WTC welding students from Kingstree Senior High School, C.E. Murray High School, and the College assisted with the unloading of the stainless steel pipe donated to the College by International Paper.  Pictures are (from left) welding instructor Jeff Ball of Andrews, Lawrence Foster of Cades, Robert Powell of Kingstree, Isaiah Fulton of Salters, Brandon Holmes of Lane, Adrian Cooper of Kingstree, William Conyers of Greeleyville, Marcus Johnson of Kingstree, and Matthew Aiken of Kingstree.

Williamsburg Technical College Receives Donation

Through a concerted effort among college programs, advisory council members, Williamsburg Technical College’s welding department recently received a donation of 250 feet of 6-inch stainless steel pipe from International Paper Company in Georgetown.

The concept of the donation was born from an idea by Andy Baker with BE&K Construction, who serves on the College’s welding advisory board.  In his business, Baker needed welders to work with stainless steel, a costly but high-demand industrial construction material.  After speaking with College welding instructors Jeff Ball and Jason Kinder, he learned that training students on the product was cost-prohibitive under current state budget constraints.

Due to his need for qualified workers and his dedication to helping Williamsburg Technical College succeed in producing them, he contacted Ruben Williams at International Paper and explained the situation.  Williams was instrumental in encouraging the company to donate the piping which, if new, would cost as much as $75 per foot.  Though the stainless steel pipe the company donated was not new, it could have cost nearly $18,000 has it been new.

Because of the donation, Williamsburg Technical College welders are now able to learn to work on the nonferrous metal which contains no iron as does other types of steel.  As a result, they will be more hirable upon graduation, since most industrial construction uses stainless steel because of it’s resistance to chemicals and corrosion.

As if the donation and the welding opportunities were not enough to benefit the College, the pipes were loaded and transported from International Paper by Williamsburg Technical College’s Continuing Education truck driving class members under the direction of Mr. George McFadden with Xtra Mile truck driver training. In addition, the College’s machine tool students under the leadership of Brandon Haselden and Mike Cumbie were also able to use the donated steel to learn special beveling techniques.