Redmond’s BASX Solutions hosts Central Oregon STEM Hub for presentation and tour to help create jobs

(Update: Adding video, comments from BASX Solutions co-founder, STEM Hub coordinator)

'Our goal really is to connect education to careers'

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- BASX Solutions, the biggest HVAC manufacturer in Central Oregon, hosted a walk-through tour of their plant Thursday for the Central Oregon STEM Hub, an educator externship, to help promote workforce development education and industry career opportunities.

STEM Hub's coordinator, Tracy Willson-Scott, told NewsChannel 21, "Our goal really is to connect education to careers, and really think about those pathways for our students."

BASX Solutions was founded in Redmond in 2012, and quickly became the largest HVAC manufacturing plant in Central Oregon. It's also Redmond's second-largest employer, with more than 520 people working across 200,000 square feet of space.

BASX Solutions President and co-founder Matt Tobolski described why he was excited to host visitors.

"As we grow as a manufacturer and grow our presence in the region, it's really important to us to collaborate with local education, universities and schools and be able to provide pathways to local talent to be able to join our team." he said.

The Central Oregon STEM Hub is made up of four counties in the region aiming to help fill science and technology jobs in industries such qw manufacturing and engineering. On Thursday, Deschutes and Jefferson counties were highlighted.

STEM Hub members got to make fans, and watched a presentation about employment opportunities for students attending Central Oregon schools.

BASX currently has 40 jobs available.

"We think about the pathways for our local students and what type of skills do we need to be providing to our youth to get them ready to fill the pipeline of those Central Oregon jobs and careers, as well as maybe bring back some real-world experiences to the classroom," Willson-Scott explained Thursday.

Tobolski added, "We design and manufacture all of the products here within Central Oregon. So it's crucial to us not just to have the engineering talent, but also the skilled workforce, with work ethic and creativity to help make the product that we ultimately ship to our customers."

To build interest among students, BASX parent company AAON has a Mobile Experience Truck, equipped with virtual reality goggles, to take a virtual tour of their manufacturing plants across America, either on foot or by helicopter.

"It's definitely a huge initiative within the BASX and Aaon Corporation to really get ourselves heavily invested in the local community, from trades to STEM education, and really just to be present in the community as a whole," Tobolski concluded.

Willson-Scott added, "The excitement comes from those teachers when they see like, 'Oh, I didn't even know that was here in our community!' And I can see those students that would really excel in those roles."

BASX said it was "proud to open our doors and share about our business with area teachers, school-to-career personnel, and counselors through the Central Oregon STEM Hub Educator Externship to help promote workforce development education and industry career opportunities."

The Central Oregon STEM Hub is a partnership connecting regional pre-K-12 education, higher education, industry, and community partners to catalyze opportunities and exploration in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

BASX designs and manufactures custom commercial HVAC solutions, including data center and cleanroom environments.