Submitted photo WNY P-TECH in Dunkirk recently held a ceremony to name Dunkirk Metal Products as its 2021-22 Business Partner of the Year. Pictured, from left, are Nick Anson, Mechanical Technologies instructor; Jeremy Bryant, Welding instructor; Anthony Bautista, DMP Sales Engineer; Joe Shull, DMP President; Steven Zentz of Dunkirk; Joel Amadori of Lake Shore; Matt Edwards, Math and Coding instructor; and William Smock, P-TECH Principal.

WNY P-TECH in Dunkirk has a foundation built upon recommendations from area manufacturing businesses. To recognize the industry it owes so much to the development of its students, P-TECH annually names a Business Partner of the Year.

During a recent ceremony, WNY P-TECH named Dunkirk Metal Products as the 2021-22 Business Partner of the Year. “Dunkirk Metal Products has hired multiple P-TECH students for internships and full-time employment, supported school projects through labor, technology and their services, and has always been willing to provide feedback on preparing students for the workforce,” said William Smock, P-TECH principal.

To receive the honor, Dunkirk Metal Products President Joe Shull and Sales Engineer Anthony Bautista were present.

“Dunkirk Products is proud and happy to partner with P-TECH. We think it’s very important students are exposed to different manufacturing types of technology,” Bautista said.

P-TECH students utilize products found within the company the school honors as per tradition. This year, students Joel Amadori of Lake Shore and Steven Zentz of Dunkirk used a steel pipe often found in parking lot drains.

“There are anchors on both sides of the pipe, so we had to figure out some way to have it face towards you, so it wasn’t just facing upright, so I cut the anchors off and welded them on the back,” Zentz said.

“I started with the design, and I pretty much designed exactly how it will look,” Amadori added. “I started off cutting plexiglass perfect to size, so it just slides in there. And then I cut the vinyl. I applied it to plexiglass, and then I started with the diffusing because LEDs are really harsh. And then the box on the back I designed, and 3D printed and wired up.”