Champaign alum returns to Central HS with $41,000 safety system designed to prevent shop accidents

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) — What started as a frightening moment in a father's workshop has grown into an international business focused on preventing accidents, and now that technology has come full circle back to the Champaign high school.

Champaign-based GRIT Automation recently donated a $41,000 workshop safety and automation system to Champaign Central High School, providing students and staff with new technology designed to make the school's wood and automotive shops safer.

The system uses RFID badges to ensure students can only operate the equipment they have been trained to use. It also automatically activates dust collection systems when machinery is running and monitors air quality throughout the workshop spaces.

For GRIT founder and Central High School graduate Joel Danowitz, the donation is deeply personal. He said the inspiration behind the company traces back nearly three decades to a serious accident he witnessed while attending Central High School in 1996.

Years later, another close call involving his son reignited those memories and motivated him to find a solution.

"In 2018, I was in my shop with my son Ian, and he pushed the big green button that turned on a tool," Danowitz said. "His hand was near the blade, and it really scared me. It brought back the memories of when I saw someone hurt themselves quite badly at my high school."

Determined to prevent similar incidents, Danowitz partnered with a neighbor and fellow Central graduate, Marco Nieto, to create a system that could add another layer of protection in educational and industrial workshops.

"We went down this path to try to make shops and tools safer," Danowitz said.

The company, founded in 2018, specializes in workshop automation and safety systems for schools, universities, makerspaces and industrial facilities.

Today, GRIT Automation's technology can be found in approximately 500 shops across the United States and around the world, including installations in Canada and Australia.

The system continuously monitors equipment use and can automatically control dust collection systems and blast gates, which direct airflow to specific machines.

"We layered on access control so only students who have the right level of training for these dangerous tools can turn them on," Danowitz explained.

The technology also tracks equipment usage and provides maintenance reminders to help protect investments.

"We have built-in maintenance scheduling, so the system will tell you when it's time to perform routine maintenance on these tools to keep this investment running as long as possible," he said.

Danowitz believes systems like the one installed at Central are important because students, despite their best intentions, are still learning.

The project represents more than a donation. It is a chance for Danowitz and his fellow Central graduates to give back to the school and community that helped shape them.

Along with Danowitz and Nieto, GRIT Automation co-founder Jaclyn Aldridge is also a Central High School graduate.

Danowitz said returning to Central with a product designed to prevent the kind of accident he witnessed as a student feels like a full-circle moment.

"To give back and to know that my product is going to ensure that what I saw happen in high school doesn't happen to someone else," he said.

The company's commitment to education and community impact recently earned GRIT Automation the 2026 Local Business Community Impact Award from the Champaign-Urbana Schools Foundation.

Danowitz said receiving recognition in his hometown was especially meaningful.

"It felt amazing," he said. "This dream that we had in the basement, really kind of seeing it for real and being honored in my hometown."