ONTARIO — Zoi Romanchuk, president of PR Machine Works and owner of Slick Automated Solutions, emphasizes to each visitor of the company how much technology has changed manufacturing.
“It’s a lot more high-tech than it was and a lot cleaner than it was,” she said. “People don’t realize that until they actually come here and see it.”
Each Manufacturing Day, celebrated the first Friday in October in the United States, PR Machine Works schedules a high school field trip for students to learn about opportunities manufacturing provides.
Crestline sophomores were the first high school group to tour on Manufacturing Day since 2019. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine also visited PR Machine Works on his tour of three facilities across the state.
“Ohio is a major manufacturing state — we employ close to 700,000 Ohioans in manufacturing,” DeWine said. “One of the things we want to do is keep the old, but as we’re seeing the economy change, we want to make sure that we’re changing with it.”
With Intel’s commitment to build a chip-manufacturing facility in central Ohio, DeWine said high-tech manufacturing jobs are sure to rise in the state. He wants to make sure high school students are aware of their opportunities and choices for local jobs.
“My big picture goal is for every child in Ohio to live up to their potential and to be able to find something that they have real passion for and that they really like,” DeWine said.
Jamie Smardgeff, a quality technician at PR Machine Works, has worked there since she graduated from Clear Fork High School. She found manufacturing through the Knox County Career Center and said it was encouraging to see Crestline students tour the warehouse.
“I think it was neat seeing the kids because that’s how I got into manufacturing — doing stuff like this,” she said. “I just think it was also cool to see the governor and the kids seem excited and happy.
“It’s kind of cool just to see the community and everybody coming together in a skilled trade that’s always out there and will be there forever.”
Scott Newmeyer has been the PR Machine Works maintenance manager technician for six weeks. He has worked in Ohio manufacturing for 30 years.
“I’ve always had a job,” Newmeyer said. “I believe that manufacturing is an extremely important part of our economy. I think that when politicians are supporting that, we should be supporting them in return.”
Mark Romanchuk, owner of PR Machine Works and vice president of Slick Automated Solutions, said PR Machine Works has hosted multiple federal and state politicians, but hadn’t hosted DeWine before Friday.
“I think it’s key that the governor was here on Manufacturing Day,” he said. “That’s going to hopefully bring a lot of attention to the industry and attention to the fact that there are a lot of jobs here available.”
