FREMONT, Calif. — Nationwide Boiler Inc. recently opened the doors of its controls division, Nationwide Control Solutions, in Washougal, Washington, to host three groups of high school students for a tour of its panel fabrication facility. This tour was one of three facilities visited and a small part of a larger event coordinated by Washougal High School. Similar to a career fair, the Annual Pathway Conference provides students enrolled in the career & technical education (CTE) program with valuable insight and education around post-graduation career opportunities with local trades. The goal of the CTE program is to increase graduation rates and prepare students for employment by engaging them in learning related to career interests and workplace readiness.

“We were excited to take part in this event, educating our future workforce on the many opportunities available through trades and specifically within the boiler industry,” said Jack Valentine, general manager, Nationwide Boiler Inc. “There are many high-skilled, high-demand, and high-paying careers available through trades, and it is not well-known to our youth, so it is important that we do all we can to help get the word out. The students had a lot of questions and were eager to learn about everything we do here at Nationwide Control Solutions.”

Each tour at Nationwide began with an education on the company’s breadth of product offerings, including temporary rental boilers, new and used boilers for sale, emissions control equipment, and the focus of the tour: combustion control systems and fuel supply skids.

From there, students explored the panel shop and had the opportunity to see electrical wiring, factory acceptance testing, and new equipment fabrication in process. Equipment on the shop floor included a newly built Motor Combustion Control (MCC) panel for a rental boiler, a urea supply skid for a CataStak™ SCR system, multiple Eagle Combustion Control Panels, and various fuel supply skids. At the end of the tour, students were given the opportunity to take home some promotional “swag” along with a wealth of new knowledge on control systems and the boiler industry. For more information, visit www.nationwideboiler.com.