Business & Economy

Whitman supply chain students visit Pratt & Whitney, key suppliers

Tuesday, November 29, 2011, By News Staff

Fourteen supply chain management undergraduate students in the Whitman School of Management traveled to Hartford, Conn., to visit Pratt & Whitney, world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, industrial turbines and space propulsion systems.

The company employs about 35,000 individuals who support more than 11,000 customers in 198 countries worldwide. While there, the students were part of a unique program designed to help them understand vendor relationships in the Pratt & Whitney supply chain. Whitman students toured Birken Manufacturing Company and Turbine Controls Inc. (TCI), two of Pratt & Whitney’s key suppliers.

The trip was made possible by the support of Whitman alumnus Glen Greenberg ’79, president of TCI, and his brother Gary Greenberg ’72, president of Birken. Additional funding for the trip was provided by the generous donations of Whitman alumni to the school’s H.H. Franklin Center for Supply Chain Management. Students were accompanied by Gary La Point, assistant professor of supply chain practice, co-director of the Franklin Center and director of the Harry E. Salzberg Memorial Program; and Joanne Libertone Gocek’ 81, G’00, Whitman’s senior director of development. The group had the opportunity to meet company employees and tour lean manufacturing and assembly operations, where they witnessed the supply chain first hand, from manufacture at a tier-one supplier to custom delivery and final assembly.

“My goal was to introduce the students to TCI and the aerospace market we service,” says Glen Greenberg. “Excellence is a priority here and I wanted to show how we maintain that high performance level.”

“The key message we try to pass on to all young people interested in supply chain is that manufacturing is a complex yet very rewarding pursuit,” says Gary Greenberg.

“We were pleased to host these promising students in a visit to two of our major suppliers and a tour of our jet engine assembly and test facility in Connecticut,” says Leo Arel, GRS materials manager for Pratt & Whitney. “We look forward to continuing the strong relationship that we have with Syracuse University and the Whitman School.”