WATERLOO, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa, Hawkeye Community College and the Cedar Valley Makers will celebrate Manufacturing Day on Friday, Oct. 6. Foundries, business owners, educators and students are invited to a free open house at the Waterloo TechWorks Campus at 360 Westfield Ave., Waterloo, IA 50701, from noon to 6 p.m. Registration is not required. 

“The TechWorks campus is a unique gem in the manufacturing space,” said Jerry Thiel, UNI Metal Casting and Foundry 4.0 Centers director. “We’re excited to open our spaces to the public and share how innovative we are in the Cedar Valley.”

Tours of the UNI Foundry 4.0 Center, Cedar Valley Makers, and Hawkeye Community College Automation and Robotics Center spaces and presentations will be available throughout the afternoon, and the All About Cheesestakes food trailer will be stationed outside of the building. 

Presentations will take place throughout the afternoon beginning at noon on floor two, covering the manufacturing topics of robotic casting finishing cells, Internet of Things, building the workforce of the future, and business and tech goal alignment. Additional business track presentations will cover topics like taking on new investments, operational metrics in manufacturing, ownership and valuation of the business.