The Welding, Pipefitters, and Plumbing students at Montana State University-Northern (MSUN) held a free barbecue lunch on December 9 for the MSUN campus community. Supervised by Chuck Terry, the students cooked hamburgers and hot dogs on their newly constructed grill.

According to Lorren Schlotfeldt, who teaches in the Apprenticeship Education Center at MSUN, the propane-fired grill, which also functions as a smoker, was hand-built by the welding and pipefitting students of MSUN. The grill's bonus feature, a warming box, keeps grilled items hot until serving time. Only the axles, wheels, hitch, and a small part of the propane system was purchased.

About the construction and design process, Schlotfeldt explained: "The students would love to build another grill, but this was a very specialized and expensive endeavor. The welding program is always looking for projects that the students can build, but are limited on what they can take on due to space and time to complete the project."

During the barbecue lunch, guests watched a documentary video that led to the final product. "While the community helped us to celebrate this achievement, we wanted them to keep in mind that over 90% of this project was built here at Northern by Northern students," Schlotfeldt said.

The grill, owned by Terry, will be used to promote other MSUN events.

One of the Plumbing and Welding students who worked on the grill's development, Wade Schneider from Hogeland, will graduate from MSU-Northern this December with a Welding Certificate and an Associate's Degree in Plumbing and Pipefitting.

Although Schneider started at Northern three years ago, he added a welding certificate this year to enhance his plumbing career. Last summer, he worked for Montana City Plumbing & Heating based in the Helena area. Upon graduation this December, Schneider will relocate, as he has accepted a job with that company.

Founded in 2007 by Dustin Lundstrom, Montana City Plumbing & Heating is a family-owned and operated company that provides residential and commercial plumbing and heating services.

When Lundstrom, who grew up in Malta, first started Montana City Plumbing & Heating, he wanted to build a company rooted in family values like loyalty, integrity, customer service, craftsmanship, and community involvement. Those values, combined with the company's dedicated and knowledgeable staff, appeal to Schneider, who hopes to put his degree to work to help Montana City Plumbing & Heating to build a reputation as a qualified, expert partner in the industry.