Compressor Technology Leader Teams up with College Athletes to Promote Manufacturing Jobs

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T/CCI Manufacturing and University of Illinois men’s basketball player Kofi Cockburn joined together to start a marketing campaign. 

The News-Gazette reported Cockburn is one of 20 athletes at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with whom T/CCI partnered. It is the university’s first stint with name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights. 

Able to profit off his name, image, and likeness, Cockburn, a Jamaican 7-foot center for the Illini, appeared at the T/CCI headquarters in Decatur, Illinois. Cockburn used the hashtag, #CoolLikeKofi, to promote the company’s electric compressor and manufacturing jobs. 

The connection between T/CCI and the university stems from Richard Demirjian and Kara Demirjian Huss, who head the company and act as donors to Illinois’ athletic department. The Demirjian family financed an on-campus indoor golf facility and Demirjian Park, which is used by soccer and track and field athletes. 

Cockburn and the rest of the Illini athletes will use their personal narratives as well as their social media presences for the campaign. They will relate their own experiences to the principles for success in the business world and the manufacturing world. 

The campaign will stretch across eight months as T/CCI and the athletes attempt to promote electrification and gender-equity movements in the manufacturing industry. 

Image Credit: Clay Jackson / Herald & Review