Beaver Manufacturing Co. Contributes to New GPC Campus

Beaver Manufacturing Company, headquartered in Mansfield, has partnered with Georgia Perimeter College in the purchase of high-tech instructional technology for GPC’s new Newton Campus.

The Newton County-based manufacturer of rubber hose reinforcement yarn presented a $50,000 gift to GPC to help fund instructional classroom technology developed by SMART Technologies Inc. GPC’s new campus, currently under construction and scheduled to open in June, will serve students from Butts, Henry, Jasper, Morgan, Newton, Putnam, Rockdale and Walton counties.
“This region has such a strong manufacturing presence that it is important for the college to continue to develop meaningful partnerships with manufacturers so that we can be sure to meet the demands of such a strong part of the local economy,” said GPC President Dr. Anthony Tricoli.
According to Bill Loeble, chief operating officer at Beaver, the manufacturer has a long history of supporting education at all levels.
“Over the years Beaver Manufacturing Company has given tangible support to pre-K, elementary and high school programs,” Loeble said. “Now the college level has been included.
“The owners have a passion for education that has been infused into the company,” Loeble said. “We see the positive influence GPC will have on our company as well as the community. We believe it is important to embrace our educational neighbor.”
SMART classroom technology allows enhanced interaction between teachers and students through interactive white boards, student hand-held answering devices and other advanced learning electronics. SMART Technologies’ state-of-the-art learning tools also allow faculty to teach in multiple ways, accommodating the thousands of students who will enroll at the Newton Campus.
Founded 35 years ago in an old movie theater and cotton warehouse, Beaver Manufacturing Co. has grown to claim a 65 percent North American market share in rubber hose yarn reinforcement. The company manufactures the specially treated yarn that runs through rubber hoses on vehicles and various machines. Beaver had the grand opening of its third plant, a 40,000 square foot facility in November. The site is a mile and a half from Beaver’s first two plants in Mansfield. The company employs nearly 200 people and has been a financial supporter of Mansfield Elementary School, located two blocks from Beaver’s main plant, for 20 years.
Earlier this month, Covington-based First Nation Bank also made a $50,000 gift to GPC. The two leadership gifts fall into GPC’s campaign to raise $1.5 million to purchase the classroom technology.
“SMART technology will provide students and faculty the most modern teaching, learning and instructional tools available,” Tricoli said. “We asked the community and we were told of the importance of exposing all students to technology. It is our goal to have SMART technology at 100 percent of our learning spaces on the new campus.”
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Georgia Perimeter College, the third largest institution of the University System of Georgia, serves more than 20,000 students through six locations in metro Atlanta. For additional information, visit www.gpc.edu.