Success Stories

Furnace Training at SKF Aeroengine N.A. 

WDI provided support for training to SKF Aeroengine, a manufacturer and supplier of rotating equipment machine components for the aerospace industry.   The company was in the process of installing a $6M furnace that employed a new technology for the heat treatment of special steel alloys used in bearings for aircraft, helicopters, spacecraft, and in commercial applications.  The operators and electricians, however, required training to ensure they understood how it was to be operated, maintained, and repaired.   WDI funded 5 half-day classes over a period of two weeks, for a total of 200 instruction hours.  27 individuals were trained on the equipment.
  

Support to Labor

WDI believes that organized labor must play an active role in economic and workforce-related decisions that are made on the state and regional level so that working people benefit from the state’s investments.  To this end, WDI has taken an active role in providing research and education to labor about economic development projects in Western NY, and in particular about the role and the activities of the Regional Economic Development Councils (REDC’s).  The goal of this education program is to provide knowledge so that labor can work effectively to ensure job growth in NYS benefits residents of NYS.