Following on the heels of this year’s regional awards ceremony, the organizers of the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? (WSCM) student video contest for the Chester and Delaware Counties had two teams advance to the “Best of PA” competition.

This is the second year that a state-level competition was held.  Regional contests began in 2013 with the Manufacturing Alliance of Chester and Delaware Counties (MACC/DC), an initiative of the Chester County Economic Development Council, launching the contest for our region in 2015.   In 2019, participation across the Commonwealth increased by 35% with more than 70% of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties participating.

A total of 239 teams comprised of middle schools paired with manufacturers participated in this year’s regional events with 32 teams invited to the Best of PA award ceremony.   The teams from our region were Springton Lake Middle School with Braskem USA, which won locally for the Outstanding Overall Video and Downingtown Middle School with Lasko Products, which won locally for Outstanding Creativity.

The winners of the second annual “Best of PA” contest, and the manufacturers that were the subjects of the videos, were:

First Place: Neil A Armstrong Middle School – Bucks County – Macron Dynamics

Second Place: Reading Southern Middle School – Berks County – Packaging Corporation of America

Third Place: Northeast Middle School – Lehigh/Northampton Counties – Just Born Quality Confections

More than 1,700 students participated in the contest this year.  The goal was to create videos that dispel the outdated image of manufacturing as boring, dirty, and dangerous and instead highlight the “cool factor” of the lean and clean work environments found in today’s high-tech manufacturing fields.

Check out the “Best of PA” What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? videos.

Learn more about the Manufacturing Alliance of Chester and Delaware Counties.