WTA senior Jacob Renaud jumps into the new cab of the newly donated electric excavator.
Reminder Publishing photo by Amy Porter
WESTFIELD — The arrival of a brand new Volvo ECR 25 Electric Excavator, with a value of $80,000 to $100,000, at the Westfield Technical Academy Horticulture Department on Dec. 15, created quite a stir.
The donation was made possible by J.L. Raymaakers & Sons, Tyler Equipment Corporation and Volvo.
Tony Brignoli, sales manager at Tyler Equipment in East Longmeadow, said the machine is three tons — 6,000 pounds, the weight of a rhinoceros, and the value of 42,000 gallons of diesel fuel, or 12,000 Red Sox tickets. “The education value is priceless. It is fully electric. Tyler Equipment is here to support the school,” he said.
Nathan Sperry, horticulture department head, said they can use the electric excavator indoors in the winter for training, because it has no emissions, and on job sites in the community. “Currently, students train on a simulator. Now, they can get on the real machine after lessons,” he said, adding that the battery has four hours of run time.
“It’s a big day for WTA. I still don’t know the story of how this happened,” Sperry, who’s been teaching for 18 years, said in his remarks to the shop supporters. He said when he first started at WTA, there were only two pieces of equipment, and now, through the support of the administration and the community, everything has changed. “What a blessing it’s been,” he said.
John Raymaakers, a member of the program’s advisory board, answered the question of how the donation happened. He said the school is building a home from the ground up, with 100% of proceeds going back to the school, and horticulture is participating in the outdoor work, which requires an excavator.
Raymaakers said he called Tyler Equipment and asked if there was any way to get Volvo to give an excavator, maybe a used one. “This one is brand new. They donated the entire machine to the school. My jaw dropped,” he said.
As a former student, along with his parents before him, Raymaakers said he knows everyone has to learn at some point. “I can’t thank the Tyler family enough. We are going to use this in the spring to put in the water and sewer line at the house build. My brother and I will be there to help,” he said.
Courtney Rush, Tyler Equipment marketing specialist, said the education and outreach program for electric equipment started at Tyler Equipment and needed a home. After Raymaakers made the request, they realized WTA is where it needed to be.
Rush said electric equipment growth is an industry investment by Volvo headquarters in Pennsylvania, and part of a large educational outreach across the territory of Western Mass. and Connecticut. He said WTA is the first donation, with a couple of more coming up.
“Thank you all for being here and [for] the opportunity to give. I can’t wait to see what you all do with it,” Rush said to the gathering.
Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski praised Sperry for his work with the horticulture department and the great work the students have been doing in the community. “School-business partnerships play a critical role in making that possible,” he said, listing several outstanding partners who exemplify collaboration, including Elm Electrical and Westfield Gas & Electric. He said J.L. Raymaakers & Sons has “consistently demonstrated a strong commitment to student learning by connecting classroom instruction with real-world applications.”
“Tyler Equipment Corp. has become another exceptional partner, supporting hands-on learning experiences and helping students understand not only technical skills, but the work ethic required in today’s construction and landscaping industries,” he said.
Czaporowoski said Raymaakers reached out to Tyler Equipment about the need for an excavator, and Tyler Equipment took it a step further by involving Volvo America, who truly raised the bar with the generous donation of the Volvo JECR25 mini excavator. “I love saying that,” he said.
“Because of partnerships like these, our students engage in meaningful, hands-on experiences that deepen learning, spark curiosity and open doors. These collaborations strengthen our schools, our workforce and our entire community,” Czaporowski said.
After the remarks, the horticulture students took a closer look at the new machine. Senior Jacob Renaud, who crawled inside, said he’d never been in a Volvo, but has run other machines at work. He said he’s also not familiar with electric machinery. “I think it’s going to be cool. It will be interesting. It’s something new. We haven’t had an excavator yet; we use back hoes,” he said.
Seniors Ireland Donohue and Jayden Padilla said they have been completing lessons and training on simulators. “We can do several machines — I mainly do the excavator and the dump truck,” Donohue said.
She said the simulator modules have lessons you have to complete. “I’m excited to use it. It’s a great opportunity to get this piece of equipment. I don’t know too much about electric equipment — this is a good opportunity to learn.”
“We’re really grateful they donated it,” said Padilla.
Czaporowski said the donation totals $100,000 with the warranty and other extras.
“This is another chance for our kids to get real-life experience on first-class technology. The school purchasing something like that? Not gonna happen,” said WTA Principal Bruce Hastings.
