{"id":302466,"date":"2026-10-08T17:27:26","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T17:27:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/302466\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T17:27:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T17:27:26","slug":"were-still-building-things-in-erie-a-new-short-film-tells-the-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/302466\/","title":{"rendered":"We’re still building things in Erie. A new short film tells the story"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zach Glabman<\/a> comes by his appreciation for manufacturing naturally. Family members on both sides were in the business of making things \u2014 furniture on one side, food on the other.<\/p>\n

Glabman, whose first job after college was buying metal for Tesla, works in marketing for a California company that makes scanning equipment.<\/p>\n

But he’s fascinated by the business of manufacturing.<\/p>\n

A self-described industrialist, Glabman said he visited about 200 shops and factories across the nation over the last 18 months.<\/p>\n

Many of those visits stuck with him, including a tour of manufacturing companies in Michigan and a stop in Erie, where he attended a metal-casting boot camp sponsored by Penn State Behrend<\/a> and learned to pour molten brass and aluminum at local foundries.<\/p>\n

\"This<\/p>\n

This poster advertises a movie by the same name that will debut Oct. 8 in Erie featuring local manufacturers and an educational boot camp at Penn State Behrend.<\/p>\n

Glabman hired a film crew for the trip to Erie and has produced a 16-minute film called “Made Right Here<\/a>,” which looks at the nation’s industrial infrastructure and the process of training the next generation.<\/p>\n

That film, which will later stream on YouTube, will debut for invited guests Oct. 8 at the Keystone Foundry Division<\/a>, 944 W. 12th St., one of the places where it was filmed. Later screenings are planned in Buffalo, San Francisco, and both Galveston and Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n

Glabman said he was impressed during his time in Erie by a visit to a maker space at Gannon University.<\/a><\/p>\n

The focus of his short film, however, grew from an invitation to participate in a four-day manufacturing boot camp at Penn State Behrend for students 18 and over.<\/p>\n

The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation and the Department of Defense have invested $4.4 million in metals-based manufacturing programs at Behrend and University Park campuses.<\/p>\n

The three-year initiative \u2014 the Metallurgical Engineering Trades Apprenticeship and Learning program, or METAL \u2014 is an effort to address a shortage of skilled labor in the manufacturing sector.<\/p>\n

So far, Behrend has hosted five manufacturing boot camps that represent one element of the program. Another 13 have been held at University Park, said Paul C. Lynch, an associate professor of engineering who leads the METAL program at Behrend.<\/p>\n

With 19,000 manufacturing employees in Erie County, there’s no shortage of things being made locally. That includes a long list of foundry products, such as brass plumbing fittings and pieces and part for KitchenAid mixers.<\/p>\n

The problem, Lynch said, is finding the next generation of workers.<\/p>\n

The METAL program, and the boot camps in particular, are part of a strategy to address that need.<\/p>\n

\"Andy<\/p>\n

Andy Rastatter, at left, and Zach Glabman, visit Keystone Foundry Division in Erie.<\/p>\n

“For generations, we didn’t backfill with new skilled workers,” Lynch said. “We did not continue with apprenticeships and training for people to come into the field. Right now we have a huge national shortage of skilled workers.”<\/p>\n

‘The rust belt isn’t so rusty’<\/p>\n

The good news, according to both Lynch and Glabman, is that many of the factories still stand, supply chains still exist and older workers remain to share their skills.<\/p>\n

And there are plenty of job openings, as companies work to fulfill a growing demand for American-made products, particularly for the defense industry.<\/p>\n

“The rust belt isn’t so rusty,” Glabman said. “There is a lot of cool stuff happening. Everyone is hiring. There has never been a greater opportunity for someone to make things in America than right now.”<\/p>\n

Behrend’s boot camp shares that opportunity with a handful of students at a time. Lynch said interest has been strong and that he had to shut down registration for his boot camp planned for November.<\/p>\n

Manufacturing boost: $19.2M Behrend center will connect manufacturers with talent<\/a><\/p>\n

A written description of Glabman’s short film asks the question: “Who is inheriting America’s industrial cities and how fast that inheritance can be taught.”<\/p>\n

Lynch said that’s a question that educators, manufacturers and government in Erie are working together to answer.<\/p>\n

“I think it (the film) paints a nice picture of what we are doing in Erie,” he said. “It highlights everyone working together.”<\/p>\n

Light manufacturing facility: Erie firm’s plan at IP site pitched to City Council<\/a><\/p>\n

Glabman said his manufacturing tour left him feeling inspired by the high-tech work taking place in old manufacturing towns.<\/p>\n

“Erie is one of those places,” he said. “The level of innovation is just inspiring. I think there’s just a brand awareness problem.”<\/p>\n

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin3@usatodayco.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: We’re still building things in Erie. A new short film tells the story<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Zach Glabman comes by his appreciation for manufacturing naturally. Family members on both sides were in the business…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302467,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[136,138,137],"class_list":["post-302466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-erie","tag-erie","tag-erie-headlines","tag-erie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}