Texarkana Aluminum Gives $5,000 for Texarkana College Scholarships

Texarkana Aluminum donated $5,000 to Texarkana College to be awarded to area high school students who are pursing workforce dual credit classes.

“Engaging the future workforce in mechanical and electrical engineering learning is of great importance to Texarkana Aluminum,” said Amy Bowers, Community Outreach and Internship Manager. “We believe that we must invest in our future and develop a workforce that has the skills necessary to support manufacturing operations.”

After touring Texarkana College’s trade facilities and discussing the curriculum offered, Bowers said the learning students need to be successful in Texarkana Aluminum’s work environment is being met by the college’s programs.

“It costs a little over $600 for one high school student to take a dual credit class for one school year,” said Brandon Washington, Texarkana College’s Dean of Workforce & Continuing Education. “This scholarship represents a big step in getting young people interested in manufacturing. Through this partnership with Texarkana Aluminum, we are hopeful that many students and their parents will have greater awareness of these high demand occupations.”

Texarkana College officials said they hope these scholarships will boost interest in TC’s electronics/instrumentation and industrial maintenance dual credit classes.

In November 2018, Texarkana Aluminum announced its plan to restart an aluminum rolling mill that had not been in production since 2009.

“Equipment is currently being refurbished, and the plan is to restore the site's full production capabilities,” Bowers said. “We hope to see all manufacturing process, including hot mill, cold mill and finishing operations completely restored in 2020. Yet, beyond restoring equipment, we need to find key talent. At present, we have just under 90 employees. However, by the end of 2020, we believe that we will employ approximately 350 employees.”

Jobs at the site predominantly include production workers, electricians, electrical engineers, mechanics and mechanical engineers. Texarkana Aluminum also signaled a continuing commitment to providing scholarships for years to come.

For additional information or to make a donation, please contact Katie Andrus at (903) 823-3125 or katie.andrus@texarkanacollege.edu.