PITTSBURG, KS - Wood industry suppliers are nearing completion of a five-day intensive woodworking training sessions. 

Sponsored by the Woodworking Machinery Industry Association and Pittsburg State University, the WMIA/PSU BootCamp is a five-day instructional course on secondary wood processing fundamentals for sales professionals, managers, product managers and executives.

But students don't sit idly in in lectures - though there are plenty of classroom hours during the 50-hour workshop. In addition to providing an overview of the wood processing industry, the WMIA / PSU BootCamp brings the attendees into the lab, where they saw, cut, sand, join and finish wood components that embody the classic moves of a casegoods producer. 

"We wanted manufacturers to see the entire process, and who what they do affects the other areas of manufacture," says Doug Hague, assistant professor. The program was devised, says Hague, as a thanks to the many industry suppliers that have generously supported PSU's wood expand sales skills and industry knowledge with a hands-on approach to several fundamental wood processing applications and machines.

Mimicking a full, four-year woodworking program at PSU, the course included AutoCAD and CAM software, CNC machinery operation, tool technology, veneering, millwork, cabinetry, finishing, primary processing and the science behind the characteristics of certain wood species. Students also were exposed to other subjects, including basics of establishing a dust collection system, OSHA regulations,    - a lot to learn, all compressed into a week of 10-hour days.