During the week of June 19-23, technical school students from across the United States gathered in Louisville, Ky., for the 53rd annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference. Trades of every sort were represented, from collision repair to cake decorating.
In the plastic repair portion of the competition, Kurt Lammon of Polyvance gave a demonstration of a new nitrogen plastic welding component that will become an official part of the competition in 2018. Starting in 2018, competitors will be required to repair a 3-inch-long cut and a tab using 3M’s two-part repair material and will be required to repair a 3-inch-long tear to the edge of the bumper with the Polyvance nitrogen plastic welder.
The technical requirements of the new nitrogen plastic welding component are shown in this YouTube video:
Tech School Trade-in Program
To help underfunded technical schools across the country prepare for this new plastic welding requirement, Polyvance is promoting a “tech school trade-in program.”
Body shops that donate their old nitrogen plastic welders (of any make) to a tech school will be able to take the tax deduction on the donation, and, when they purchase a new Polyvance plastic welder, Polyvance will provide a $300 rebate to the shop. Contact Polyvance at (800) 633-3047 for more information about the program.
