Manufacturing Day: Giving Lee’s Summit Students a Firsthand Look at the Future of Manufacturing

Manufacturing Day: Giving Lee’s Summit Students a Firsthand Look at the Future of Manufacturing

What does modern manufacturing really look like?

October 6, 2026 - Lee's Summit, MO

For a group of Lee’s Summit High School students, the answer came into focus during a firsthand look inside R&D/Leverage in Lee’s Summit as part of Manufacturing Day. 

Manufacturing Day, celebrated nationally each October, gives students and educators an opportunity to step outside the classroom and see the people, technology and career opportunities that are shaping today’s manufacturing industry. The national MFG Day movement encourages manufacturers and community partners to open their doors and give the next generation a closer look at what modern manufacturing has to offer.

For Lee’s Summit students, that opportunity came through a tour of R&D/Leverage, a Lee’s Summit-based manufacturer with a long history of innovation in highly technical mold and tooling solutions.

Beyond the Factory Floor

For many students, the word “manufacturing” may bring to mind assembly lines, machinery and traditional factory jobs.

A visit to R&D/Leverage offers a much broader perspective.

Modern manufacturing requires engineers, designers, programmers, machinists, toolmakers, technicians, project managers and other highly skilled professionals working together to solve complex problems and produce precision products for industries around the world.

During the tour, students had the opportunity to see those careers in action and learn how technology, engineering and skilled craftsmanship come together inside a modern manufacturing operation.

That exposure is important because students cannot always envision careers they have never seen.

A classroom can teach students about engineering, technology or advanced manufacturing. A facility tour allows them to see what those careers actually look like.

Connecting Students With Local Opportunity

One of the most powerful aspects of Manufacturing Day is its ability to connect students with opportunities that exist right in their own community.

R&D/Leverage has demonstrated the value of that connection for years through relationships with local education and workforce partners. The company has participated in student tours, job shadowing, internships, apprenticeships and other efforts designed to introduce young people to advanced manufacturing careers.

Those connections can become much more than a one-day experience.

A student who visits a manufacturing facility today may discover a career they had never considered. That interest can lead to a job shadow, an internship, technical education, an apprenticeship or eventually a long-term career with a local employer.

That is workforce development in action.

The Lee's Summit Economic Development Council would like to thank R&D Leverage and the Lee's Summit R-7 School District Career Navigators for their partnership with the Lee's Summit Workforce Alliance (LSWFA). The LSWFA is the connector for Real World Initiatives for student engagement and workforce development collaboration in the community.