On Thursday September 11th, Haas Automation opened its very first Haas Technical Education Centre (HTEC) showroom in Africa, at the Institute of Aeronautics and Airport Logistics (ISMALA), Casablanca, Morocco.
The ISMALA is a purpose-built facility and part of the nationwide Office de la Formation Professionnelle et de la Promotion du Travail (OFPPT). Opened a year ago by His Majesty, King Mohammed the Sixth, the ISMALA is one of more than 300 similar resources in Morocco, created to prepare young people for work in growth sectors of the nation’s economy. As its name suggests, the Casablanca facility was built specifically to provide training in aeronautical engineering and other, related subjects. After all, more than 100 of the world’s top aircraft and aeronautical parts manufacturers are present in Morocco.
The grand opening of the new HTEC was organised and performed jointly by representatives from the ISMALA, the OFPPT, Haas Automation Europe, and the local Haas Factory Outlet (HFO) responsible for Morocco, Performer CNC, France. Many of the local media channels were present at the event, as were several VIP guests, most notably Mr. Larbi Bencheikh, CEO of OFPPT, who performed the ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside Haas Automation Europe marketing manager Mr. Bert Maes.
“This is a very exciting occasion for Haas,” said Mr. Maes. “The HTEC school partnership program is designed to offer the necessary training platform for students and teachers to succeed in acquiring the best CNC skills and competencies. For Morocco, which has to continue to attract more foreign investment, training young people is a top-priority. This event is just the beginning – for Haas and also for Morocco. We have decided to implement a minimum of three more certified Haas training centers within OFPPT institutes. This will allow many metal cutting manufacturing enterprises in Morocco to meet a big part of their workforce needs by employing fully-trained personnel.”
Mr. Abdelhadi Benmkaddem is a director at ISMALA: “In the aerospace industry a very high level of quality must be achieved. So, our standards here at ISMALA are equally high. We needed affordable, reliable and high performance CNC machine tools with extraordinary support. The Haas machines and our partnership with Haas Factory Outlet – Performer CNC fit those requirements perfectly. Our students will very soon be ready to join local aeronautical manufacturing firms and make valuable contributions.”
