Poplar Bluff students gain hands-on HVAC experience thanks to industry partnership

NORDYNE has quadrupled its support of the Poplar Bluff Technical Career Center’s HVAC-R program since last school year.

Company officials recently donated a total of 30 new pieces of equipment for students to practice servicing including two mini-split condensers, six furnaces and 22 packed units with capacities ranging from three to five tons, reported Dan Parker, instructor over the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration class.

“They’ll have units they can use for the next decade, since these obviously never go bad,” Parker said in a press release from Poplar Bluff schools. “There’s so much more we can do now like taking the top off so we can see everything work in the refrigeration cycle, or testing subcooling and superheat airflow calculations.”

Parker explained that, before forging a partnership with industry leaders, he would have to demonstrate himself while the students looked on and “now everyone has something to work on.” During the 2023/24 school year, the company also donated seven packaged heating and cooling systems to the TCC.

The units were out of operation and otherwise going to be scrapped for various reasons, according to company officials, including becoming outdated or otherwise obsolete due to efficiency advancements or changing energy standards.

“They’re the future of the industry and overall it’s just good for the community,” said George Scherr, distribution manager. “My son just got out of electrician school, and I know how important it is to have the right tools to be trained on. The kids are gonna be out there working on the stuff in the field, and maybe they’ll buy our brand too.”

The Nortek distribution plant was acquired by Rheem in the last quarter of 2024. Now known as NORDYNE, a Rheem company, the manufacturer operates out of the 716,000-square-foot facility on 16 acres in Black River Industrial Park.