R.H. Sheppard to host new Hanover training center

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Hanover
has long needed a central location for workforce training, said Gary Laird,
president of the Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce.

“We’ve not had a centralized training center that’s been
open to the general business community,” Laird said.

Now that is changing, thanks to truck-parts manufacturer
R.H. Sheppard Co. Inc.

Sheppard is offering space inside a building it owns for a
training center that will serve companies as diverse as McClarin Plastics Inc. and Utz Quality Foods Inc., officials involved with the venture said.

“Utz and Sheppard do much of the same leadership, safety,
and other training, so it makes sense to collaborate and share the costs,”
Sheppard Vice President Oliver Hoar wrote in an e-mail today. His company has
more than 1,000 employees.

Sheppard acquired the building at 400 Pine St. after its previous occupant, Eisenhart Wallcoverings Co., declared bankruptcy in 2005. Sheppard used the property to expand its remanufacturing line, which rebuilds
used steering systems for trucks.

The facility will be a satellite office of the William F. Goodling Regional Advanced
Skills Center in York, which
provides a range of training programs. Initially, the space will be used to
provide customized training to several key companies, but the idea is to
eventually host classes with open enrollment, said Bill Brenner, marketing
director at the skills center.

The skills center also may use the facility to train
high-school seniors in the Hanover
area. Students at a similar program in York
attend regular school in the morning and learn manufacturing skills in the
afternoon. The skills center is in talks with Hanover-area school districts
about the idea, Brenner said. The center could serve 10 to 12 students, he
said.

Meanwhile, pooling resources means a business can send three
or four workers to a program instead of having to send 12 at one time, Laird
said.

“The businesses can actually capture some economies of
scale,” he said.

Planners hope to start offering classes at the center in
October, Laird said. The size of the center is about 3,500 square feet plus a
conference room, Hoar said. Known as the Hanover Center
for Workforce Excellence, it will offer classes on topics including electrical
maintenance; forklift operation; basic machining; and soft skills such as
supervising and first aid, he said.

“Even though we are different companies, there’s a lot of
overlap in different types of training,” said Alan Beily, a training consultant
for Sheppard and McClarin.