The Machining Center: Ensuring a Future Workforce for Manufacturing
May 21, 2026
Bay of Quinte is a manufacturing-rich region. It also has a high population and plenty of training programs to meet workforce needs, such as:
- Loyalist College specialty programs in business and manufacturing-related fields
- The Elevate Plus program, an industry-specific skills training program
But how do you entice people to undertake manufacturing-related skills training in the first place? You do it by showing them, when they’re very young, how cool it is! The Machining Center demonstrated this in a fun way by putting on a free, one-day March Break activity for children ages 4 and up.
A Behind-the-Scenes Peek at Machining, Design, and Fabrication
It’s helping us expose kids to our industry and show them how many different types of jobs there are available. Sarah Wolters, Co-Owner of The Machining Center
Kevin and Sarah Wolters, owners of The Machining Center in Quinte West, have been doing this lively activity for the last few years, right at their facility among all their equipment. The Machining Center pauses its operations for that one day.
This year, 85 children came, and they all went home with a metal toolbox they were involved in creating. The children, accompanied by a parent (ratio one adult for two children), rotate station by station in groups of 10, discovering along the way how machining and fabrication works. The groups go through eight stations:
- Design: A session with the engineer.
- Laser cutter: Participants watch (from the safety of the windows into the enclosure that surrounds the cutter) the fiber laser cutter cut the flat layout of the toolbox.
- Laser engraving: The fiber laser sits in a safely enclosed space, and the kids watch through a window as it engraves their names on their toolboxes.
- CNC (Computer Numerical Control) mill: Participants watch the mill create the parts they need to attach the handle to their toolbox. Then they are all given little hand files, and it’s up to them to remove the burrs.
- Lathe: Participants get their handle from the live tooling lathe.
- CNC brake press: Participants watch the flat layout get bent into the shape.
- Welding: Participants spot-weld their toolboxes together with the help of a The Machining Center employee for positioning.
- Assembly: Participants gather around a table to do the final assembly of their toolbox: hinges, clips, and latch.
The whole activity takes 90 minutes per group.
Kevin and Sarah consider the biggest benefit of the activity to be the investment in the future workforce.
Bay of Quinte: A Good Place to Do Business
We work with customers as small as the farmer down the road all the way up to nuclear and aerospace and everything in between. Kevin Wolters, Co-Owner
Along with a ready workforce, any industrial region needs robust support industries. These industries exist all over Bay of Quinte – The Machining Center among them.
The Machining Center is a custom machining, design, and fabrication centre. The team of 20 employees at The Machining Center love doing new things, taking on new challenges, and problem solving. Any industry in the region that needs a regular part made or something completely new created will find a solution there. The company has a variety of high-end equipment that allows them to take on high-precision tasks with great efficiency.
The children who came to The Machining Center March Break activity were invited by Kevin and Sarah – the children and grandchildren of staff and customers. Kevin and Sarah then sent the invitation into the wider community via the Quinte West Chamber of Commerce and the Quinte Manufacturers Association. One of their motivations for the activity was to show appreciation to their staff and customers – anyone “connected to our TMC family,” said Sarah.
Industries in Bay of Quinte enjoy close connections between all the elements involved in manufacturing. They also see a lot of support. For instance, The Machining Center gets 100% funding for training from Elevate Plus. A company with that much specialized equipment has to provide a lot of training! Elevate Plus is an initiative of Quinte Economic Development Commission (QEDC) in collaboration with Loyalist College and the Quinte Manufacturers Association.
The Machining Center has been enjoying Bay of Quinte benefits since 1988. Kevin and Sarah Wolters took over the ownership in 2017 and have been building up the company’s equipment, specialties, and efficiencies ever since.
Industries, businesses, and entrepreneurs have access to ready information, connections, and resources through QEDC. Please contact the Quinte Economic Development Commission team, or call +1 (613) 961-7990.
