September 5, 2025
Industry partner provides Ferris State Plastics Engineering Technology students with state-of-the-art equipment to gain in-demand skills
Ferris State University plastics students are gaining experience using state-of-the-art equipment through a partnership with an international industry leader in the field.
LS Mtron, a South Korean heavy machinery and electronic components manufacturer, donated injection molding machines to Ferris State and Pittsburg State universities to prepare the next generation of the plastics industry workforce.
Ferris State received a 55-ton, ONE 55E machine installed this summer to support students in the Plastics Engineering Technology program in the College of Engineering Technology.
Tom Van Pernis, associate professor and program coordinator for the Plastics Engineering Technology program, said the donation is an example of the university’s partnership with industry leaders, and the respect manufactures have for the Ferris State program.
“Our program would not be able to exist without support from industry,” he said. “We are very grateful for LS Mtron’s support.”
Plastics education at Ferris began in the late 1960s, with the Bachelor of Science program launched in the mid-1980s. The program – one of just six in the nation – has graduated more than 1,200 students. About 50 are enrolled this fall.
The LS injection molding machine will be used for instruction in Ferris State’s Introductory Injection Molding course, which has a six-hour lab, and the Advanced Injection Molding course in the bachelor’s program.
In that course, students perform experiments with engineering-grade materials to better understand how process variables – such as mold temperature, injection velocity, hold pressure – that affect finished product properties including impact strength, tensile strength, shrinkage, weld line strength and more.
Ferris State students typically work with a lab partner during the semester on weekly activities. In the introductory injection molding course, they spend their time learning a basic process setup according to scientific molding principles.
Tom Van Pernis, associate professor and program coordinator for the Plastics Engineering Technology program next to the donated injection molding machine.
“They work through first setting up the clamp, then running short shots, and finally progressing to a full part with some process optimization,” Van Pernis said. “At the end of the semester they complete a lab final, which is a two-hour individual test where they have to setup a process from scratch and answer questions along the way.”
Through the semester, the students also learn how to complete mold changes, matching molds to machines, basic troubleshooting, identify machine safeties, actuators, and position indicators.
“As you can imagine, this is a lot of information for the students to digest, and we are very proud of how far they progress in just one semester,” Van Pernis said.
The advanced molding course has a similar lab final but uses engineering-grade materials and includes more advanced topics such as moisture analysis and velocity profiling.
“In this course, we also include any additional technologies the machine might have, such as any kind of AI features, adaptive process features and more,” Van Pernis said.
Van Pernis said the course sequence prepares students become proficient on machines to gain internships.
“The feedback from industry is that our students are quite comfortable on machines and are able to make an impact even after their freshmen year.”
The top entry-level position that Ferris State graduates land is process engineer, he said.
“Having support from industry through consignment agreements means that they are able to experience and learn on production-level equipment in school so they can hit the ground running on Day One.”
LS Mtron works closely with the universities after providing the equipment.
“Because we support the manufacturing capabilities of our sister company LG and all its subsidiaries, we’re keenly aware of the power of supporting emerging plastics industry stakeholders,” said Paul Caprio, president of sales for LS Mtron Injection Molding Machine USA. “We’re proud to give future plastics industry employees every possible advantage to learn the critical skills they will need to succeed in the evolving world of advanced manufacturing.”