More than 600 eighth-grade students from the area participated in the second annual Heavy Metal Tour hosted by Nicolet College and several local businesses.

The effort was part of a wider program in North Central Wisconsin that saw nearly 1,400 students from 22 school districts and 26 manufactures participate in the event.

Students were broken up into groups and listened to presentations at the college and took tours of area manufacturing facilities to learn what manufacturing opportunities there are for them in area.

Local companies participating included Northstar Steel, ABX, Hypro, NEX, Oldenburg and Superior Diesel from Rhinelander along with Northland Stainless and CASE from Tomahawk.

The event is sponsored by the North Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Board, Nicolet Area Technical College, Northcentral Technical College, Grow North Economic Development, Centergy, Northwoods Manufacturers Alliance and the Central Wisconsin Metal Manufacturers Alliance.