Gosh, it’s been a month already!

I didn’t realize time had passed so quickly until I started doing my research for this column (or as Tom Stafford calls it, “due diligence”).

On Oct. 4, I had the pleasure of touring Ohio Stamping and Machine, or OSMI, at 1305 Innisfallen Ave. in Springfield, along with more than 500 local middle and high school students for Manufacturing Day.

It was also educational for me to see the facility in operation and to learn how manufacturing has changed from being labor intensive to a greater emphasis on computers and robots.

I also learned a lot about McGregor Metalworking Companies, which includes OSMI. President Dane Belden told us they do metal forming and stamping to customer specifics. Among their products, they make 6 million pulleys a year — “probably the largest (amount) in the U.S.”

They are currently Vendor of the Year for John Deere, and also do business with GE, Honda, Nissan and BMW, and ship products as far away as Germany and Brazil.

McGregor has about 425 workers at four plants in Springfield and one in South Carolina.

“We employ many smart people who know how to make metal parts,” Belden said.

Among the more impressive aspects of the tour was the 1600-pound press, one of the largest in Ohio. While we were there, it was being run by just two men and a computer. Belden stressed “employers need highly skilled people who use their brains.” That became evident when the two men had to make adjustments to the computer to continue the press operations.

Belden showed the students part of a car seat, a rear car window and other items made at the plant. And he talked about available jobs in facilities like his, including machinists, accountants, welders, plant managers and human resource representatives, and the important skills they need and use every day, such as math, science and critical thinking.

Actually, Manufacturing Day has become a two-day event for McGregor Metalworking, because of “significant response from the Clark County Education Superintendents.” Jeff Powell, general manager of OSMI, said more than 600 students from three middle schools in Springfield, plus Shawnee High School, were expected to visit the next day.

Springfield City Schools Superintendent Dave Estrop calls it “a new initiative to bring business and education a little closer, so the students are more ware of what opportunities are out there and how they can take advantage of those opportunities.”

He added it also gives the students “an ability to connect the real world with what they’re learning in school.”

I would also like to draw your attention to the fact the local chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters is holding its largest fundraiser of the year Saturday night, Bowl for Kids.

Proceeds from the event at Victory Lanes will help support Big Brothers Big Sisters of Springfield, which agency officials say provides “proven, positive academic, socio-emotional and behavioral outcomes for youth.” More information about Bowl For Kids and all the chapter’s efforts are available at bbbscentralohio.org.