After announcing its plan to invest $10 billion into a new plant in southeast Wisconsin, Foxconncontinues to impress, showing off its products at Waukesha County Technical College.
"To be able to touch and see these products and technology is pretty exciting," said Mike Shiels, Dean of Applied Technology at WCTC.
The college is hosting Foxconn Monday and Tuesday to showcase some of the products that will be produced in the area.
But these aren't just any television screens. They have 8K TVs, curved screens, screens thinner than an iPhone and much more. While local residents can be impressed by the incredible resolution of the products, industry professionals are just as intrigued by the business opportunity.
"We talk about what industries can impact Wisconsin and make them a real player as we move forward in the market," said Shawn Theesfeld with Hamacher Resource Group. "Getting technology involved in southeast Wisconsin is unbelievably good for this area."
"Economic development opportunities are incredible," said Tom Hostad with the Hartford Area Development Corporation. "Certainly from everything I've learned, this is the biggest economic project in the state of Wisconsin. It's a big deal. It's good to have someone like that landing in the Midwest. It will help us shake the rust belt image that's existed for so long in this area."
Economic is great and all, but some people are just there to check out how cool these screens are.
"I have a 4K now," said Sandra Pinti. "I thought that was great but this is just incredible. It's just incredible with everything this stands for."
Pinti knows the impact of these screens are bigger than just what she sees. Waukesha County Technical College knows it too and is ready to ramp up its curriculum to meet the standards required by Foxconn. Though, Shiels knows his students are already learning things that could help the company.
"The products around this room are produced using the skills and techniques we teach every day in our programs here at WCTC," Shiels said. "For people entering the workforce or thinking about retraining or recareering, there are a lot of great opportunities in a variety of skill sets within this company."
Shiels says he hasn't met with anyone from Foxconn yet but will soon to make sure their curriculum has lessons that will make their students the best fit for the company.
He and others know this has great implications for the future of the state.
"I think a lot of people thought Wisconsin wasn't a place for this type of high tech work to be done," Shiels said. "We're going to have a chance to prove Wisconsin workers are able to do this."
"Some of those interactive displays they have here are great," Theesfeld said. "Touch panel, anything you can get that virtual feel is going to take off in the market place. You're going to go into retail stores and see a lot of this stuff in place. It's just a matter of time. Them coming here, it's going to come even faster to this market and even faster to the United States."
The Foxconn display will be at WCTC until 8:00 p.m. Monday and again from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Tuesday.
