What Others Are Saying About ...

"The Success Xpress has been fantastic for us. We're having our chief electricians train our electrical staff on there, and they're devoting full eight-hour training shifts to reading prints and working on the electrical training panels. We believe we're going to gain alot in having repairmen who are more knowledgeable about what's going on with that equipment, and the feedback we're getting from our electricians is all positive. We appreciate all EKCEP is doing for us with this." — Lonnie Wilder, safety director, Bell County Coal Company, Bell County

"I would like to thank you for involving me and Excel in your efforts to train future coal miners and continue the education and skills of current miners to improve our present and future workforce. Over the course of the week that the simulator was here, the electricians—especially the younger ones—got really involved. It really seemed to put alot of the "pieces of the puzzle" together, helping them to relate a print to the actual machine, and building a lot of much-needed confidence to help shorten the learning curve associated with apprentice electricians." — Tom Smith, maintenance manager, Excel Mining, Pike County

"The Success Xpress is just amazing. It’s helping us get our younger miners trained, and trained the right way. What we do now with training will help us for a lifetime with our miners, and the Success Xpress is here to help us." — Gary Lockhart, safety coordinator, McCoy Elkhorn Coal Company, Pike County

 

"Thank you so much for aiding us in attracting, educating, and retaining good employees. Your help makes a big difference for a lot of families in eastern Kentucky." — Elmer Howard, assistant general manager, Excel Mining

 

"Being able to have this right at our front door really helps us. If our guys had to drive 20 or 30 miles for training like this, a lot of them wouldn’t have the time to fool with it. But with (Success Xpress) here, they would come in right off their shifts." — Ray Alred, safety director and mine superintendent, Harlan-Cumberland Coal, Evarts

 

"EKCEP Executive Director Mable Duke and the board of directors are to be commended on the leadership role they have taken in this vitally important effort. They listened to the coal industry and the Success Xpress is the result — and what a success it is. Thanks to EKCEP, Kentucky's mining industry now has a mobile training and education resource second to none. The entire state will benefit from the vision of this project." — Lonnie Lawson, president and CEO, Center for Rural Development, Somerset

"The Center could not be more pleased to play a role in the Success Xpress project. With the state-of-the-art technologies we were able to design into the mobile unit, it can quickly be adapted for almost any mine training requirement from equipment operations to safety. We are also very proud of the added functionality the unit now has a mobile emergency command center. The Center's technology staff genuinely wanted to take this important project to new heights, and they succeeded." — Charley Simpson, vice president and CIO, Center for Rural Development, Somerset

"The training the Success Xpress brought to us helps give a new miner a better idea what he’s going into, and helps older miners become better, safer miners. We’re going to have better miners and electricians because of these excellent training tools. We’re really fortunate to have people around like EKCEP who are interested in the mining industry and want to help us keep our miners safer and keep up their training. The Success Xpress can be brought right to our mines, and it isn’t costing us a thing to get it here." — Danny Sorrells, Human Resources director, Blue Diamond and Leeco mines, Perry County

"Getting a new miner in here first on (the Success Xpress' continuous mining machine simulator) is probably a lot safer than turning them loose on the real thing." — Mike Walker, electrical engineer, U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), Barbourville

"It’s hard for someone to operate a continuous miner when they’ve never seen one. But this simulator’s control panel is close to the real thing, and the way it operates is real close, too. Anything that helps prepare miners for what they’re going to have to do adds safety to the whole thing. What they don’t know might scare them, but when they leave (the Success Xpress), there are less things for them to worry about." — Jesse Eversole, underground coal miner, Leeco, Jeff

"Thank you for bringing (Success Xpress) to our school. It has given many students a new perspective about the mining industry." — Charlie Six, principal, Martin County Area Technology Center, Inez

"They can’t go underground until they’re 18, so simulators like this are the only way to give (high school students) hands-on experience on mining equipment. I can tell them all day long what underground coal mining is, but this lets them really get an idea what it’s like." — Doug Klein, instructor, Kentucky Junior Coal Academy, Louisa

"I know that some (students) are thinking that coal mining still means working with picks and shovels. But it’s an industry based on high technology now, and (the Success Xpress) is showing them that." — Anthony Young, instructor, Clay County Area Technology Center, Manchester

"This looks like something that can benefit our group, especially in maintenance training. It would certainly help us, and would be part of the tools to get well-trained, experienced coal miners." — Dennis Hatfield, president, Booth Energy, Martin County

"I wanted the kids to be able to see and experience the Success Xpress' virtual reality equipment and the computer simulation program. It really ties into our curriculum and what we've initiated with our coal academy. A lot of our kids are visual, hands-on learners, and the Success Xpress gives the kids that visual activity so they can see exactly how these mining processes work ." — Annette Ward, principal, Belfry Area Technology Center, Pike County

"For new miners, (the Success Xpress) helps give them an idea of what's expected of them when they go underground. They are going to have more education ... and they're going to be safer." — Ruby Maggard, instructor, Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, Harlan County

"It will help a lot of people, and it's better than going straight out of mining courses and underground. It's a great training tool. I went straight of out school and went underground, but this will help people learn about what to do before they have to do that." — Todd Young , underground coal miner, Patrick Processing, Pike County

"It was really fun—just like the real thing. It gives you early training and gives you an idea what mining would be like in real life." — Joseph Free, high school student, Pike County

"If we can give (miners and students) an edge in any way, it will help the company greatly. With today's younger generation and video games, these simulators are perfect learning tools." — Nelson Sumpter, mine manager, Booth Energy, Martin County

"Training provided through community college courses throughout the coal region and creatively through initiatives like Success Xpress will help miners perform their jobs more effectively." — Bill Goode, coal miner and emergency technician, Lone Mountain Processing, Harlan County

"The young people are interested in technology, and this is a high technology. We hope this will be the future of the mining industry." — Dr. Bill Higginbotham, director, Kentucky Coal Academy



"I've been wanting to do coal mining, and it seemed easier to learn that way." — Justin May, high school student, Pike County

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Check back often for additional comments on the Success Xpress as it remains on tour, on time, and on target with needed training for eastern Kentucky's coal industry.

To read about Success Xpress' role in EKCEP's national award-winning Coal Services Program, click here. To download and view the U.S. Department of Labor's QuickTime video on EKCEP's Coal Services Program—featuring the Success Xpress—right click this link, and select "Save Target As." To download a free version of QuickTime in order to view the video, click here.

For additional information on booking the Success Xpress for a visit to a mining operation, high school, vocational and technical school, or any other location, contact Crawford Blakeman at 606-436-5751.