A recent initiative by Joe Slezak at Stoughton Trailers to enhance training efforts is being strengthened with the assistance of spray application instructors from the Iowa Waste Reduction Center (IWRC) and the addition of the VirtualPaint system.

Stoughton Trailers, headquartered in Stoughton, WI, is a leader in the manufacturing of over-the-road dry vans, grain haulers, as well as intermodal transportation containers carried by railroads and ships. They are placing an emphasis on production line assembly, welding and painter training through a recent Wisconsin Fast Forward grant-funded project.  The painter training emphasis is being lead through incorporating the VirtualPaint to train painters at three facilities: Stoughton, Brodhead and Evansville.

Instructors from IWRC and Stoughton will be working together to develop an in-house training solution. "The exciting part about working with Stoughton is that we get the opportunity to not only introduce the VirtualPaint training program to a new industry , but also work together to develop a training program," says Jeremiah Treloar, Program Manager at the Iowa Waste Reduction Center. Treloar will be working with Chad Heisz (pictured left), the training instructor at Stoughton over the course of the next two years. "The program will be a work-in-progress," he continues.

The VirtualPaint system has also been used to test, train and promote assembly workers in qualified painters, expanding the careers and pay ranges of many employees. At a recent Manufacturing Day Exposition (pictured right) many local high school students were able to discover their skills and a possible career in painting through the VirtualPaint system.

With the addition of training materials that align with VirtualPaint system, painters will be able to gain basic knowledge that will translate from the classroom, to the virtual reality training with VirtualPaint, to the spray booth.