Greensburg, PA, October 18, 2023 – In an effort to empower excellence among team members, General Carbide, a vertically integrated manufacturer of finished tooling, wear parts, and components for customers in more than two dozen market segments, recently marked the start of the General Carbide Career Academy (GCCA) with a breakfast attended by employees and members of the community. The GCCA consists of a series of in-depth eight-week training courses that General Carbide’s plant managers have developed for new employees, and weekly classes for established employees, to hone their skills and develop new ones.
Courses offered during the new employee training sessions include Best Quality Practices for 5S Lean Manufacturing; Use of Calipers & Micrometers; Math for Manufacturing; CNC Programming, Milling & Lathe; and Print Reading. In addition, the GCCA will offer professional development classes on a variety of subjects, including Advanced Machining, Training with Live Tooling, G-Code, Leadership, communication, and Safety.
“We created the GCCA to empower excellence among our employees,” says Mona Pappafava-Ray, General Carbide’s President and CEO. “We want to give them the resources to be successful and grow in their careers at General Carbide all the way to retirement, and I am delighted that members of our community showed up to support this innovative effort.”
The GCCA drives home General Carbide’s commitment to enhance workforce development by creating an intentional space where all new employees can attend the in-depth sessions and also provides courses for the established workforce to home in on specific areas in between the in-depth sessions.
Additionally, the GCCA will further enhance the company’s efforts to shorten the learning curve of high school students that General Carbide recruits out of school to begin their careers with the company upon graduation. Those individuals will also participate in the GCCA.
About General Carbide
General Carbide has four facilities and sells its products throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Asia. The company was established in 1968 by Premo Pappafava (1926- 2002) and is headquartered in Greensburg, PA, near Pitsburgh. Since 2002, Premo’s daughter, Mona Pappafava-Ray, has been at the helm of General Carbide. After joining the company in 1986, upon completion of her Industrial Management degree at Carnegie Mellon University, Mona held numerous staff and management positions before she was named General Carbide’s President in 1997.
As President and CEO, she has grown the company by transitioning from a manufacturer of semi-finished tooling to a leading producer of finished tooling. Mona has also led the company’s efforts to acquire several strategically significant businesses. Despite those changes, she has retained the family atmosphere that has been one of General Carbide’s distinguishing features from the beginning. Throughout her career, Mona has been the recipient of numerous awards for leadership and philanthropy.
As a woman-owned business, General Carbide has achieved certification from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and has received widespread recognition for business excellence. For more information, contact Denis Pasay at denis@generalcarbide.com or 724.672.4041
