A partnership among Miami University, Butler Tech and the city of Hamilton, Knightsbridge Advanced Manufacturing Hub will be a multi-million dollar investment that is dubbed “the premier educational institution for jobs of the future.”
“We’re creating opportunities for employers, our students, for our community to grow as advanced manufacturing grows. Ideally we set up a synergy, a system, whatever you want to call it, where students or learners can come in to get the training they need to take it out into the workforce,” said Miami University Hamilton Dean Ande Durojaiye, after a Butler Tech Business Advisory Council meeting to introduce the project. About 300 people attended the meeting.
“We know that when they do this, it not only increases opportunities for them, but it also increases opportunities for our community as well. Advanced manufacturing is one of the biggest growing industries in Ohio, so we want to make sure we are responsive to that need by filling that talent gap, that workforce need.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Advanced manufacturing is a broad term that means the use of innovative technologies and methods that improve a company’s competitiveness in the manufacturing sector. The Knightsbridge Advanced Manufacturing Hub, which will renovate the former Vora Tech campus in Hamilton’s Riverview neighborhood, will see students from Butler Tech and Miami University learning how to solve real-world problems to doctoral-level research.
The Knightsbridge Hub, which was announced earlier this year during a State of the Schools address at the Fitton Center, already has 25 partners signed up to bring work and training to Hamilton. The renovation cost for the first phase of the advanced manufacturing hub is estimated to be $19.1 million, according to Miami University. The facility is expected to be opened by January 2026.
While this will give Miami students real-world training, Butler Tech students are going to be even more career-ready than they already are upon graduation, said Marni Durham, assistant superintendent at Butler Tech. Name the field and students at the Knightsbridge hub will make Butler Tech students even more attractive to employers.
“We are producing the most competitive graduates using community resources,” she said. “That’s what this is about. Everyone’s coming together for the most competitive graduate.”
In addition to getting hands-on experience in their chosen field, Butler Tech students can graduate high school with an associate’s degree without having to pay for it. “It’s the most competitive route,” she said.
This advanced manufacturing hub will also give business partners access to young talent. Two of the 25 companies partnering with the hub, P&G and TechSolve, have established relationships with Butler Tech.
“I have been in this world of being a recruiter, specifically for Butler Tech for entry-level positions for a little over a year,” said Corey DeRossett, director of research and development in Fabric Care at P&G. “I knew this was going to happen, but to actually see it happen is amazing.”
In her role, she will continue to build on the collaboration between P&G and Butler Tech so they can build and have more programs that benefit the two organizations.
“It’s going to be beneficial for the students and for P&G,” said the Trenton native and Miami University alumna. “It’s also going to be helpful for us from a recruiting standpoint, where we can identify those candidates who would be great at P&G.”
Both DeRossett and TechSolve President and CEO Dan Catalano said they see the Knightsbridge Hub as an anchor for this part of the city, which will see a lot of development and redevelopment in the coming years.
“I am really excited to see what the opening of this hub is going to do and how it’s going to revitalize this area,” DeRossett said.
TechSolve is a nonprofit organization that’s mission-based and purpose-driven, said Catalano. They’re involved with the hub because they want to become the “go-to resource for manufacturers in the seven counties of Southwestern Ohio.”
It’s also a transformative opportunity as manufacturing, industry and educational institutions are connecting to support the workforce and talent pipeline for today, tomorrow and in the future.
“We’re all about manufacturing,” he said, adding they’ve invested around $200,000 in equipment, training and sweat equity at Butler Tech and are committed to this project. “As part of our organization’s four strategic pillars ― workforce, advanced manufacturing, supply chain and sustainability ― this convergence within the ecosystem of educational institutions, workforce, talent pipeline and manufacturing companies really resonates.”
While this hub is anticipated to be the model for training and educating current and future students in advanced manufacturing, Durojaiye said, “What we really want to do is make sure companies that are locating around the state know that this is a resource here, know that this is a place that they can get talent, and this is a place where they want to come when they think about their future pipeline.”
Durham said they are looking for more partners “and offer student experiences to ensure education is relative.”
“I want people to understand that this is the revolution,” she said. “When we come together as a community, and we come together as adults and say, ‘What is best for the next generation?,’ it starts in this building.”
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