Ryan Braun, vice president of Pester Pac Automation, and David Gozlan, operations manager, receive the Lake Norman Chamber’s 2023 “Inspire our Future” award. Photo | Ocaid Photography

March 1. The Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce has recognized Pester USA Inc. in Huntersville for  outstanding continuous support of education and workforce development with the “Inspire our Future” award presented by the chamber and the Lake Norman Education Collaborative.

In 2022, Pester was an instrumental partner in starting the EDC’s Journey 360 program, which allows high school students from Hough, Hopewell and North Mecklenburg, who have self-identified as interested in directly entering the workforce after high school, tour manufacturing facilities and interact with employees for a deeper understanding of manufacturing as a career path.

Pester’s participation in this event was thoroughly thought out with stations, games and examples of how each department is so important to the nuances of manufacturing.

“We at Pester Pac Automation USA feel strongly about educating students on what opportunities are available to them in business administration, operation, engineering, automation, after their graduation,” Ryan Braun, vice president of Pester Pac Automation, said.

“Providing them exposure to our industry (packaging automation) may allow them to make well thought out decisions about their futures and potentially consider a career path that they may not have otherwise considered,” he said

Braun added, ”We take great pride in being recognized by the community as a supporter in this effort to broaden the scope of career paths students have available to them.”