Blue Ridge Community and Technical College hosted a preview of the new Plastics Training Lab on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, at 12 p.m. at the Technology Center in Martinsburg, WV (5550 Winchester Avenue, Martinsburg, WV). The College responded to local and regional needs for skilled and relevant education and training for the plastics manufacturing industry. The plastics manufacturing training lab is the only one of its kind in West Virginia. Blue Ridge CTC’s plastics educational training and degrees help address the need for a highly skilled workforce in plastics manufacturing technology in West Virginia and along the East Coast.

“The foundation of gainful employment for students is built through responsive business partnerships,” said Dr. Peter Checkovich, founding President of Blue Ridge Community and Technical College. “For students, this lab represents the opportunity for a lucrative career. For business and industry, this program creates a pipeline of skilled professionals to meet workforce needs.”

The plastics manufacturing programs are designed in partnership with the industry. Employers can work with college faculty to design training that is innovative, solves real challenges, and advances the future of manufacturing. Potential and existing students, high school students, and adults have the opportunity to earn skill sets, micro credentials, certificates, and an Associate of Applied Science in Plastics Engineering Technology. Students who complete the customized training or degree graduate with the skills employers need for successful careers in the region. Representatives from Procter & Gamble, Technimark, Logoplaste, Rubbermaid, Parker Plastics, and Southeastern Container attended the event.

“This new Associate Degree in Plastics Engineering Technology is designed to empower. It will provide students with access to state-of-the-art machines, advanced digital twins for modeling and simulation, and a foundational understanding of materials science,” said Jean-Luc Azzani, Senior Director, Procter and Gamble R&D . “This comprehensive approach will help them become well-rounded professionals, ready to contribute from day one, and to quickly achieve the financial security they desire and truly deserve. This curriculum is a shining testament to the foresight of the Blue Ridge Community and Technical College leadership team. It exemplifies genuine public-private collaboration and demonstrates a deep understanding of what truly drives economic growth and individual success in our region.”

The new plastics lab features a new extrusion blow molding machine. The Kautex Maschinenbau Model KCC Hydraulic Motion machine is the gold standard in extrusion blow molding. In addition, the lab also has an injection molding (also known as stretch molding) Nissei NISSEI AMERICA ASB-12M. Lastly, to complete process, The Husky HYLECTRIC 4.0 does the injection molding. 

The Technology Center, known locally as “the Old Corning building,” has served the Eastern Panhandle residents since 2008, providing access to high-skilled, technical educational programming. Today, the center hosts a wide variety of Blue Ridge CTC programs and services, including Culinary Arts, Hospitality and Tourism, Computer Technology with nationally recognized credentials, Digital Media, Cybersecurity, Medical Assisting, Electric Distribution Engineering, Advanced Manufacturing, Physical Therapy Assisting, Plastic Engineering Technology, Robotics, JumpStart, and numerous other academic and workforce training programs.