Western Maricopa Education Center, known as West-MEC, recently celebrated the completion of its new Advanced Manufacturing and Welding building and Electric Vehicle building addition at its Northeast Campus in Phoenix.
The new 16,500-square-foot Advanced Manufacturing building features an advanced manufacturing lab with an ISO-X cleanroom and industry-standard equipment from companies like Festo, Universal Robots and KUKA. Students in West-MEC’s two-year Advanced Manufacturing, Automation and Robotics program explore new technologies like AI, machine learning and robotic process automation and their impact on manufacturing. A unique feature of the program is the inclusion of cleanroom simulation training to prepare students for work in the semiconductor and manufacturing industries.
The project also includes the addition of a 2,000-square-foot EV bay. The EV bay addition, which has been outfitted to create a cutting-edge teaching facility for EV technology, features a car lift as the facility’s focal point. The EV bay supports student learning within various instructional areas and allows for first-hand demonstrations.
“By connecting world-class training with industry needs, this new facility ensures West-MEC students are ready to step into high-demand jobs from day one. It’s a win for our students, our partners and Arizona’s economy,” says West-MEC Superintendent Dr. Scott Spurgeon.
With more than 3,000 square feet of classroom and collaboration space, the facility was designed to enhance hands-on learning opportunities, specifically to prepare students for direct placement into manufacturing industry career opportunities. The Advanced Manufacturing building also houses a dedicated welding instructional lab with 25 individual Lincoln welding booths, equipped with a specialized Lincoln exhaust system. Coupled with this interior lab space, the welding program now has an exterior welding yard with individual sandblasting and plasma cutting stations.
The $13.5-million project was designed by Grace Design Studios (formerly GHC-Orcutt Winslow) and constructed by McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. Construction of the campus expansion began in September 2024 and was completed on an aggressive 10-month timeline with support from Grace’s self-certification permitting process and in-house plan review. Subcontractors included Stone Cold Masonry, Progressive Roofing, Pueblo Mechanical and Hawkeye Electric.
Photo courtesy of West-MEC
