(1888PressRelease)
January 05, 2009 - McMinnville, OR — Plastic tubing manufacturer Freelin-Wade (www.freelin-wade.com), announced today that for a third consecutive year, the company has joined forces with the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) high school robotics competition.
“We love FIRST,” said Freelin-Wade marketing manager Ron Miller. “The impact that the organization has on so many young people is unmatched and we’re happy to again be a part of it. This year we donated a total of seventeen miles of neon yellow polyurethane tubing. In addition, in each Kit of Parts, we included a 50% off coupon that’s good for any other tubing or variation that the teams may need for their robots.”
“Freelin-Wade is a generous supporter of the FIRST Robotics Competition,” said FIRST president, Paul R. Gudonis. “As a Silver Supplier, Freelin-Wade greatly helps us to achieve our vision: ‘to create a world where science and technology are celebrated… where young people dream of becoming science and technology heroes.”
FIRST is the brainchild of inventor Dean Kamen. The organization inspires young people’s interest and participation in science and technology. This year, nearly 1,700 teams of high school students from around the world will build robots for the competition. Local competitions lead to regional ones. The competition culminates with the championships in the Atlanta Georgia Dome, April 16-18, 2009.
The annual kickoff for FIRST was today when teams received their 2009 Kit of Parts. This year’s kit contains 604 items including Freelin-Wade tubing.
Since 1992, FIRST has brought the excitement of a sporting event to science and technology via robotics competitions. On January 3, the organization unveiled the annual engineering challenge to teams, who also received a Kit of Parts made up of motors, batteries, a control system, and a mix of automation components – but no instructions. Working with mentors, students now have just six weeks to design, build, program, and test their robots in preparation for regional events that measure the effectiveness of each robot, the power of collaboration, and the determination of students.
More than 42,000 students from 10 countries will design and build robots to compete in regional events with winners advancing to the FIRST Championship. Participating students are eligible to apply for more than $9 million in scholarships offered by leading universities, colleges, and companies.
About Freelin-Wade
Founded in 1980, Freelin-Wade is North America’s largest independent manufacturer of plastic tubing and hoses for industries as diverse as pneumatics, dental and promotions. The company employs more than 100 people at its McMinnville, Oregon plant. Privately held Freelin-Wade is a subsidiary of Coilhose Pneumatics. Freelin-Wade tubing is always an exact fit and with a verifiable on-time delivery rate exceeding 99%, their customers know precisely when their order will arrive. Freelin-Wade is well connected. To learn more about Freelin-Wade plastic tubing, go to www.freelin-wade.com
About FIRST
Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With the support of many of the world’s most well-known companies, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST Robotics Competition and FIRST Tech Challenge for high-school students, FIRST LEGO League for children 9-14 years old, and Junior FIRST LEGO League for 6 to 9 year-olds. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org.
CONTACT
Ron J. Miller, Marketing Manager
Freelin-Wade
1730 NE Miller Street
McMinnville, OR 97128
503-434-5561
ronm ( @ ) freelin-wade dot com
http://www.freelin-wade.com
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