RUMFORD – The River Valley Technology Center will share in a $250,000 federal grant aimed at providing precision metal trades information to potential workers and employers in the field.

Lisa Martin, director of the Maine Metal Products Association and a member of the tech center board, said Tuesday that a so-called earmark grant will be used to establish the National Institute of Metal Workers Skills.

The new organization sets standards for the education of metal trades workers. The tech center will house a satellite office for the organization. The location of the organization’s central office has not yet been designated.

Tech center Director Norm MacIntyre said the new resource fits right in with the mission of the center. The primary focus of the local center, which is one of seven tech centers statewide with specific technology emphases, is the precision metal trades.

Nearly 60 people have completed or taken courses in the metal field during the past two years through the cooperative efforts of the tech center, Central Maine Community College and the Region 9 School of Applied Technology. Many of these workers have gone on or will be going on to earn an associate degree from Central Maine Community College. Funding for that training came from a federal Department of Labor grant.

The tech center also serves as an incubator for fledgling precision metal companies, and is also focusing on the development of biomass research and projects.

The new National Institute of Metal Workers Skills office should be set up after the first of the year.

The tech center’s first precision metal trades tenant, Northwest Precision, moved into the center earlier in fall.

MacIntyre said the heft of some of the machines appears to be too heavy for the existing floor, resulting in vibrations felt throughout the tech center when the business is operating.

To remedy the problem, he said the floor will be reinforced with concrete slabs. Shelley Engineers of Westbrook is currently working on a plan and an estimate for the work.

MacIntyre said that once the floor has been reinforced, Northwest Precision owner Jon Cantin plans to expand his business at the site.

Under the business incubator requirements, fledgling businesses have two years to establish themselves. They are then expected to move to another site in the River Valley area.