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EVIT Fountain Hills to host watch manufacturer on campus

Posted 1/16/18

Education and industry have converged on the East Valley Institute of Technology Fountain Hills campus, as EVIT announces a partnership with FTS group to create a watch manufacturing facility at the …

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EVIT Fountain Hills to host watch manufacturer on campus

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Education and industry have converged on the East Valley Institute of Technology Fountain Hills campus, as EVIT announces a partnership with FTS group to create a watch manufacturing facility at the local site.

An event was hosted Wednesday, Jan. 10, to introduce the partnership. Watch-making demonstrations were presented, as well as tours of the space that will soon be converted into the new home of FTS.

In 2017, EVIT leased the former Four Peaks Elementary School building from the Fountain Hills Unified School District in order to open a campus here in town. The first crop of courses launched during the spring semester, including courses such as photography, video production and sports medicine.

The campus is large, though, offering plenty of space for outside-the-box ventures to take root.

According to EVIT Superintendent Dr. Sally Downey, partnering with watch manufacturer FTS seemed like an opportunity to not only incubate a unique venture, but also offer new educational opportunities to Fountain Hills, Fort McDowell and the surrounding communities.

“What an absolutely phenomenal opportunity we have,” Dr. Downey said during the presentation, explaining that those opportunities for the new partnership extend to students, the community and the U.S. watch industry, in general.

FTS CEO Kunal Naik explained that the goal of this new venture is to bring “jobs, as well as the watch industry itself, back to America.”

An press release from FTS Group explained what, exactly, the aim of the new facility will be.

“FTW will combine the efficiencies of modern mass production with the hands-on expertise and oversight of specialists from the USA and around the world to re-establish an American source for watch movements, components, assembly, testing and service,” reads the announcement.

To do this, Naik explained that FTS is partnering with groups like Titan Watches in order to “establish a domestic supply chain for both quartz and mechanical movements” while also producing fully assembled wristwatches.

As Naik pointed out during the event, claiming a product is “Made in the USA” is difficult, as virtually all components must be sourced or produced domestically. The end goal is to make it so existing and upcoming watch companies may be able to make that claim thanks to the work of this new Fountain Hills facility.

“FTS has partnered with EVIT to build a state-of-the-art assembly and production facility on EVIT’s new Fountain Hills location,” reads the announcement. “The partnership will not only focus on expanding the economy of Fountain Hills, but also will focus on developing educational opportunities in horology by initiating a full training curriculum from basic introduction to watches and technician-level courses up to advanced service and repair levels.”

For those familiar with the campus, the multipurpose room is home to this new venture, with plans in place to create work stations, lecture stations and clean rooms for manufacturing.

“International Watch Magazine” editor Gary Girdvainis also spoke during the event, explaining that the plan with the new facility is to “rebirth an industry” here in the U.S. The goal is to provide parts and services for local manufacturers so those aspects of watch making no longer need to be outsourced.

“I can’t wait for five years from now to see where we are from this simple start,” he added.

Naik added that, while the U.S. is the second largest consumer of watches, none of the local manufacturers can claim their products are “Made in the USA.”

“We know how important it is to create jobs in your own country,” he said. “We’re happy to contribute to that in our own small way.”

Education

As noted, one prong of this partnership will be focused on education, which is where EVIT comes in. Superintendent Downey said she considers this a very exciting development for the school’s Fountain Hills campus.

“There’s a training component,” Downey said. “Right now there is a shortage of 50,000 people to work on watches. If we can train some folks to do this, it’s the kind of thing they can even do from their home…and it’s a lucrative career.”

Downey said that, when EVIT decided to create the Fountain Hills campus, they knew they would have to get creative when it comes to utilizing the space well. The local student population is limited. Partnerships like this, she said, are what can draw both students and professionals to an area.

“This is a big place,” Downey said. “So how do we fill it and do something that’s positive that has a training component, presents opportunities for students and is also good for the community?”

The partnership with FTS was formulating around the same time EVIT was getting settled in on the new campus.

“Timing is everything,” Downey said. “We started out looking at just a couple of rooms and then it evolved into them renting the big space. We want to be a part of this and be a part of the training. Plus, Fountain Hills needs economic development, so we hope this will be a part of that, too.”

Downey said that the educational programing has not been pinned down yet, but it will target high school students, as well as adults looking to get into the field.