Dare County and Elizabeth City, North Carolina — College of The Albemarle (COA) recently received a donation of new equipment for the college’s Welding program from ESTA Extraction USA LP out of Charlotte, North Carolina. The equipment, valued at $13,508, will be used in the lab spaces at both the Dare and Elizabeth City campus locations.

ESTA Extraction USA is a family-owned company with headquarters located in Germany. The company manufactures industrial air filtration equipment for businesses. The generous donation to COA included two mobile welding fume filters (SRF K-10) and two portable welding fume filters (SRF T-2). The new equipment in the labs will ensure a continued clean and healthy learning environment for COA’s welding students as they complete their program hours.

“It is our pleasure to donate welding fume equipment to College of The Albemarle and help the students and local community,” said Jessica Kulitz, 3rd generation and president of ESTA Extraction USA. “We believe that these programs are a great educational contribution for the next generation and the foundation for a valuable workforce development for the economy.”

“Jessica Kulitz and Claudia Prashad with ESTA Extraction were beyond helpful in fulfilling an ongoing need for COA: to outfit our classrooms with state-of-the art equipment for our students,” shared the executive director of the COA Foundation. “As the welding lab in Dare is expanding, and our welding program continues to reach capacity enrollment at both campus locations, the timing of this donation was superb. The equipment will be assembled this summer and ready for the next cohort of students.”