ORBIT Center quickly changing the Osceola landscape

Published March 3, 2025 10:05 am

The front of the ORBIT Center with the SWCC Osceola Center in the background

The Highway 34 landscape on the western edge of Osceola is changing with the addition of the ORBIT (Osceola Regional Business and Industrial Technology Center), a $3.2 million project involving construction of an impressive 9,000 square foot training facility, made possible due to a partnership between the Clarke County Development Corporation (CCDC) and Southwestern Community College (SWCC).

As part of the partnership, SWCC will operate the center, which is designated to be a regional training facility used for the industrial training needs of private companies, regional secondary schools, and the college.

The college and CCDC are confident the ORBIT Center will be a tremendous asset for manufacturing in this area of the state.

"The training opportunities provided at the ORBIT Center will strengthen the advanced manufacturing pipeline across southwest and south-central Iowa by developing additional talent to fill in-demand, high-paying jobs in the advanced manufacturing sector," stated Lindsay Stoaks, SWCC president. "The training facility will provide opportunities for local manufacturing industries to enhance the skills of their existing workforce as well."

During the fall of 2022, the CCDC received a $2 million grant from the United States Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA) to initiate the project. The CCDC proceeded to raise more than $1.27 million in additional funds.

The SWCC board of directors first heard about the concept of the ORBIT Center during the college’s April 2023 regular board meeting. Board members were receptive and the college quickly became a partner in the project.

"The college was very appreciative of CCDC’s efforts to plan for the construction of the facility and secure local dollars, as well as obtain grant dollars to construct the state-of-the-art ORBIT Center" stated Stoaks. "Osceola is a hub for manufacturing in our region, so it made perfect sense for the college to partner in this initiative."

College leaders, Clarke County Development representatives, and contractors came together to break ground on the ORBIT Center in March 2024.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the ORBIT Center took place on Friday, March 8, 2024, at 10 a.m., at the Southwestern Community College (SWCC) Osceola Center, located adjacent to the new construction site.

Bill Trickey, who was then the executive director of the CCDC, hosted the event. Other guest speakers during the ceremony included Stoaks; Kevin Emanuel, CCDC president; Brian Crawford, Denovo Construction Solutions chief operating officer; and Wayne Pantini, SWCC vice president of economic development.

Construction on the ORBIT Center began the following week and continued throughout the remainder of 2024. Completion is now weeks away.

Osceola Foods employees sign for SWCC applied engineering technology program

SWCC will begin offering continuing education courses in the ORBIT Center during the spring of 2025 and credit programming will be underway by the fall 2025 semester.

According to college administrators, the Osceola Center and the ORBIT Center being located next door to each other will provide strong benefits for college programming.

"We are going to maximize our current Osceola Center and utilize the classrooms there," Pantini said. "The ORBIT Center itself will be used as lab space."

Pantini continued, "We are looking into the feasibility of reestablishing a welding lab in the south side of the Osceola Center. We learned that was already a welding lab when the building was first built, then it was retrofitted for the building and trades program, so some of that infrastructure is already there."

In December, the college announced its applied engineering technology program will be offered in Osceola starting with the fall 2025 semester. Shawn Oaks of Murray is the instructor for the applied engineering technology program.

The applied engineering technology program trains individuals to develop skills in various areas of manufacturing and troubleshooting while looking on from an engineering perspective. Students in the program hone their skills in hands-on labs such as welding, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatics, and blueprint reading. By the end of the two-year program, students are able to analyze and troubleshoot complete system operation, recognize failures, and impact efficiencies.

In addition to the full-time programs being offered in Osceola, the new space and lab structure will allow Southwestern to establish a career academy for applied engineering technology. During the career academy program, high school students will learn basic skills in the industrial maintenance field, with the potential to earn certificates through the college.

Upon high school graduation, this certificate may be stacked and earned credits can be applied to the applied engineering technology diploma or the applied engineering technology Associate of Applied Science degree.