This week we have top of the line welders on sale, an exploding job market for welders, and a new innovation in welding that could make a huge difference in the automobile industry.
Special Welding News
UK Welding Shop Earns Movie Deal… Well, it’s not quite a movie deal, but when the producers of the latest Fast and Furious movie needed someone to weld man hole covers, they signed on Fabweld Steel Products for the job.
Welding Industry
Miller’s Multimatic 200 Offers a Compact Design: Reviewers at Modern Machine Shop are taking note of the versatility, weight, and other features that make
Miller’s Multimatic a game changer for welding machines. Pick up the Multimatic 200 today on sale at Baker’s Gas and welding.
GM Claims Welding Breakthrough Will Make Vehicles Lighter: A new spot welding technique is at the center of GM’s ability to move toward using aluminum in cars in order to make them lighter and to give them better gas mileage. The Detroit Free Press reports, “Blair Carlson, GM’s lab group manager for lightweight material processing, said researchers at the company’s technical center in Warren had developed a spot welding technology that uses a special electrode to help two pieces of aluminum clamp together.”
Welding Education
16-Week Welding Course in Marietta, OH: The Marrietta Times reports, “Pioneer Group this month began a pre-apprenticeship program in partnership with the Washington County Career Center, in which half a dozen students are spending part of their day in the welding lab at Pioneer's Westview Avenue facility.”
Central Community College in Columbus, NE Plans to Add New Welding Wing: According to the Columbus Telegram, “Besides increasing the enrollment capacity… the expansion will allow the college to address some safety concerns and add a separate, cleaner lab for robotic welding. The new welding technology area will also include more welding booths, classrooms, a tool room, restrooms, locker rooms and changing areas.”
Manufacturers Are Moving Welding Training Into the Factory: CNBC Reports, “Two factors lie behind this return to in-house training: a quiet renaissance in some niches of America's Rust Belt and a shortage of highly skilled blue-collar workers. For some US manufacturers, business is booming and schools can't provide enough skilled workers. The shortfall provides a rare opportunity in this economy for good-paying jobs and the potential for secure employment.”
Welding Jobs
Energy-Related Jobs Slow but Continue to Grow in Houston, TX: Energy Industry blog FuelFix notes that welding jobs in the energy sector continue to expand, even if the rate has dipped due to fuel pricing changes: “’The Houston area is coming off 18 months of double-digit, year-over-year growth in exploration and production employment,’ said Barton Smith, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Houston. ‘Instead of adding jobs at the rate of 10 to 12 percent a
year, Houston-area energy employers will likely be creating positions at the
annual rate of 5 to 6 percent,’ said Smith.”
Welding Product Manufacturer Adds 85 Jobs in South Carolina: As the welding industry continues to adapt to new technology and to expand production, Watson
Engineering is stepping up their production of welding machines and parts.
Work Boot's Skills Gap Infographic: Not sure about the need for manufacturing jobs such as welding? Check out this fantastic infographic about the gap between jobs available and workers able to fill those positions.
Welding Events
Fab Tech, Nov 12-14 in Las Vegas: This premier welding industry event is planning to expand its welding education program during an event that is expected to attract 25,000+ manufacturers to view 1,100 exhibits covering 400,000+ net ft² of floor space.
Welding Gone Wrong
Outside Welding Causes Fire at Glenview Hotel: According to the local newspaper, welders working outside created sparks that fell to the shrubbery below and ignited a fire that spread to the hotel building.
