Over 20 YWCA TechGYRLS from the YWCA of Bristol visited Strongwell’s Bristol, Virginia headquarters. Each summer since the program’s inception, TECHGYRLS tour local businesses as part of their curriculum in understanding how women are changing the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in today’s workforce. The program chose Strongwell as a tour site due to its vertical integration and global manufacturing capacity. These students were introduced to how women have advanced the roles of business operations, technology, science, and marketing to enable Strongwell to be the world’s leading fiber reinforced polymers pultruder.
During the students’ visit, David Ring (Manager of Government Affairs), Meghan Carty (Pricing Manager), Janet Walters (International Customer Service Manager), Melissa Harrison (Fabrication Estimator), Jane Taylor (Senior Research and Development Engineer) and Carrie White (Quality Assurance Manager) illustrated how the high strength, easy to install, non-corrosive, durability and nonconductive nature of FRP products behaved vs. traditional materials. These students were also shown how the in-house engineering, manufacturing and R&D capabilities of the company continually give Strongwell the competitive edge against domestic and global competitors.

Strongwell has always been an eager advocate of promoting composites and the importance of manufacturing to attract and retain local students within the community. Strongwell would also like to thank Tonja Leonard (YWCA TechGYRLS) for coordinating and taking the time to visit Strongwell.