SMYRNA – Two Rutherford County high school students are currently going where no high school students have gone before: the production floor at Nissan's Manufacturing and Assembly Plant in Smyrna.

"They are getting exposed to everything in the plant," said Kevin Smith, technical training manager at Nissan's Smyrna facility. He is overseeing the education of Jonathon Cudney, 17, and Garrett Richards, 16, who are taking part in the Rutherford Works High School Internship this summer.

Both Cudney and Richards are studying industrial maintenance and mechatronics in high school with plans to continue their educations at community college after graduation, saidd Beth Duffield, vice president for workforce development for the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce.

"We are fortunate to have a community partner like Nissan who invests in our students," Duffield said. Cudney is a Siegel High School student, and Richards attends Oakland High School.

During the four-week program, Cudney and Richards will get an abbreviated look at the 10-week training that Nissan gives its mechatronics apprentices, Smith said.

Nissan trains mechatronics employees for five weeks in hydraulics, pneumatics, robotics, and mechanical and electrical skills. The employees then do tours of the different lines in the plant to see how those skills are applied.

"It teaches them how to troubleshoot and fix equipment," Smith said, adding there 24 apprentices in the training program now.

The young men are exactly the potential employees Nissan wants to enter its apprentice program, and Nissan is the type of job Cudney wants after he finishes his education, he said.

"There is so much that I love here," he said, but his favorite so far has been the paint line.

Nissan uses an innovative three-wet-paint process that applies all three water-based paint layers in succession before the vehicle goes into the oven for curing.

Cudney said robots on the line move quickly between cars and colors. And a robotics tech has to program it all, so each robot works seamlessly with the next to apply the right paint color at the right time.

"Just think about the programming and maintenance to keep it going. It's amazing," said Richards, who also said the paint line was his favorite to watch.

Both young men said the internship program reinforced their passions for mechatronics.

"Getting the chance to actually practice what they're learning in a real-world setting is an invaluable component to the learning process and will help ensure when they graduate from high school next spring, that they are both college- and career-ready," Duffield said.

Richards agreed.

"Being over here at Nissan let me see what mechatronics can led to, helped me see that I really like it," Richards said.

Before the internship, he had considered attending Motlow Community College to finish his Level II certification after graduating from Oakland's mechatronics program that will give him a Level I certificate.

Now he knows that is what he wants to do.

Full Story: http://www.dnj.com/story/money/business/2015/06/13/interns-work-nissan-production-floor-first-time/71155266/