industry Partner Space. The $40 million, 120,000 square foot facility will focus on training the Ozarks’ workforce for jobs of the future.

“There are thousands and thousands of young men and women who will benefit from the Plaster Manufacturing Center.” “We have people who want to go to work, and now we have people who will be trained to go to work,” said Missouri Lt. The PMC is the largest building project in OTC’s history. Plaster Center for Advanced Manufacturing (PMC). The college hosted the grand opening of the Robert W. The future of manufacturing and technical education in the state made its debut at Ozarks Technical Community College today, Monday, August 15. Plaster Center for Advanced Manufacturing on Monday, August 15. Ozarks Technical Community College held the grand opening for the 120,000 square foot, $40 million Robert W.

Robert plaster foundation