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anufacturing
anufacturing SUMMER 2026

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Exploring Manufacturing in Wisconsin

From Out-of-Date to Cutting-Edge

n Belleville, Wisconsin, a rural commu- This year’s $17,600 grant will allow
nity of about 2,500 people, the school’s Belleville to continue building out the high
Iengineering lab once held machines so school’s manufacturing capabilities.
old and slow that students barely bothered Belleville High School currently
with them. Enrollment in design courses has state-of-the art 3D printers, injec-
was thin. Student interest was thinner. tion molding equipment, vinyl cutters,
Then came the Fab Labs grants. And heat presses, laser engravers, and screen-
everything changed. printing tools all thanks to the Fab Labs
“There’s been a huge switch,” said Grants, according Berthelon, the driving
Nicholas Berthelon, the district’s 8–12 force behind each of the district’s fab lab
technology education teacher and fab lab grants. He adds that a student-run business
director. “A majority of students were not class called Wildcat Manufacturing puts all
interested at all in 3D printing and 3D mod- of it to work, producing custom T-shirts,
eling. And now, since having that updated wooden cribbage boards, euchre boards,
and much better and faster technology, and aluminum trailer hitch covers stamped
there’s been quite a few more students with personalized logos.
who see that they can do some really cool For Meera Allen, a high school junior,
things.” the fab lab wasn’t what she expected. She
In late April, the WEDC Secretary and signed up because she liked art. What she
CEO visited Belleville to announce that found sparked new interests in manufactur-
the district is one of 11 school districts this Nicholas Berthelon, 8-12 Tech Education teacher, Belleville High School, ing that she didn’t know before.
year that will receive a total of $250,000 demonstrates some of the Fab Lab technology “I liked doing art, so that first got me
in Fab Labs Grants to continue efforts to • Fall River School District – $25,000 in grants to 136 school districts to create into it,” she said. “And then once I started
revolutionize classrooms into fabrication • Whitnall School District – $20,690 classroom education that meets industry doing it, I loved being in the shop and
laboratories (fab labs). These hands-on • School District of Belleville – needs and trains Wisconsin’s next genera- working with my hands and doing all of
learning environments have become the $17,600 tion of skilled workers. this other stuff.”
cornerstones of STEAM education across • Lake Mills Area School District – During his visit, the WEDC Secretary Allen has since designed her own sign
the state. $11,710 learned from Belleville students and school project from scratch and helped produce
This announcement marks the fourth leaders what happens when that investment shirts for Wildcat Manufacturing, work
time Belleville has received a Fab Labs A fab lab is a high-technology work- takes root and a district embraces the fab she’d never imagined doing before walking
grant since the program was established. shop equipped with computer-controlled lab curriculum. into Berthelon’s class.
School districts receiving Fab Labs Grants manufacturing components such as 3D Belleville has made integrating their The experience has reshaped what she
this year include: printers, laser engravers, computer numeri- Fab Lab districtwide a major priority. thinks comes next.
• School District of Beloit – $25,000 cal control (CNC) routers, and plasma From kindergarten through twelfth grade, “I’m thinking about going into the
cutters. Through the Fab Labs Grant
elementary students will engage in hands-
• Colby School District – $25,000 program, WEDC supports the purchase on STEAM exploration through ten LEGO trades and working with some of the equip-
• Rio Community School District – of fab lab equipment for science, technol- Education SPIKE Essential Sets, while ment that the fab lab has provided to us,”
she said. Before the fab lab, she had never
$25,000 ogy, engineering, arts, and mathematics middle and high schoolers will utilize touched any of it.
• School District of Arcadia – $25,000 (STEAM) educational purposes for stu- AI-integrated robotics kits, advanced 3D Ari Mehta, a senior, came in from a dif-
• St. Francis School District – $25,000 dents of all grade levels. printers, and injection molding equipment, ferent direction. He had been tinkering with
Since the program began in 2016,
• Alma School District – $25,000 WEDC has awarded more than $5.7 million creating a seamless pipeline of innovation
• Kewaunee School District – $25,000 for students. Continued on Page 4

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Tool Die Machining Association of Wisconsin • Rice Lake Weighing Systems • Great Northern Corporation
JBC Machine • Lake Shore Technical College • OEM Fabricators • Aagard • Nicolet Technical College

Metal Craft/Riverside • Styberg Engineering & Manufacturing • Laguna Tools • Fox Valley Technical College