/ Business of the Month / Advanced Welding Institute
Business of the Month: October 2023
Advanced Welding Institute
Advanced Welding Institute (AWI)
555 enterprise way
Eagle river, WI 54521
Phone: (715) 337-0122
https://awi.edu/
It was a distinct pleasure to have an opportunity to speak with Kathy Huber, Office Director, Advanced Welding Institute-Eagle River, to learn about their fabulous welding school and becoming the third largest in the nation!
Tell us about the history of AWl, when it was founded, and why that’s important.
AWI was founded in 2003 in South Burlington, Vermont. Richard Irick, the owner who is also a retired Air Force Vet, started a business of Non-Destructive Testing (NDT). This testing is performed on welds on high-risk buildings, roller coasters, ski lifts, ships, etc. Many companies throughout the East Coast had been asking him, so we really need good welders why don't you open a school and teach great welding? Upon research, he found the school was needed. In 2012, Rick came to Wisconsin for a vacation, and looked in the area for a nice building for a hunting cabin with some acreage. He found the building on Hwy. 17 in Sugar Camp and thought it would also be a great location for a welding school. He purchased the building, remodeled it, and added 20 welding booths.
What educational programming do you provide?
We teach the Hobart Institute curriculum, and we have added the Lincoln Electric Institute curriculum. We also have included the American Welding Society and ASME. We have a large manual, student workbook and test book. We have various DVDs, blueprints, and other educational materials the instructors can utilize for the students.
How many students do you have and how have you grown over the years?
Presently, we have 54 students; 47 men, and 7 women. In 2019, when I was hired AWI had 20 welding booths, after many discussions with Rick I learned his dream was to expand the facility. Laura, our recruiter, visited schools and career fairs, and during the 2020 COVID Pandemic we had 24 students enrolled and working with others. That's when the decision was made to expand.
In the summer of 2020, we purchased the building in Eagle River, remodeled it, and built 26 new booths and HVAC system. In 2021, we enrolled additional students, so we all agreed that our name is getting recognized let's expand again. We built an additional 30 booths and expanded the electric and HVAC. In 2022, we knew this area could not keep up with the housing dilemma for our students, so we purchased the Phelps Assistant Living Facility. We now house 15 students there.
Where do your students come from?
The main states our students come from are Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. In the past 12 months we have had students come from Virginia, California, New York, and Kentucky.
What is your placement rate for students once they graduate?
Our placement rate for the past two years has been 99.9%. Our accrediting agency audits our students and where they are employed every year. These students work for large manufacturing, ship yards, traveling welding, (City Water Towers) mining equipment, agriculture manufacturing plants, pressure vessels, pharmaceuticals manufacturing, infrastructure. There are many different types of jobs everywhere. Some of the companies we work with would hire every one of our students.
What is your goal?
I would love to be #1 in the nation, however with Lincoln Electric #1, (they graduate over 200 students) and Hobart being the same, it will be extremely tough. I would like our school to be known as the elite welding school, being smaller and more one-on-one with our students. We have been #3 in the nation for the past four years.
What is the future of AWl in Eagle River?
We will be adding a fabrication program into our curriculum in the next few years. We will write the program, and then it will need to be approved by seven different agencies. We will be expanding our facility to handle the program.
How is AWI integrated into the community, and its achievements on a national level?
AWI helps the community in Eagle River and Phelps set up festivals and decorate the Eagle River City Park for Christmas. We hold a large event every year called Women, Wine, and Weld. This event allows us to raise money for Wounded Warriors in Action, and the Vilas County Food Pantry.
We also work with companies and write a special program for their training needs. For instance, United Alloy of Janesville, WI sent four of their employees for a special six-week training program. Those employees also lived at our facility. Two of the students and families vacationed up here for several weeks and explored the community and the Northwoods. We have a few more companies we are working with to set up programs for their training needs next year.
We really appreciate this VCEDC award, as it recognizes the achievements of AWI, AWI students and instructors, our placement rate and contributions to the economy, and recognition on a national level.
Congratulations Advanced Welding Institute!
