Academic Capability Producing Economic Development: A Success Story

This success story demonstrates the direct application of academic skills and capabilities to the growth and expansion of small Western North Carolina businesses while enhancing the educational experience for WCU engineering students. Watauga Opportunities Inc. (WOI) is a non-profit organization in Boone, NC that employs and trains people with disabilities to enter the workforce. Their company specializes in forming heated plastic sheets into a variety of packaging products. WOI turned to the Western Carolina University engineering team for assistance in securing a new business area: thermoformed packaging for Christmas tree ornaments. WCU engineering undergraduate students and professors generated a 3D parametric model that described the complex geometry. A high fidelity mold was then made from a highheat resistant plastic called polyphenolsulfone (PPSF) which was used by WOI to generate thermoformed packaging prototypes directly from the rapid prototyped mold. Within two days of receiving the mold, WOI was able to thermoform parts in their plant delighting the surprised customer with prototypes four days after New Years Day. The successful outcome of the project opened the door to subsequent development work and led to orders valued at over $1M for products that had been previously manufactured in China. This paper discusses the challenges of the project and demonstrates an exciting application of graduate student and faculty talents to impact the economic development of the regional community.