Manufacturing is an overlooked and underappreciated industry. It is often forgotten that most everything we see in our daily life is manufactured in some way or another. Not every successful person must follow the path of college. In fact, AMF has cited their success without degrees— just hard work and dedication.“ We want to open the eyes of younger adults and let them see that not every path has to be college and high student debt. Not everyone needs to be a doctor or a lawyer. Some may think manufacturing, machinist, and welders are blue-collar jobs with low pay and no skill. It is quite the opposite. Skilled laborers are essential. We need these hands-on technical people to help build our country,” says Rahn. AMF’ s goal is to work their way into high schools and trade schools to demonstrate the importance of machining careers. The company donates time and materials to schools to show the next generation how they too, can work in manufacturing as machinists or in other roles. They also cited that Utah is above the curve in its educational model and in its introduction to careers in manufacturing. As a team, they noted that it can be difficult to reach students, but even more difficult to encourage parents to consider manufacturing careers for their young adults.
JUNE | JULY 2026 ISSUE NO. 51 11