Four Star owner Jerry Kocan, ISTC diesel mechanics instructor Randy Hull, Tony Snead Four Star service manager and Judson Colburn, Four Star parts manager.Ingram State Technical College has a new place to hone their skills thanks to Montgomery, Ala-based Four Star Freightliner and its principal, Jerry Kocan.
Diesel mechanics instructor Randy Hull took delivery of a Cummins ISB, 8.3-liter midsize engine block donated by Four Star Dec. 1. In addition to precision measurement, students will also use the block to learn more about engine assembly and adjustment.
“Our commitment to Ingram State is strong and it is our responsibility to support them and help with training their technicians, says Kocan. “We have to provide them with newer products and technology so their potential technicians have experience with current products. This Cummins Engine is current technology so their students will have practical knowledge and training with engines in trucks operating today.”
Hull stressed the importance of donations like the one from Four Star, noting they provide students with low-risk/high-return learning experiences.
“Students need to be comfortable that they can develop skills without having to worry about making a costly error,” he says. “Labs equipped with training equipment like this create the ideal learning environment.”
The engine block is one of many benefits the program has received from the company in recent years. In addition to providing guest speakers and donating equipment for use as trainers, last year Four Star sent a new semi-truck to the Draper campus for a day so students could observe state-of-the-art electronics and other innovations.
