(MARSHALL) – Diesel Equipment Technology students at Texas State Technical College in Marshall recently started using work gloves donated by a Great Lakes company.
HexArmor of Grand Rapids, Michigan, provides puncture and cut-resistant work gloves, arm sleeves, personal cooling products and reusable boot covers to the mining, oil and gas, pulp paper and recycling industries.
“The gloves were a donation from the manufacturer. We will decide which types are best for shop use. Then, new gloves will be sold later in the bookstore,” said Wayne Dillon, director of the Design, Manufacturing and Transportation Division at TSTC in Marshall.
The gloves donation marks the first time the company has partnered with TSTC. The 10 pairs of gloves are valued at $500.
“Hopefully it’s the start of a long-lasting relationship in which we can bring value to the students of TSTC not only through our products, but also through various hand safety educational opportunities,” said Eric Cousins, a digital marketing specialist for HexArmor. “Provost Bart Day and his staff have been a joy to work with thus far and I’m impressed by their dedication to the safety of their students.”
Jason Mathis, 20, a Diesel Equipment Technology major from Jefferson, enjoys using the gloves.
“The gloves save your knuckles,” Mathis said. “They keep you from getting pinched and save your hands from getting nasty.”
Another Diesel Equipment Technology major, Cameron Maxwell, 22, of Waskom, said the gloves are durable and lower his chances of getting injured. After graduation this summer he wants to open his own business and work on his own equipment.
The partnership between TSTC and HexArmor began when Day reached out to the company to inquire about the gloves.
“He (Day) mentioned that the college strives to educate and familiarize students with the best safety practices and personal protective equipment available,” said Cousins. “We at HexArmor also share that passion for safety and appreciated the great opportunity to offer world-class personal protective equipment to the students at TSTC. Hopefully it will help them spread the word about the importance of hand safety at the various job sites where they will work.”
TSTC in Marshall offers the Associate of Applied Science in Diesel Equipment Technology Off-Highway Specialization and a Certificate in Diesel Equipment Technology Off-Highway Equipment.
For more information on how to make a donation to TSTC, contact The TSTC Foundation at 254-867-3900 or 903-923-3209.
Registration continues for the fall semester at TSTC. For more information log on to tstc.edu.
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