Plastics Manufacturing Technology, A.A.A.S.

GRCC Program:

Associate of Applied Arts and Sciences

The plastics forming industry continues to grow nationally and locally. An increasing variety of automotive parts, household goods, sports equipment, furniture, toys and machinery parts are formed from plastic.

The Plastics Manufacturing Technology program trains people for jobs as laboratory technicians, mold designers, production supervisors, mold technicians and plastics machinery maintenance technicians for the rapidly growing local plastics forming industry. There are over 150 plastics processing plants in Western Michigan that need trained people. These manufacturers and the Western Michigan Section of the Society of Plastics Engineers have indicated that excellent employment opportunities exist in plastics manufacturing and that trained workers are in short supply.

Injection molding, blow molding, extrusion, thermoforming and many secondary processes are studied in the program. Since injection molding is the most prevalent of these processes, it is emphasized. Some advanced-standing credit may be granted to entering graduates of high school machine tool and drafting programs that are members of the Kent Metropolitan Articulation Project.

The following sequence of classes is presented as a guide only. Courses may be taken in any order as long as all requirements (including prerequisites) are met.

First Year

Second Year

Total Credits: 63

* These classes may not transfer into FSU’s Bachelor of Science in Plastics Engineering Technology degree program.

** Some colleges require EN 101  and EN 102  for a bachelor’s degree.

Transfer Opportunities:

The Transfer Guide for many bachelor’s degree majors offered at Michigan colleges and universities is available at the Counseling and Career Center and online at www.grcc.edu.